Each jurisdiction has a forum to consider courtroom conduct reflecting the different participants in the Court Room in that jurisdiction:

The Supreme Court’s Court Room Culture Committee is Chaired by Justice S Doyle (Supreme Court Courtroom Culture Committee).

The District Court’s Court Room Culture Committee is Chaired by Judge Schammer (District Court Legal Profession Respectful Behaviours Guidelines).

Issues of concern can be raised via the Chair of the Committee, a member of the Committee or directly to the relevant Head of Jurisdiction.

For the Magistrates Court and the Youth Court there are Court User Groups which are held bi-monthly in the following Magistrates Court locations:-

  • Adelaide
  • Berri
  • Christies Beach
  • Elizabeth
  • Mt Gambier
  • Pt Adelaide
  • Pt Augusta – the Whyalla Court also attends via AVL
  • and the Adelaide Youth Court

The Court User Group meeting will ordinarily be the appropriate forum for discussing local concerns.  However, if a practitioner or prosecutor is raising a concern about an issue and they do not wish to disclose identifying details, they are encouraged to contact the Head of Jurisdiction. Other court users not wishing to identify similar concerns are encouraged to raise such matters with their appropriate supervisor for their consideration as to the appropriate channel to direct the issue.

The Committees and the User Groups operate as a forum for communication. The Committees and the User Groups do not operate as a complaint handling body.  There is no form nor a formal process.  The process adopted by the Committee will depend on the nature of the concern and whether it is an isolated concern or one that has been expressed more broadly.

For issues of concern which are ‘complaints’ – there are existing complaints processes, via head of Jurisdiction, the Judicial Conduct Commissioner or the Legal Profession Conduct Commissioner depending on the nature of the complaint and the subject of the complaint.

There is a separate work from the Respectful Behaviours Working Group underway looking at the complaints process which will inform the work of the Committees and User Groups in respect of court room culture.