The Aporia · ‘I want to slap you around a bit, too’: Victorian magistrate reprimanded over language in court

‘I want to slap you around a bit, too’: Victorian magistrate reprimanded over language in court

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Australian Associated Press. (2026, November 2). ‘I want to slap you around a bit, too’: Victorian magistrate reprimanded over language in court. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/nov/02/victorian-magistrate-reprimanded-over-language-in-court-ntwnfb

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Quick Summary

Magistrate Vicky Prapas of Victoria has been reprimanded by the state's judicial watchdog for using offensive language in court, including telling a court user “I want to slap you around a bit, too.” The watchdog substantiated multiple allegations of inappropriate remarks and intimidating behavior towards legal practitioners who proposed complaints against her. While acknowledging some instances were unfiltered, Prapas argued her approach aimed at promoting recovery and accountability within the drug court framework. The commission recommended the chief magistrate counsel Prapas and suggested she attend an educational event to familiarize herself with conduct guidelines.

Written by AI on 2026-11-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Victorian magistrate Vicky Prapas has been reprimanded by the judicial commission of Victoria for inappropriate language used in court, including telling a court user “I want to slap you around a bit, too.” The commission’s findings also noted other remarks such as asking someone if substances were affecting their thinking and calling another person out on believing their own "bullshit," which was made in front of a school group. The investigation was initiated after Victoria Legal Aid filed a complaint about Prapas’ conduct during her rotation through a Melbourne drug court. Additionally, the commission found that Prapas made threatening comments to legal practitioners who proposed complaints against her and engaged in other unprofessional behavior, such as making an offensive comment about someone from a marginalized group and disparaging another judge. In response to the findings, Prapas acknowledged that her conduct was sometimes "unfiltered and intemperate."

Written for “Magistrate Reprimanded For Language” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Why this leaning score

This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.

No political leaning scored for article 122442 · logged 2026-11-02

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

0 of 14 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

66/100

The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Crime & Law

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-11-02 · how these are computed

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Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 2822 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Australian Associated Press

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🔮 In the written decision, Prapas acknowledged, among other things, that her conduct in some instances had been “unfiltered and intemperate” and that she would have expressed herself differently with the benefit of hindsight.

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Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 46 articles by Australian Associated Press →

Topics

Melbourne Victoria Victoria Legal Aid Victorian

Subjects

Prapas PERSON · 5× Lisa Hannan PERSON · 1× Melbourne GPE · 1× Vicky Prapas PERSON · 1× Victoria GPE · 1× Victoria Legal Aid ORG · 1× Victorian NORP · 1×

Narrative

Others included asking someone in court: “Do you reckon the substance is screwing with the way you’re thinking?” and asserting that another person “believes their own bullshit”. The latter comment was made in the presence of a school group, the judicial commission of Victoria said in its findings last week.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-02

2026-11-02 · The Guardian

‘I want to slap you around a bit, too’: Victorian magistrate reprimanded over language in court · assertive framing

Claims (14 extracted, 0 hedged)

A magistrate who told a court user “I want to slap you around a bit, too” has come under fire for her offensive and inappropriate language. asserted

I → tell → language

The remark was one of several made by Victorian magistrate Vicky Prapas that the state’s judicial watchdog has found to be inappropriate. asserted

watchdog → make → Prapas

commission → include → findings

The watchdog opened the investigation after receiving a complaint from Victoria Legal Aid concerning Prapas’ rotation through a Melbourne drug court. asserted

watchdog → open → court

The investigation substantiated a range of allegations, including that the magistrate made threatening or intimidating remarks to legal practitioners when they proposed to make or support complaints against her. asserted

they → substantiate → her

Those comments amounted to a “pattern of victimisation”, the commission found. asserted

commission → amount → victimisation

Prapas was also found to have made an offensive comment about a person from a marginalised group and made an unprofessional remark about another member of the judiciary. asserted

Prapas → find → judiciary

In the written decision, Prapas acknowledged, among other things, that her conduct in some instances had been “unfiltered and intemperate” and that she would have expressed herself differently with the benefit of hindsight. asserted

she → write → hindsight

But she referred to the unique jurisdiction of a drug court, including that her intention was to promote participant recovery, accountability and community safety within its therapeutic framework. asserted

intention → refer → framework

She said she had reflected carefully on the matters raised, and had taken steps to ensure that her communication remained effective, respectful and less susceptible to misunderstanding. asserted

communication → say → misunderstanding

The watchdog was unable to substantiate some allegations, including that the magistrate demonstrated cultural insensitivity. asserted

magistrate → substantiate → insensitivity

In handing down its findings, the commission acknowledged drug court proceedings can warrant “open and frank” discussions. “However, these features do not displace a judicial officer’s obligation to afford all court users civility and respect,” it said. asserted

it → hand → civility

The brunt of the complaint was referred to the chief magistrate, Lisa Hannan, with recommendations she counsel Prapas. asserted

she → refer → Prapas

The watchdog also recommended Prapas familiarise herself with the commission’s conduct guidelines and attend an educational event within a year. asserted

Prapas → recommend → year