Investigation begins into Federal Court Judge accused of hiding Pfizer ties
A Federal Court Judge did not disclose ties to Pfizer or longstanding connections to biomedical research, while presiding over a covid-19 mRNA vaccine lawsuit.
After significant delays, the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia has now confirmed an investigation has begun into the alleged misconduct of one of its own judges.
Federal Court Judge Helen Rofe is the subject of the investigation after presiding over the Fidge v. Pfizer, Moderna case.
Julian Fidge, a General Practitioner and pharmacist alleged the mRNA covid vaccines contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and that Pfizer and Moderna failed to obtain the necessary licenses to distribute the vaccines in Australia - a criminal offence under the Gene Technology Act 2000.
But before any evidence could be heard, Judge Rofe dismissed the case in March 2024 on the basis that Dr Fidge lacked standing, i.e. he was not an “aggrieved person” for the purposes of trial and therefore had “no reasonable prospect” of success.
After the decision was handed down, it was revealed that Judge Rofe had undisclosed ties to Pfizer. When at the Bar, she had represented Pfizer on at least five occasions between 2003-2006.
Further, Judge Rofe had family ties with the Grimwade pharmaceutical fortune, which later ran the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, a biomedical research organisation that joined forces with Mermaid Bio in 2022, to develop mRNA vaccines.
Complaint to the Federal Court
Law firm PJ O’Brien & Associates, acting for Dr Fidge, filed a complaint with Federal Court Chief Justice Debra Mortimer, who is now investigating Judge Rofe.
The complaint against Justice Rofe alleges serious misconduct possibly rising to misbehaviour for failing to recuse herself from the case or disclose her significant prior relationship with Pfizer and the pharmaceutical industry.