The Supreme Court of Victoria’s Court of Appeal sat in Bendigo last week as part of its regional circuit.
The Court of Appeal is the State’s highest court and hears appeals from the Supreme Court, County Court, Magistrates’ Court and decisions of Presidential and Vice-Presidential members of VCAT.
The Court of Appeal has a long history of sitting in regional centres. Following its creation in 1995, the Court held one of its first sittings in Bendigo and last sat there in April 2023.
While in Bendigo, Court of Appeal President, Justice Karin Emerton, together with Justices David Beach and Stephen McLeish, heard an appeal against sentence by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Court also heard an interlocutory appeal arising from a pending criminal trial in the County Court, as well as a civil appeal against a decision from VCAT.
Justice Emerton said that she and Justices Beach and McLeish enjoyed sitting in the wonderful new court building and having the opportunity to meet with judicial officers from other courts and tribunals sitting in Bendigo. Her Honour said that it made the judges feel part of a modern, responsive justice system.
Her Honour said they were also delighted to have spoken to members of the local community and to have shared their experiences as judges with more than 100 school students from the Bendigo region.