A former Shepparton Magistrate who was previously engaged to a court clerk more than 40 years his junior has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Judicial Commission of Victoria.
The commission announced last week the complaint received against magistrate Rodney Higgins was "dismissed in its entirety" after it was filed by the Shadow Attorney General Edward O'Donohue in October last year.
That same month Mr Higgins, 68, became engaged to his colleague, former Shepparton court clerk Ashleigh Petrie, 23, who was later struck and killed by a vehicle near Metung on the Gippsland coast.
Mr O'Donohue alleged Mr Higgins lacked judicial independence in regards to his decision-making during his relationship with Ms Petrie, an allegation based on media reports.
“Since the time of the complaint the clerk has passed away. The commission found that on the material available to it, there was no other information to support the allegation,” the commission said in a statement.
Allegations were also raised about Mr Higgins’ alcohol consumption, in particular an incident at Crown Casino in Melbourne.
Mr O'Donohue also referred to the appointment of Mr Higgins as a magistrate as a "politicised" appointment.
Mr Higgins, who moved to Shepparton in 2000, ran as the Labor candidate for the seat of Murray at the 2013 federal election and again in the 2014 state election.
He lost on both occasions.
“This part of the complaint was also dismissed because it relates to the appointment of an Officer, which is beyond the scope of the Commission’s jurisdiction,” the statement said.