RADER & RADER (No.3)

This matter concerned an application for recusal made by the first respondent against Judge B Smith in the Family Court of Australia. The specific nature of the underlying dispute between the parties, Mr and Mrs Rader, is not detailed in the provided text, beyond the fact that it led to an application for the judge to disqualify themselves from hearing the case.

The sole legal issue before the Court was whether Judge B Smith ought to recuse themselves from presiding over the proceedings. This required the Court to consider the principles of apprehended bias and whether there were grounds to believe that the judge might not bring an impartial mind to the resolution of the case.

Judge B Smith dismissed the oral application for recusal. While the specific reasons for this dismissal are not elaborated upon in the provided text, the decision indicates that the Court found no basis to conclude that a reasonable apprehension of bias existed. The Court's reasoning would have involved an assessment of the circumstances presented by the first respondent against the established legal tests for recusal.

Consequently, the Court ordered that the oral application made by the first respondent for the judge to recuse themselves be dismissed.