NT's top judge tells government not to interfere with court independence, in leaked email
In his email, Michael Grant said he was "extremely disturbed" by the government's "purported" interference. (Supplied: NT Supreme Court)
In short:
A leaked email shows the NT's top judge has written to the Attorney-General's Department asking its acting chief executive not to interfere with the court's media communications.
An NT Courts spokesperson says the email "was a result of something of a misunderstanding" and the matter has since been resolved.
The acting chief executive of the Attorney-General's Department, who the email was sent to, says she never intended to intervene, alter or prevent the release of communications from the courts.
The Northern Territory's highest-ranking judge has written to the head of an NT government department asking them not to interfere with the Supreme Court's independence.
Chief Justice Michael Grant AO sent the email to Attorney-General's Department acting chief executive Leonique Swart on October 8, saying he had received advice the courts had been blocked from sending a press release to the media.
In the leaked email, Chief Justice Grant said he had "been advised that you have recently and unilaterally directed the court's media liaison officer not to send a communication to The Australian newspaper, which I requested him to send".
He also said he had been told there was a new, unwritten policy in place requiring the court to have all media communications approved by the department's chief executive.
The email was sent to Leonique Swart, the acting chief executive of the Attorney-General's Department. (Supplied: ANZSOG)
The chief justice said he was "extremely disturbed that you have purported to interfere with the Court's independence and operations", and called on Ms Swart to "confirm without delay" she would stop the alleged interference.
"The Supreme Court is not part of the Attorney-General's Department," he said.
"Rather, the Attorney-General's Department provides services to the Supreme Court.
"Until recently, the separation of powers issues were understood and respected."
The chief justice is currently on leave and was not available for comment.
Michael Grant is the chief justice of the NT Supreme Court. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)
However, in a statement, an NT Courts spokesperson told the ABC the leaked email "was a result of something of a misunderstanding" and there was no policy in place to moderate court communications.
"Once the chief justice was made aware of that, the matter was satisfactorily resolved,"the spokesperson said.
Asked to clarify what the misunderstanding was and how it was resolved, the Attorney-General's Department would not elaborate, and told the ABC the communications between Ms Swart and the chief justice were confidential and not for public release.
Marie-Clare Boothby is the NT's attorney-general. (ABC News: Pete Garnish)
The email sent by the chief justice was originally published in Sydney-based law journal Justinian.
In a statement, Ms Swart said the email published in the journal was "incomplete and does not include the resolution of the miscommunication that led to the correspondence".
"The Department has always and continues to have full respect for the separation of powers, and I have never intended to intervene, alter or prevent the release of communications from the court,"she said.
The chief justice's email came in the wake of media reporting on the sentencing of Darwin hit-and-run driver Jake Danby, who avoided prison time when he was sentenced by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Brownhill in September.
Danby was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order after hitting two Aboriginal pedestrians with his vehicle, one of whom died, and fleeing the scene.
The sentence drew widespread criticism from NT Aboriginal communities and has been appealed by the NT Director of Public Prosecutions.
Danby is a relative of NT Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby.
Ms Boothby has been contacted for comment.