The position of "Special Justice" is unique to South Australia.
The role of a Special Justice
is different from that of a normal Justice of the Peace.
The position of Special Justice, like that of a Justice of the Peace, is entirely voluntary. A key difference between the two roles is that A Special Justice sits alone, and generally without a Clerk of the Court. Justices of the Quorum ceased sitting in South Australia in 1997. In that year, 38 Justices of the Peace sat nearly a thousand times making a wonderful voluntary contribution to the South Australian community.
The position of “Special Justice” was considerably expanded and reinvigorated with new training and appointments following the passing of the Justices of the Peace Act 2005 and the Justices of the Peace Regulations 2006.
Special Justices are appointed to the Magistrates Court and the Youth Court. In addition, they may be appointed to form a Visiting Tribunal for judicial review of cases within the prison disciplinary system.
Following a long period of training and familiarisation, the first rostered sitting of a Special Justice in the Magistrates Court took place in November 2006. On that day, Mr John Ames SJ began sitting at Elizabeth Magistrates Court hearing summary traffic and motor vehicle offences that would otherwise have been heard by a Magistrate, allowing the Stipendary Magistrates to be redirected to more serious matters.
Special Justices are currently rostered in Magistrates Courts at Elizabeth, Port Adelaide, Adelaide, Christies Beach, Holden Hill, Mount Gambier, Mount Barker, Murray Bridge, Port Lincoln and Port Pirie in addition to the Adelaide Youth Court. Special Justices can also sit at other country Magistrates Courts as required.
Special Justices have certain limitations on their powers. They can only deal with guilty pleas, and cannot impose a sentence of imprisonment. In addition, there is an upper limit of $1250 per offence when sentencing. Whilst limited to Road Traffic Act and certain other matters in the Petty Sessions Division of the Magistrates Court, in some circumstances Special Justices may sit in the Criminal Division and thus hear summary matters under other Acts such as the Motor Vehicles Act or the Summary Offences Act. Other duties might include Form 51 applications (for review of enforcement orders), Form 48 applications (review of cancellation of relief orders) or culling of outstanding warrants.
Special Justices undergo a screening process before they are selected followed by a period of training at Adelaide TAFE prior to appointment, with further training, mentoring and evaluation at a working level alongside other judicial officers (SM or other SJ) prior to sitting. The Special Justices Group within the Royal Association of Justices (SA) provides support to gazetted Special Justices including ongoing professional development, peer support, sharing of information, and the provision of specialist resources and manuals including the SJ Handbook.
The current executive of the SJ Group includes Mr Garth Challans SJ (Chair), Mr Ray Grieg OAM SJ (Deputy Chair), and Mr Kevin Newbold SJ (Secretary) and Mr John McPhail SJ (Treasurer). For information about how to become a Special Justice contact Justice of the Peace Services by telephone (08) 8207 1725 or email jpservices@agd.sa.gov.au.