Judge's Associate James Cowled's internal investigation

Jack Houghton made this Freedom of Information request to Federal Circuit Court of Australia

This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.

The request was successful.

Jack Houghton

Dear Federal Circuit Court of Australia,

I'm writing to make an application under Freedom of Information Laws for details of the investigation into the conduct of Judge's Associate James Cowled.
He was under investigation internally within the Federal Circuit Court after pleading guilty to cocaine possession earlier this year.
I am after the official documents relating to the conclusion of that investigation.
I'll call during business hours to discuss further.
I want all correspondence from any Federal Circuit Court Employee in e-mails or official documents which relate to "James Cowled" and the investigation.
He was stood down on May 5th after a newspaper story was published. The investigation finished some time in the last few weeks but the results have been kept secret from the public.
We do not know if he was stood down with pay, fired or reprimanded in any manner. It is a major matter of public interest as Cowled, a public servent, pleaded guilty to cocaine use and then lied to get a character reference from a retired Federal Circuit judge.
The story has been heavily publicised and the public deserve to know the outcome of any investigation.

Yours faithfully,

Jack Houghton

Federal Circuit Court of Australia

Dear Sir,

Receipt of your FOI request dated 20 July 2016 is acknowledged and has
been forwarded to the relevant FOI officer for a response.

Kind regards,

Customer Service

From:        Jack Houghton <[FOI #2068 email]>
To:        FOI requests at Federal Circuit Court of Australia
<[Federal Circuit Court of Australia request email]>,
Date:        20/07/2016 10:46 AM
Subject:        Freedom of Information request - Judge's Associate James
Cowled's internal investigation

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Federal Circuit Court of Australia,

I'm writing to make an application under Freedom of Information Laws for
details of the investigation into the conduct of Judge's Associate James
Cowled.
He was under investigation internally within the Federal Circuit Court
after pleading guilty to cocaine possession earlier this year.
I am after the official documents relating to the conclusion of that
investigation.
I'll call during business hours to discuss further.
I want all correspondence from any Federal Circuit Court Employee in
e-mails or official documents which relate to "James Cowled" and the
investigation.
He was stood down on May 5th after a newspaper story was published. The
investigation finished some time in the last few weeks but the results
have been kept secret from the public.
We do not know if he was stood down with pay, fired or reprimanded in any
manner. It is a major matter of public interest as Cowled, a public
servent, pleaded guilty to cocaine use and then lied to get a character
reference from a retired Federal Circuit judge.
The story has been heavily publicised and the public deserve to know the
outcome of any investigation.

Yours faithfully,

Jack Houghton

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #2068 email]

Is [Federal Circuit Court of Australia request email] the wrong address for
Freedom of Information requests to Federal Circuit Court of Australia? If
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message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
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Federal Circuit Court of Australia

5 Attachments

18 August 2016

Dear Sir,

Re: FOI Request

Please see attached by way of response

YS

Adele Byrne - Deputy Principal Registrar
Federal Circuit Court of Australia
305 William Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000
Telephone. 03 8600 4470 | Fax. 03 8600 4445
[mobile number]
[email address]|[1]www.federalcircuitcourt.gov.au

From:        Jack Houghton <[FOI #2068 email]>
To:        FOI requests at Federal Circuit Court of Australia
<[Federal Circuit Court of Australia request email]>,
Date:        20/07/2016 10:46 AM
Subject:        Freedom of Information request - Judge's Associate James
Cowled's internal investigation

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Federal Circuit Court of Australia,

I'm writing to make an application under Freedom of Information Laws for
details of the investigation into the conduct of Judge's Associate James
Cowled.
He was under investigation internally within the Federal Circuit Court
after pleading guilty to cocaine possession earlier this year.
I am after the official documents relating to the conclusion of that
investigation.
I'll call during business hours to discuss further.
I want all correspondence from any Federal Circuit Court Employee in
e-mails or official documents which relate to "James Cowled" and the
investigation.
He was stood down on May 5th after a newspaper story was published. The
investigation finished some time in the last few weeks but the results
have been kept secret from the public.
We do not know if he was stood down with pay, fired or reprimanded in any
manner. It is a major matter of public interest as Cowled, a public
servent, pleaded guilty to cocaine use and then lied to get a character
reference from a retired Federal Circuit judge.
The story has been heavily publicised and the public deserve to know the
outcome of any investigation.

Yours faithfully,

Jack Houghton

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #2068 email]

Is [Federal Circuit Court of Australia request email] the wrong address for
Freedom of Information requests to Federal Circuit Court of Australia? If
so, please contact us using this form:
[2]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[3]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

show quoted sections