The alleged Sydney Family Court bomber should be examined by a psychologist about his capacity to instruct lawyers and his memory, his solicitor has told a judge.
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But Justice Elizabeth Fullerton on Monday rejected the solicitor's bid for an adjournment so Leonard Warwick could be examined, ruling there was no evidence before her indicating he needed to be assessed.
She is hearing a lengthy NSW Supreme Court application for his long-running and part-heard trial to be stayed until he has funds to enable him to again be legally represented.
The 72-year-old former Family Court litigant has pleaded not guilty to four murders and 20 other offences relating to seven events between February 1980 and July 1985, alleged to have flowed from a drawn-out custody battle with his ex-wife.
His trial began in May 2018 before Justice Peter Garling, without a jury, but has been beset by repeated delays and adjournments primarily related to funding his defence after he became penniless.
After 103 hearing days, the judge ruled in February that the trial be stopped or adjourned unless Warwick was legally represented again.
He was then granted legal aid for a new team to replace his previous solicitor Alan Conolly.
However, in June the team withdrew from the case, and his legal aid funding was terminated.
Mr Conolly is now representing Warwick again in his stay application, arguing that Warwick was not responsible for no longer having a lawyer at his trial.'
But before he began his final submissions on Monday, he unsuccessfully submitted that the stay application should now be delayed so a psychologist could assess Warwick about his capacity to give instructions and his faculties to recall.
In refusing to do so, Justice Fullerton said Warwick's affidavits set out "in lucid and elegant prose" the background for the current stay application and his dealings with the legal aid team.
She had also re-read his evidence and, apart from some questions relating to his credibility, she said Warwick gave a clear account of what he said had happened and dealt with questions asked of him.
She referred to the "complete absence of evidence" supporting the need for Warwick to be examined by a psychologist.
The stay application hearing continues.
Australian Associated Press
