Tasmania’s Administrator of Courts has apologised for blocking media from attending a court appearance by Supreme Court Judge Gregory Geason.
Justice Geason appeared in an out-of-hours session at the Hobart Magistrates Court on Friday night to face charges including one count of assault and one count of emotional abuse.
In a statement released on Saturday, Administrator Yolanda Prenc acknowledged the “strong public and media interest in the appearance of Justice Geason before a late sitting of the Magistrates Court”.
“I apologise that the media were not able to access the Court to view proceedings as they would rightly expect to be able to,” Ms Prenc said.
“This was the result of a decision made in unusual and unprecedented circumstances.”
“The Magistrates Court remains committed to providing open access to Court proceedings including access to after hours courts.”
Ms Prenc also confirmed in her statement that the court has shared an audio recording of the proceedings with the media.
Justice Geason pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been granted bail, with a scheduled reappearance on February 6.
More on this story: Tasmanian Supreme Court judge Gregory Geason charged with assault, emotional abuse
