A handcuffed prisoner being escorted by two police officers from Benalla Magistrates Court on October 13 after being refused appeal bail spat at magistrate John Murphy hitting him on the neck.

The prisoner, Phillip Langsdorf, was being taken to the cells and passed close to Mr Murphy because of the court dimensions.

The incident has raised concerns about other courts such as Cobram, Myrtleford, Corryong and Mansfield where the defendants are relatively close to magistrates.

People in the witness box at Mansfield Court are so close to the magistrate they are able to reach over and pass documents.

A Justice Department spokesman said yesterday court security was continually being reviewed to ensure the safety of all courts users.

“This is something the court does constantly at all of its venues,” he said.

“The court has reviewed the incident and will consider if further security arrangements are required.

“In this case, the defendant was removed from the court immediately and posed no threat to court users.”

The issue of court security has been raised in the past, particularly at some of the region’s smaller courts and even larger ones such as Wangaratta.

Police have had concerns about the close proximity of magistrates to defendants in some courts.

Langsdorf, 26, appeared before Mr Murphy on charges of threatening to inflict serious injury, intentionally damaging property, trespassing and failing to answer bail over an incident in Melbourne.

Mr Murphy was told Langsdorf, who was arrested about a week after moving to Benalla, had previously received a 30-month jail term in South Australia in 2004 for matters of violence.

He was sentenced to 18 months’ jail, with a minimum period of nine months, by Mr Murphy.

An appeal against the sentence was lodged by him and he was brought back to court seeking bail.

But the application was refused and Langsdorf was being taken from the court when he spat at Mr Murphy.

The incident shocked Mr Murphy, police and court staff.

Langsdorf has since been charged over the incident and other alleged offences against police.

He is due to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on December 21.

Mr Murphy has declined to make any comment on the issue.

Editorial — page 38