NSW Witness - How to Find Outcome of Closed Court Hearing?

[Scooby]

Hi,

Someone who is a witness against my father's court case is in court today dealing with an AVO plus a criminal charge. The AVO listing was TK, no applicant was named. The criminal charge was not listed anywhere either, so I went to court today to try and find out what he's in for.

The court was a 'closed court' hearing and I'd like to know how to find out what the outcome of his case was so he is not a credible witness in my father's case.

Any info is appreciated.

Regards,

 

[Victoria S]

Hi Scooby,

The principle of open justice does generally make most judgements, etc., available to the public, however, it is only a principle of our legal system, not a freestanding right. Therefore, there is no common law right for a non-party to obtain access to the court record.

You can go to the court registry and request to view the court file to see the judgement, however, if they refuse because it was closed court or a confidentiality order has been made you don't really have a leg to stand on.