The New South Wales government is in court trying to reduce the amount of damages it may have to pay in a major class action over police strip searches. The case has put a spotlight on how the searches were carried out and on the potential cost to the state if a large payout stands.
At the centre of the case is the treatment of a woman, identified as Ms. Meredith, who was 27 at the time. In an initial Supreme Court judgment, Justice Dina Yehia determined that Ms. Meredith had been humiliated by the way she was treated by police during a strip search.
Following that judgment, the New South Wales police apologised to Ms. Meredith. But the significance of the case extends well beyond her individual experience, as the class action also found that thousands of strip searches carried out by police were unlawful.
As a result of those findings, the state government may be liable for around 150 million dollars in damages. That potential figure is what has now driven the government to court, as it seeks to limit how much it could ultimately be required to pay out across the class action.
The dispute is being heard over two days in the state's highest civil court. The barrister representing the state government, Perry Hirsfield, argued that the damages should be reduced on a number of grounds, while making clear that the government was not contesting the treatment of Ms. Meredith herself.
Part of his argument pointed broadly to the powers police hold under the state's law enforcement powers and responsibilities act, suggesting that in some scenarios officers can move a person's body parts if that person does not comply. He also argued that the damages awarded had been double counted, covering both the assault and the false imprisonment.
Ms. Meredith's barrister, Justin Gleeson, disputed that reasoning in court. He told the hearing that the assault and the false imprisonment have overlapping interests, and that to describe the award as double counting was not a fair reading of the judgment. The case was continuing, with a decision still to come.