Luck v Secretary, Department of Human Services (No 4) [2019] FCA 2071

Luck v Secretary, Department of Human Services (No 4) [2019] FCA 2071

None of the grounds raised by Ms Luck—namely, failure to make her requested orders, correspondence from chambers, prior determination of similar matters, or issues about the judge's appointment—could satisfy the test of apprehended bias as established in Ebner and subsequent authorities. A fair-minded lay observer would not apprehend bias in these circumstances.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
06 December 2019
Procedural Posture
Application for Recusal in Appellate Proceeding / Interlocutory Application for Recusal at Case Management Hearing
Outcome
application dismissed
Legal Topics
['recusal of Judge' 'apprehended Bias' 'case Management' 'judicial Appointments']
['practice and Procedure' 'administrative Law'] ['recusal of Judge' 'apprehended Bias' 'case Management' 'judicial Appointments']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Application for Recusal in Appellate Proceeding / Interlocutory Application for Recusal at Case Management Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether a fair-minded lay observer might reasonably apprehend bias if the judge does not recuse themself' "Whether the judge's prior actions, correspondence, past case determinations, or appointment process support an apprehension of bias"]

Ratio Decidendi

None of the grounds raised by Ms Luck—namely, failure to make her requested orders, correspondence from chambers, prior determination of similar matters, or issues about the judge's appointment—could satisfy the test of apprehended bias as established in Ebner and subsequent authorities. A fair-minded lay observer would not apprehend bias in these circumstances.

Court Disposition

application dismissed

Orders

  • ['The application made by the appellant at the case management hearing on 6 December 2019 for the recusal of Justice Anderson is dismissed.']