Robinson v Commissioner of Police, New South Wales Police Force

The applicants in this matter, Mr Robinson and Ms El Masri, have sought the removal of the presiding judge from their case against the Commissioner of Police, New South Wales Police Force. The applicants argue that the judge's previous rulings and comments have demonstrated bias against them, leading to a loss of confidence in the judge's ability to fairly hear their claims. The legal issues before the court revolve around whether the judge's past actions and comments are sufficient grounds to warrant his removal from the case. The applicants cite several instances where they believe the judge's conduct was biased, including the exclusion of certain evidence and the judge's comments on their credibility. The court must determine whether the judge's previous actions and comments create a reasonable apprehension of bias in the mind of a fair-minded observer. The judge found that while his comments were not emphatically made, they were of sufficient weight to potentially create a reasonable apprehension of bias. Consequently, he decided to recuse himself from the case. The court's reasoning is based on the principle that a fair-minded observer might entertain a reasonable apprehension of bias if the judge had previously expressed clear views on issues that are significant to the current case. The judge concluded that it was in the interests of justice for him to remove himself from the case to avoid any appearance of bias. The final orders of the court were that the judge would recuse himself from the case and that the matter would be reassigned to another judge.