Tasmanian Supreme Court judge Gregory Geason will resign form the bench with a court hearing that he no longer has the ‘moral authority’ to hold the position. Justice Geason was found guilty of assault and emotional abuse last month. His decision means the state government will not have to wait for new laws to come into effect in order to dismiss him.
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00:00A Supreme Court judge, but not for much longer.
00:06Justice Gregory Geeson returning to court after last month being found guilty of assault
00:11and emotional abuse.
00:13The presiding magistrate found he grabbed a woman, shook her, punched her to the chest
00:18and pushed her, causing her to fall backwards and hit her head.
00:22He was also found to have subjected the woman to emotional abuse or intimidation on 13 separate
00:28occasions over a seven-month period.
00:31During sentencing submissions in the Hobart Magistrate's Court today, Justice Geeson's
00:36lawyer ending weeks of speculation, telling the court the judge will resign.
00:42He does not have that moral authority to continue sitting.
00:46Justice Geeson is set to be sentenced on Thursday, his lawyer also telling the court he has lost
00:51everything and the destruction of his public image and professional life is total.
00:58Director of Public Prosecutions Daryl Coates described Justice Geeson's conduct as a serious
01:03example of an assault, asking the magistrate to consider jail time.
01:09Not only is there no evidence of remorse, there's evidence of a lack of remorse.
01:14The woman read a victim impact statement to the court via video link, saying she suffers
01:19from anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder following the relationship.
01:24She said she couldn't work for eight months and has lost faith in the legal system due
01:28to Justice Geeson's position on the Supreme Court.
01:33Justice Geeson's impending resignation means the government won't have to wait for its
01:37new Judicial Commissions legislation to come into effect in order to remove him.