A coroner overseeing an inquest into the first juvenile to die in West Australian custody has cautioned a top bureaucrat about misleading the court, as the justice department agrees to handover more evidence.
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Cleveland Dodd was found unresponsive inside a cell in the trouble-plagued youth wing of a high-security adult prison in the early hours of October 12, 2023.
The 16-year-old was taken to hospital in a critical condition and died a week later, causing outrage and grief in the community.
Counsel assisting Anthony Crocker on Wednesday told a Perth court a slew of new information had been received from the justice department's lawyers.
It included a previously undisclosed 30-page document detailing how Unit 18 at Casuarina Prison would operate, along with information about the decision-making process that led to the facility's creation and a key staff member unknown to the court.
Coroner Philip Urquhart said it was a "staggering" development as he expressed frustration and dissatisfaction with the material being "dumped" on the court during the third week of the hearing.
"I am very, very concerned about this," he said.
Mr Urquhart demanded answers from the department's lawyers and called for Deputy Corrections Commissioner Christine Ginbey to appear within hours over her statement to the court that came with the late material.
Mr Crocker took Ms Ginbey to task after she struggled to provide answers about the department's preparations for the unit and wrote herself a note in the witness box to find out more.
"Who knew what when ... does that come as a surprise that that's something the inquest might be interested in?" he said.
Ms Ginbey revealed although the department had been asked for material about Cleveland and the unit last year, she had only recently performed a partial search of her emails to prepare her statement.
"I have about 80,000 emails in my inbox," she responded to Mr Crocker's questions about the delay.
During an extraordinary session, Ms Ginbey apologised for misleading the court with her answers about what the department's lawyers had told her before she entered the witness box.
"My question could not have been more simple," a frustrated Mr Crocker said.
"I certainly didn't mean to be untruthful," Ms Ginbey said after the coroner asked her about the information she provided as evidence.
"Can I remind you Ms Ginbey about the importance of the oath that you've taken and the importance of giving truthful and honest answers," Mr Urquhart said.
Mr Crocker said he was "very concerned" about the department's provision of material concerning Unit 18 and its creation.
"What court has seen within the last day is it can, frankly, have no confidence that we've got all the relevant material," he said.
Mr Urquhart said he was "extremely" concerned over the situation and threatened to issue a summons to the department for the material.
The State Solicitor's Office lawyer David Leigh said the government would comply with the court's orders and handover the material the court wanted.
Mr Urquhart in April put the department on notice as the inquest's April sitting concluded after it failed to provide requested information.
He said his preliminary observations of the evidence before the court was Unit 18 was "unliveable, disgusting and inhumane".
The inquest on Thursday.
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Australian Associated Press
