Ex-premier Blasted for George Pell Opinion
By Karen Sweeney
Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett has been blasted for his "inappropriate" comments about judges after Cardinal George Pell's High Court acquittal. Mr Kennett called for the resignation of Victorian Chief Justice Anne Ferguson and Court of Appeal President Chris Maxwell after their decision on Cardinal Pell's earlier appeal was overturned. A jury convicted the cardinal on five child sexual abuse charges in December 2018 and the judges ruled the verdict should stand after a two-day appeal hearing last August. But the High Court found there was insufficient evidence to find Cardinal Pell guilty beyond reasonable doubt and earlier this month quashed those convictions. Mr Kennett said he was not critical of the jury's decision. "But how could Victoria's two most senior legal people sitting as the Court of Appeal get their decision so terribly wrong? They should resign," he wrote in a piece published by the Herald Sun. The International Council of Jurists (Victoria), an independent group of lawyers and judges, blasted his remarks as "inappropriate" and "contemptuous". "Whatever opinion may be held about the decision relating to a criminal trial, the rule of law requires an appellate process before an independent judiciary, free from personal and ill-informed attacks on their integrity of judges," the group, led by Guy Gilbert SC, said in a statement. They said the High Court decision was not evidence of failings in the state's judicial system but demonstrated transparency and accountability. The group also took aim at a separate opinion piece published in The Australian by columnist Janet Albrechtsen, in which she referred to the "dreadful state of justice inside our courts". She also made reference to the "arrogance" of Justices Ferguson and Maxwell.
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