I first appeared as a solicitor in February 1976 in Muswellbrook, NSW. After 50 years, I still go to the Queanbeyan Court and appear there on occasions.
It was with some sadness, then, that I attended an excellent dinner last Friday at the Ottoman in Barton to farewell the much respected, and indeed loved, Local Court magistrate who has presided over the Queanbeyan Circuit for the last six years, Roger Clisdell. Roger indeed reminded me a bit of my first magistrate, Rod Blackmore, who went on to become head NSW Children’s Court magistrate. Rod was all you could ask for in a magistrate: efficient, fair, firm and friendly, and respected by clients of the court, practitioners and police. That description fits Roger Clisdell to a T.
An experienced magistrate of over 18 years and, before that, a solicitor in private practice, Roger has presided over thousands of matters and served in country postings from Bourke to Parkes to the Queanbeyan district. He’s off to Griffith now for two years and leaves a lot of people sad to see him go.
Roger epitomises the no-nonsense, efficient disposal of cases approach typical of a good NSW magistrate. After all, the 160 or so NSW magistrates dispose of over 500,000 cases a year. In Victoria, over 200 magistrates get through only about 250,000, and in the ACT it’s always been a lot more formalistic.
When I first appeared in front of Roger four or so years ago, I was struck by his friendly, pleasant manner and his smile. He made everyone feel at ease and comfortable. He was practical. He had the respect of defendants, witnesses, police, court staff and practitioners. He dispensed quick, effective, smooth justice with efficiency and good humour. He was never condescending and related to all the people who came before him.
Roger was, at times, controversial and never stepped back from saying his mind. But he held several excellent principles that he applied.
- Always go into court with an open mind. Never prejudge a matter.
- Make the court as welcoming and comfortable to all participants as you can. Listen to people.
- A driver’s licence is essential to so many people in the country, so always do what you can to enable defendants to keep, or at least not lose, their licence for too long.
- Some crimes are not excusable, and he would draw the line at cruelty to animals and assaults on police and first responders. Jail would usually result, and he gave some very impressive jail sentences for several nasty cases of kangaroo torture recently.
At the Ottoman, long-standing local Queanbeyan solicitor Andrew Herring, who organised the event, gave a moving and witty speech on behalf of the local solicitors present, as did Jason Moffet on behalf of the local Bar (including presenting Roger with a big stuffed kangaroo toy as a farewell present from his daughter), and Anna Quist gave a very moving speech on behalf of the younger practitioners present.
This region has been so lucky to have had Roger Clisdell presiding over the Queanbeyan and Cooma Local Courts for the last six years. Good luck to Your Honour for the future, and thank you. Your successor has some big shoes to fill.
