Vella v Bowden

(2011) 273 ALR 429; [2011] WASCA 158

Western Australia Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Bias
3. › Apprehended bias
4. › Application for coram of interstate judges
5. › Whether prior involvement of court members in appellant's criminal matters gave rise to reasonable apprehension of bias
6. › Whether respondent's status as District Court judge gave rise to reasonable apprehension of bias
1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Costs
3. › Interlocutory applications
4. › Whether costs should be fixed and ordered payable forthwith

Quick Take

An application for a coram of interstate judges on apprehended bias grounds will not succeed merely because some members of the court have previously dealt with the applicant's matters, or because the opposing party is a judge of a lower court. The physical and professional distance between courts of different levels precludes a finding of bias risk.