"I hope we don't have the tragic outcome in NSW that has occurred in Melbourne because of the extraordinary workload required to be undertaken by the District Court." NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman has now committed to reviewing Judge Tupman's comments. "Our judicial officers work hard and do an important and difficult job," Mr Speakman said. The comments from the senior judge, who has presided over the District Court for more than 20 years, came as she postponed the sentencing of Jean Barbarin, who is facing jail for a series of sex attacks in Sydney’s eastern suburbs in 2016 and 2017. Attorney General Mark Speakman Mr Speakman has committed to review Judge Tupman's comments. Credit:AAP

It was one of seven sentences listed before her on Thursday, in a caseload she described as “ridiculous, absurd and offensive to the people of NSW”. “This is sentence involving five episodes of indecent assault on women in Sydney over a period of 10 months,” she said. Judge Tupman, who drew heated criticism for finding Luke Lazarus not guilty of raping a woman outside his father's Kings Cross nightclub, said the sentence she delivered in this case "will no doubt be pored over." “Almost certainly everybody will be unhappy with the outcome. “And yet a judge of this court is expected to be able to deliver that … outcome properly, able to subject to scrutiny, (and) pass the pub test or the water-cooler test.

“It’s little wonder that some judicial officers in Australia with a less robust temperament than I have aren’t able to cope with that, and it’s something that needs to be looked at.” Judge Tupman said she was moved to put her comments on the record after becoming aware on Thursday morning that many of her colleagues were being put in similar positions. “They may not feel inclined to speak out but I do,” she said. “We’re paid well but we’re not paid for that level of pressure.” In calling for “more judges, more courthouses, (and) more courtrooms so that all cases can be dealt with properly,” Judge Tupman has joined a chorus of members of the judiciary in criticising the resourcing of the NSW court system.

Data shows the number of trials and sentences filed in the District Court have steadily risen in the past five years. According to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics, the NSW criminal courts dealt with 3023 more defendants in 2017 than the previous year - 21,000 more defendants than in 2013. Loading Their figures, released in May, revealed the median waiting time for trials in the state's court system had also increased, with the median time between being arrested and a case being finalised for matters proceeding to trial at the District Court level being almost two years. Former Supreme Court judge Greg James QC, who represented Barbarin on Thursday, said outside court that Judge Tupman's comments had "long been coming".

"Over the past month judge after judge has said very much the same thing," Mr James said. "The cases of the suicides in Victoria have made it apparent to the judges that their stress is likely to have these consequences. For the profession it’s appalling that we think we have to serve up our cases in short form to judges who are too pressed to be able to give them proper consideration. It’s multiplying work in the court of criminal appeal, it’s increasing the stress on practitioners." NSW Bar Association President Arthur Moses SC said the government needed to not only appoint more judges but consider undertaking a review of the operations of the NSW District Court. "This unrelenting caseload without proper resources puts judges under immense pressure and stress because they know that delays impact on the victims of crime, witnesses and the accused," Mr Moses said. "We cannot stand by and allow the situation to worsen."

Mr Speakman said the government had invested $86 million in additional resources for the criminal justice system since 2016, including five additional District Court judges. "The Judicial Commission of NSW offers a free 24 hour counselling service for judicial officers as part of the Judicial Assistance Program," he said. The death of Melbourne magistrate Stephen Myall, 59, in March this year, and Jacinta Dwyer, who was no longer a sitting magistrate when she died in October 2017, shocked Victoria's legal community. Mr Myall's widow, Joanne Duncan, has previously said she believed her husband's increasing workload was one of the factors contributing to his suicide. Lifeline 13 11 14