Judges for the bush: Jeffery McLennan announced as judge for Armidale, Tamworth District Courts

On Thursday, crown prosecutor Jeffery McLennan SC was announced as the successful candidate to preside over the Tamworth and Armidale District Courts, and will take on the job from mid-next year.

Mr McLennan has been a crown prosecutor for the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), based in Lismore for 14 years.

He already knows the New England region after prosecuting several criminal cases in Armidale, as well as other regional areas.

Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall championed the judges for the bush campaign on the back of outrage exposed in The Leader of offenders who escaped jail for bashing police.

“It is clear Mr McLennan has a sound knowledge of the bush and the problems that impact on these areas, and I look forward to him starting on the bench,” Mr Marshall told The Leader.

“This appointment brings an end date to the insufficient fly-in, fly-out justice model in our region, which we’ve had to put up with for far too long. And, this is a history making victory for the community on the back of the judges for the bush campaign.”

Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson said Mr McLennan would be sworn in as a judge on August 22 at a ceremony and then will take up his new position from July, 2017. 

“Our region is continuing to grow so having a full-time judge who lives and works in our community will help ensure justice is fast, fair and accessible,” he said.

Attorney-General Gabriell Upton said the appointment would help to clear the backlog of criminal cases, which has plagued the Tamworth and Armidale courts and has seen trial waiting times blow out to mid-2017.

“Delays put victims through undue stress and make it harder for witness to recall key details so these extra resources are going to make a real difference to the court and more importantly to people’s lives,” she said.