by Jamelle Wells
Publisher: ABC Books, 2024
Publisher’s blurb
One of Australia’s most experienced court reporters goes on a judicial road trip. Outback Court Reporter is a sometimes funny, sometimes tragic look at the comings and goings on inside the country courtrooms dotted across Australia.
From the case of the stolen cat flap, to missing lollipops and exploding chocolate milk in a country supermarket, to a custody dispute over a camel – Jamelle has seen the lighter and quirky side of outback courts but has also witnessed the harsh, dark, and petty side of outback life – including the high rates of Indigenous incarceration, alcohol-related and domestic violence.
After spending almost twenty years in city courtrooms reporting for the ABC on some of the country’s highest profile cases, in Outback Court Reporter, Jamelle Wells takes you into our country courtrooms, from the grand sandstone edifices of Cobar and Grafton to the repurposed community halls and police stations in outback Queensland the Northern Territory – introducing you to the court staff – the solicitors, prosecutors, magistrates, witnesses and the accused, in cases that shock, captivate and divide communities.
Outback Court Reporter is also a timely reminder of the need for reform as country magistrates struggle with massive caseloads and limited resources, the fallout of failing regional health systems and limited bail and sentencing options in a justice system that is under pressure and communities still disadvantaged by the vastness of our continent.
Review
by Karin Kos
Whether you are a fan of fiction or non-fiction, this honest account of regional court systems is bound to draw your interest. As Jamelle Wells writes with equal parts of pathos and humour to give an honest account of the problems facing those being prosecuted, their legal teams – or often lack thereof – and those that truly want to serve the justice system and support people in regional communities. Her recounts of court cases vary from the truly strange tales of “the woman who sued her neighbour after his dog broke into her house and impregnated her poodle” to the harsh reality of racial inequity where First Nations peoples are the most incarcerated people in the world. As readers witness people attempting to represent themselves and navigate counterintuitive courtroom procedures, the lack of available legal counsel in regional Australia creates an alarming situation; whilst the magistrates and senior judges are all too often left feeling “troubled … that the justice system was letting Indigenous people down”.
Wells explores real scenarios where crime and justice do not always work in tandem, and some crimes defy any sense at all. She exposes the cruelty of humans towards animals and the magistrates willing to impose penalties for these quite disconcerting crimes. She explores the damage domestic violence can do, and the lack of justice for victims. She shines a light on the misogynistic attitudes of some who who defend perpetrators of senseless acts of domestic violence. One legal counsel, for example, claimed that a chair leg being lodged in the head of a woman was not a serious crime.
The honesty of this prose offers insight into a justice system that at times beggars belief. A world where people are let down by a lack of access to legal aid, while magistrates try their best in makeshift courts under conditions that seem unfair at best.
The beauty of this book is the sympathy for not only the people facing prosecution, but also to those who have joined the legal profession wanting to make the justice system work; people who find that through a lack of real resources available to regional residents, helping our most vulnerable in the community can be a bewildering pursuit. Wells prompts readers to think about the bigger picture regarding the crimes we often hear reported on the news. She brings a human heart to a human face relaying an inhumane experience where “another young Indigenous man with a brain injury, [was] denied his medication in prison, but refused bail” suggesting that the punishment does not befit the crimes committed.
She challenges readers to reconsider what they think they know of crime statistics and facts, through her journalistic style, exposing how truly broken our legal system is. I found that through Wells’s poignant insights and nuanced approach, I gained a real understanding of the impact that a fractured regional legal system has on the broader communities of regional Australia, problems that people in the city are completely unaware and ignorant of. I felt compelled to keep reading, as this allowed me a knowledge I craved about a legal system I realised I truly could not comprehend.
Whilst I have always loved crime fiction and true crime books, this book has made me realise how little justice is received to those in our country areas. When Wells ruminates “it takes an outsider from overseas to call out our justice system as a shocking infringement on human rights” we as readers want to know more. Wells wants us to understand, to hear her message and make more people aware of the problems faced by people in our country towns,
Hopefully, things may improve. Wells also highlights the legal implications of inadequate medical care in regional hospitals. Things we take for granted in Australia’s cities would be welcomed in regional communities. When it comes to the health system, good nurses are pressed to breaking point, neglect and death occur when it should not, and people living in regional communities are too scared to raise their concerns. And she issues the challenge: how can we continue to watch injustice occur to those in our small towns? Or do we just turn our heads and look away?