Fowles & Fowles

In the matter of MLC 8587 of 2015, Ms Fowles was the applicant and Mr Fowles was the respondent. The dispute before Bennett J concerned an application by the husband for the judge to recuse herself from hearing the proceeding due to apprehended bias.

The legal issues before the court were whether the judge's interventions during the cross-examination of the husband, the length of that cross-examination, and the constraint on the husband's liberty, when considered individually and cumulatively, gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias. The court was required to determine if a fair-minded observer might reasonably conclude that the judge could not bring an impartial mind to the resolution of the case.

Bennett J considered the interventions in the context of the entire hearing and the conduct of both parties and their counsel. Her Honour was not satisfied that there was a reasonable possibility that a fair-minded observer would apprehend bias. Consequently, the husband's application for recusal was dismissed, and Bennett J remained seized of the matter for final determination. The matter was subsequently adjourned for further hearing dates in late August and early September 2021.