Federal Circuit Court judge Salvatore Vasta has become the first judge to be successfully sued in Australia.
A father of two who was jailed for contempt of court by federal judge Salvatore Vasta during a divorce case has been awarded $309,450 in damages – the first time a judge has been successfully sued in Australia.
At one point, the judge said: “I hope you brought your toothbrush.” Justice Wigney called this a “well-worn cliche”.The man spent seven days in police custody and prison before the order was stayed pending an appeal. It waswhich called Judge Vasta’s conduct of the case an “affront to justice”. Justice Wigney said the contempt order “was infected by a number of serious and fundamental errors on the part of the judge”.
Justice Wigney rejected Judge Vasta’s claim for judicial immunity, saying there was no such protection for “inferior [lower] courts”.where it is found that the judge acted without or in excess of jurisdiction,” Justice Wigney said. Justice Wigney said Judge Vasta was also liable for exemplary damages of $50,000 over the deprivation of Mr Stradford’s liberty.. The only similar case was in Tasmania in 1965. A local court clerk wrongly entering an order by a magistrate, and later signed a warrant for arrest as a justice of the peace. The clerk, the constable who effected the arrest and the controller of prisons were all held liable.
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