A Queensland criminal lawyer has vented his anger over a delay in a court case against members of a fringe religious group accused of murdering an eight-year-old girl.
Four of 14 people charged with murder over the death of Elizabeth Struhs faced the Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Wednesday, where it was revealed they had not seen the police brief of evidence due to a miscommunication between prosecutors and Correctional Centre Services.
"Justice delayed is literally justice denied," defence lawyer and former Queensland Law Society president Bill Potts said.
"The courts have an obligation to any person who is accused of a charge to provide evidence in a timely manner.
"No matter what anyone might think, these are still accusations."
Zachary Struhs, Lachlan Schoenfisch and Alexander, Brendan and Sebastian Stevens are among those charged over the death of the Toowoomba girl in January.
She was allegedly denied medical care for her type 1 diabetes.
Magistrate Clare Kelly also expressed anger that the self-represented men had not viewed the files.
“This case has all been bogged down by this," she said.
"It's a simple issue."
Hard drives stopped at gate
Magistrate Kelly heard the Queensland Police Service (QPS) hand-delivered five hard drives in envelopes to the Brisbane Men's Correctional Centre on September 2.
The court heard Queensland Corrective Services refused to receive the envelopes.
"The correctional centre has a policy where they do not accept electronic devices," Sergeant Alister Winsor told the court.
The envelopes were then sent to a Toowoomba-based relative of the Stevens family on the same day.
They were then accepted by the Correctional Centre on a second attempt.
It is the second week in a row the case has been delayed.
"That was the whole point of the adjournment to [Wednesday]," Magistrate Kelly said.
"That doesn't mean anything until these men have access to those briefs."
Magistrate Kelly directed the QPS to give the court written confirmation from the correctional centre when the men had been given access to the brief and adjourned the matter to September 14.
"Is it on a laptop? Is it on a slate of chalk? I don't care," she said.
'Mistaken for phones'
The QPS has told the ABC the prosecution had approval to provide the brief of evidence on a hard drive due to the volume of content.
All 14 of the accused, including Elizabeth's parents, are representing themselves.
They are required to view the briefs of evidence against them before applying to cross-examine witnesses.
During his appearance via video link on Wednesday, Alexander Stevens giggled during discussions about the evidence.
"From what I've gathered, they were sent to the prison, mistaken for phones and sent back – at our cost – to my brother in Toowoomba," he said.
"Then he found out that they were actually hard drives."
The three other men said they did not know why the matter had been delayed.
"We were taken into a computer room," Brendan Stevens said.
"When I asked what we were doing in there, the guards said, ‘I don't know, we're just giving you access to a computer.'"
Strict policy
Mr Potts said the process of providing evidence was standard practice, but it was vital for defendants who did not have legal representation.
He said there were also stringent protocols on the delivery of briefs of evidence inside jails.
"The Department of Corrections also has an obligation to protect witnesses, defendants, other prisoners, and the public in general," Mr Potts said.
"Generally, that means they try to restrict, the best they can, prisoners' access to electronic devices and internet.
"They try to ensure that any evidence is not then disseminated to other prisoners, for salacious reasons, or effectively having other people to see the direct evidence, which has previously led to false jailhouse admissions."
The matter will continue through the committal process to determine if there is sufficient evidence for a trial.
"The committal process is essentially a filter," Mr Potts said.
The matter is due back in court on September 14.
Editor's note 9/9/2022: This story has been updated with new information provided by Queensland Corrective Services, clarifying details about why the police brief of evidence was not initially received.
