As the two-year anniversary of Australia’s first Covid lockdown approaches, backlogs in courts continue to worsen as pandemic close contact and self-isolation rules halt more jury trials.
Two high profile cases in NSW were the latest to be delayed on Monday because of Covid, placing further stress on alleged victims, accused persons, jurors and their families desperate to move on with their lives.
In the case of former NRL player Tristan Sailor, 23, who is standing trial over the alleged sexual assault of a woman, jurors were sent home for a week because defence barrister Richard Pontello was a close contact of a Covid case and couldn’t physically attend court for seven days while he isolates.
While Mr Pontello could attend court virtually on Monday, as more CCTV footage was played of the drinking session at the Bondi pub that preceded the alleged assault, NSW District Court Judge Anthony Townsden said it was agreed the trial could not continue this week without Mr Pontello appearing in-person.
“We live in uncertain times,” Judge Townsden said as he told the court the trial originally expected to run for three weeks would last four and possibly even run into a fifth week into April.
Covid isolation rules also delayed another trial in Wollongong by more than two months.
Jaskaran Singh, 19 and Arpan Sharma, 21, were due to stand trial after they pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving that caused the death of 19-year-old Libby Ruge in November 2020.
While Mr Singh was present in court for the start of the trial on Monday, Mr Sharma appeared via audiovisual link.
The court was told that Mr Sharma, who is alleged to have pulled a handbrake while intoxicated in the passenger seat of a car and caused it to collide with Ms Ruge, had contracted Covid.
Judge Andrew Haesler said the trial could not proceed if Mr Sharma could not appear in person.
A new date for the trial of May 23 was set.
After a national cabinet meeting last week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the rule requiring clxjmtzywose contacts of Covid positive patients to isolate for seven days was becoming “redundant”.
“We’ve tasked the medical expert panel to say we want your urgent advice on this as soon as possible because we’d like to say goodbye to that rule as quickly as we can,” he said.
