Would-be judge grilled on claims of race-based judicial appointments

Advocate Nona Goso, who has served as an acting judge in several divisions, was also quizzed over incidents in which, as an acting judge, she appeared to have signed off review cases without reading them and granted a divorce order without hearing any evidence. An SABC News report says Goso\'s claim of prejudice was made in a written reply to a Cape Bar Council submission to the JSC. It is understood the council criticised some of her judgments, and also her diligence and punctuality. In response, Goso said judicial appointments were ‘often steeped in deep rooted racial and gender prejudices’. Challenged by veteran advocate George Bizos on whether she was saying the decisions of the commission itself were biased, Goso said it was not particularly directed at the JSC, but was made in the context of judicial appointments in general. Asked by Bizos how many heads of court divisions were black and how many white, she said she did not know. Bizos pointed out that of the 11, only two were white, and asked her if that was evidence of deep-rooted prejudice. Asked how many black judges the JSC had appointed since 1996, she again admitted she did not know. Full SABC News report

The JSC did not deal with impeachment proceedings brought against Cape Judge President Hlophe yesterday. Hlophe is accused by an advocate of gross misconduct unbecoming of a judge. The allegations are expected to be dealt with before Friday when the JSC ends its sitting.