The court allowed the involvement of the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the sentencing process.
[1] The involvement of Indigenous Australians in the criminal court system has been trialled a number of times in Western Australia.
He had introduced the practice of inviting local elders to join him in the courtroom during proceedings involving Aboriginal defendants, and afterwards discussed possible penalties with them.
[5] The first Aboriginal Community Court was established in Norseman,[6] and the second, a pilot,[7] in Kalgoorlie-Boulder in 2006, about year later, both by magistrates Kate Auty and Denis Temby.
[6][8] The pilot was set up with the intention of providing an experience of the sentencing court that is less intimidating to Aboriginal people than the standard system.
It supported rolling out more similar courts throughout WA, particularly in remote communities, after consultation with stakeholders, with Warburton suggested as a possible location for the next one.
Recidivism rates had improved at Norseman, attributed to the time taken to discuss the background of the offender; more appropriate sentencing options; and the participation of elders and respected persons.
[7] Aboriginal Legal Service CEO Dennis Eggington said the court "had been set up to fail because of a lack of resources in the community to address the underlying causes of offending", and that Victoria and New South Wales systems worked well because they were properly funded.
[citation needed] It allowed senior members of the local community to be involved in and express their views upon the particular crime and to be part of the sentencing process.
This led to criticism of the court in that it is considered that its practices and procedures are ad hoc, and dependent on the presiding judicial officer hearing the case.
[2] This can be seen as a benefit as it provides a degree of flexibility in dealing with individual proceedings, but can however deliver less certainty to the participants in the process, as each case may be treated differently.
It was claimed this court applied tribal law to Indigenous offenders, which may actually justify the person's criminal conduct.