Jorgensen v The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory
[2023] ACTSC 357
•11 August 2023
SUPREME COURT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
Case Title: | Jorgensen v The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory |
Citation: | [2023] ACTSC 357 |
Hearing Date: | 11 August 2023 |
Decision Date: | 11 August 2023 |
Before: | Curtin AJ |
Decision: | (1) No party is to communicate with the Chambers of Curtin AJ, nor the Chambers of any judge, nor any registrar of this Court until judgment is delivered on the applications heard by Curtin AJ on 19 June 2023. |
Catchwords: | PRACTICE AND PROCEUDRE – Communications with chambers – emails not within the terms of Practice Direction 1 of 2022 – application of Tugrul exceptions – communications not appropriate |
Cases Cited: | Ezekiel-Hart v The Council of the Law Society of the ACT (No 5) [2023] ACTSC 218 |
Text Cited: | Practice Direction 1 of 2022, ACT Supreme Court |
Parties: | Alan Bradley Jorgensen ( Applicant) The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory ( Respondent) |
Representation: | Counsel Self-represented ( Applicant) |
| Solicitors Self-represented ( Applicant) | |
File Number: | SC 161 of 2023 |
CURTIN AJ:
Introduction
1․On 19 June 2023, I heard two matters involving Mr Jorgensen. I reserved my decision in respect of those matters on that day.
2․Whilst judgment was reserved, my Chambers received a number of emails from Mr Jorgensen, many of which have been copied to other judges of this Court and the Registrar as well as the other active parties to the proceedings.
3․Those emails were not appropriate to be sent.
4․Accordingly, I made an ex parte order in Chambers on 11 August 2023 to prevent any more emails being sent until I had delivered judgment on the matters on which I was reserved. Reasons were to be published subsequently. These are those reasons.
5․The subject of communication with judges’ chambers, the relevant Practice Direction and a number of relevant authorities was recently considered by me in Ezekiel-Hart v The Council of the Law Society of the ACT (No 5) [2023] ACTSC 218 (Ezekiel-Hart (No 5)).
6․The relevant Practice Direction is Practice Direction No 1 of 2022 (the Practice Direction). It, and a number of authorities, are described and discussed in Ezekiel-Hart (No 5) and need not be repeated here.
7․The short point is that Mr Jorgensen’s emails were, in my view, in breach of the Practice Direction and I desired to bring them to an end to avoid any risk to my impartiality in deciding the matters I had reserved on, and to avoid any risk to the impartiality of the other judges and the Registrar of the Court.
8․The first point to observe is that, as set out in Ken Tugrul v Tarrants Financial Consultants Pty Ltd (in liquidation) [2013] NSWSC 1971 and paragraph 3 of the Practice Direction, there should be no communication with judges’ chambers by legal representatives for parties or self-represented litigants without the prior knowledge and consent of all active parties except in the four circumstances referred to in that authority and the Practice Direction.
9․I shall refer to those four circumstances as the four Tugrul exceptions. For ease of reference, they are:
(a)trivial matters of practice, procedure or administration (e.g. the start time or location of a matter);
(b)ex parte matters;
(c)where communication responds to one from the judge’s chambers or is authorized by an existing order or direction (e.g. for the filing of material physical or electronically with a judge’s associate); and
(d)exceptional circumstances.
10․In this case there had been no prior consent sought or obtained by Mr Jorgensen from the other parties to the sending of any of his emails to which this judgment refers, nor did the emails fall within any of the Tugrul exceptions.
11․It is true that each email was copied to the other active parties’ legal representatives, but doing so does not cure the impropriety of sending them without those parties’ prior knowledge or consent.
The emails
12․I shall now describe the emails received since I reserved judgment.
13․On 27 June 2023 at 2.15 pm my Chambers received two emails from Mr Jorgensen, both of which were copied to the chambers of another judge of this Court.
14․One of those emails attached what was called an Amended Notice of Appeal and set out a number of matters which could be said to fall within the leave I granted to Mr Jorgensen to provide any further written submissions on the applications heard by me on 19 June 2023 by 5:00 pm on 27 June 2023.
15․The other, longer email also includes what may be described as submissions (and will be so treated) but also contains a number of scandalous and unsubstantiated allegations directed toward a judge of this Court and the Court itself, and also earlier emails (in a chain of emails) relating to discussions between the parties about possible settlement of the proceedings.
16․On 27 July 2023, Mr Jorgensen sent an email to the Registrar, copied to my Chambers and the chambers of two other judges of this Court.
17․Amongst other things the email said (errors in original):
… its now been almost 2 months since this initial Directions hearing was conducted & where I have requested Justice Curtin to Recuse himself from any further involvement in the Appeal due to him stating that he had already made up his mind [ in my absence], that I had no right to Appeal Mossop J's Vexatious Litigant decision.
Curtin J had no judicial right to 'declare his hand' when I had not even been given the chance to be heard.
18․That email is incorrect in a number of respects which are dealt with in my other judgments. Suffice to say the email does not fall within any of the Tugrul exceptions.
19․On 5 August 2023, Mr Jorgensen sent another email to the Registrar, copied to my Chambers and the chambers of two other judges of this Court. Amongst other things that email said (errors in original):
Curtin J argued I had no right to Appeal Mossop J's Vexatious decision, despite the Respondents' Sr Counsels submission that I did have that right.
Every kid at law school, well knows that the Judge is there to listen to the Parties arguments and decide who is legal right.
But Curtin J wants to do neither & just impose his own views.
So of course, Curtin J is hopelessly bent on supporting Mossop J's inept decision, so Curtin J cannot continue to sit on any case of mine.
20․Besides the first paragraph of that quote being inaccurate (as the transcript demonstrates), the balance of the quote establishes that Mr Jorgensen’s emails do not fall within any of the Tugrul exceptions.
21․Yet another email was received from Mr Jorgensen on 11 August 2023. Suffice to say that that email does not fall within any of the Tugrul exceptions.
Decision
22․As highlighted in the authorities to which I referred in Ezekiel-Hart (No 5), the cardinal consideration is the protection of a judge’s impartiality and the appearance of that impartiality, and that that impartiality (and its appearance) must never be compromised by communications sent without either the knowledge or consent of all parties.
23․Accordingly, and keeping in mind the cardinal consideration referred to in the authorities to which I referred in Ezekiel-Hart (No 5), I made the order I did on 11 August 2023 in order to bring these inappropriate emails to an end.
24․I extended that order to other judges of this Court and the Registrar as they have received many of the emails referred to above. As it is possible that they may, at some point in the future, have to sit in judgment on matters involving Mr Jorgensen, it is appropriate in the circumstances to regard their future impartiality (in fact and appearance) as a cardinal consideration and worthy of protection.
Orders
25․The Order I made on 11 August 2023 was:
(1)No party is to communicate with the Chambers of Curtin AJ, nor the Chambers of any judge, nor any Registrar of this Court until judgment is delivered on the applications heard by Curtin AJ on 19 June 2023.
| I certify that the preceding twenty-five [25] numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Reasons for Judgment of his Honour Acting Justice Curtin. Associate: Date: |
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