Trials & Litigation
Top Judge’s Ringing Cell Phone Disrupts Court Hearing
Posted Aug 1, 2008, 11:17 am CST
By Martha Neil
A ringing cell phone in the courtroom can be a hot button for stressed jurists. However, when the cell phone belongs to the acting chief justice of the High Court of Australia, judicial deference apparently is the order of the day.
As a cell phone began to ring yesterday in a Sydney special leave hearing, observers in the High Court gallery began chuckling as they realized the culprit who had forgotten to silence the mobile device was acting chief justice Bill Gummow, reports the Australian.
As the court's longest-serving jurist, he surely was aware of the rule that cell phones must be switched off in the building, as well as the requirement that visitors check their mobiles before entering a courtroom, the newspaper writes. However, despite a tongue-in-cheek call by Justice Michael Kirby for Gummow's arrest as the device rang a second time some 20 seconds later, no sanction was forthcoming.
The court did allow Richard McHugh, the attorney who was arguing, extra time. However, it apparently didn't help his case: He was refused leave to appeal.
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