Overheard by complainant
A coroner has been handed a formal warning after he was overheard describing a barrister’s submission as “bollocks”.
The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) sanctioned assistant coroner Heath Westerman after receiving a complaint from a party involved in an inquest into her son’s death.
The complainant alleged that after a hearing, she overheard the coroner describe her barrister’s submission as “bollocks” and comment that the duration of the inquest listing was “ridiculous.” Westerman was also accused of saying, “Who do these people think they are?”
The coroner admitted to using the term “bollocks”, attributing it to “frustration caused by a poor submission from the complainant’s barrister”. The term was used during a discussion with two staff members in a private area, where the coroner believed the complainant had already left the building.
Westerman accepted that his language was inappropriate and apologised.
However, the coroner denied referring to the duration of the inquest listing as “ridiculous” or saying, “Who do they think they are?”
Despite this, a nominated judge found that the coroner had made comments implying that the duration of the listing was “ridiculous” and deemed these remarks both “inappropriate and prejudicial”. However, the judge concluded that Westerman had not said, “Who do they think they are?”
In deciding to issue a formal warning, the nominated judge noted the coroner’s previously unblemished conduct record.