In The Registrar of the Supreme Court of Queensland v Wood (No 3) [2024] QSC 116, Ian Andrew Wood was found guilty of contempt in the face of the court. The case centres on Wood's conduct during hearings on 26 July 2023 and 2 August 2023, where he made a series of derogatory comments towards the presiding judge, Burns J, which included allegations of incompetence and corruption. Despite being warned and offered an opportunity to retract his statements, Wood persisted in making further inflammatory comments. The Supreme Court, led by Martin SJA, concluded that Wood’s statements were not merely critical but intended to interfere with the administration of justice, thus constituting contempt. The court emphasised that threats and baseless accusations against judges undermine public confidence in the judiciary. Wood's defence, which attempted to justify his statements based on alleged judicial corruption in previous cases, did not hold as there was no credible evidence supporting his claims. Martin SJA ruled beyond reasonable doubt that Wood's actions met the criteria for contempt, and the proceedings were set for further discussion on penalties and costs.
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