The Western Australian Department of Justice has objected to former Corrections Minister Bill Johnston being requested to appear before the inquest into the death of Cleveland Dodd, citing "irrelevance".
The coronial inquiry into the death of the 16-year-old Yamatji boy - who died after being found unresponsive in his cell in Unit 18 within the adult, maximum security Casuarina Prison - was expected to finish hearing evidence this week.
However, the inquest will now run into a fourth tranche of evidence in December to accommodate analysis by former inspector of custodial services Neil Morgan and former Children's Court president Denis Reynolds.
The State Solicitor's Office (SSO) objected to this continuation.
Earlier, one of the Justice Department's highest ranking officials, Deputy Corrective Services Commissioner Christine Ginbey, called for Coroner Phil Urquhart to recuse himself over alleged "apprehended bias". On Monday, Coroner Urquhart denied the request, arguing his role in the inquiry was to ask questions relating to significant issues leading up to Cleveland's death.
SSO lawyer David Leigh questioned the relevance of the report by Mr Morgan and Judge Reynolds.
Furthermore, he questioned an application flagged by Ms Ginbey's lawyers to issue a summons for Mr Johnston, as well as his successor Paul Papalia.
Ms Ginbey, who has been under intense scrutiny as her evidence was routinely questioned by both Coroner Urquhart and counsel assisting the coroner, Anthony Crocker, wants Mr Johnston to reveal his knowledge on the creation of Unit 18.
It was approved by Mr Johnston after seeing a briefing note which painted a positive picture of what it would be like inside the facility.
Mr Leigh said the SSO would object to the coroner considering the briefing note in his findings.
"We must get on with the evidence," Coroner Urquhart said on Wednesday, before stating he would "think about this," he said.
In August, Mr Johnston, now a backbencher in the Labor government, said he "acted in good faith to make a decision" in opening Unit 18.
"All the outcomes are not what we want, and sometimes, in this circumstance, there's been a great tragedy. We will never know what was in the mind of that young man," he said.
Coroner Urquhart rejected an application by Steven Penglis SC, representing Cleveland's mother Nadene, to have Mr Johnston appear in front of the inquest.
It resulted in Cleveland's family walking out of the court, with calls of "shame" being heard.
Mr Penglis told the court Ms Dodd has "real doubts ... as to whether there is any real hope for the work of this court and its ultimate findings and any recommendations" to be both respected and adopted by the WA government.
During his evidence at the inquest, Judge Reynolds was scathing of both Mr Johnston, and former Premier Mark McGowan.
"The former Minister and Premier were to the detriment of community safety; they were pushing the demonisation of the children," he said at the time.
"They thought it would be favourably received by the public. There was no will."
On Tuesday, Cleveland's family expressed their frustration at the inquest process, and highlighted the financial difficulty faced in having to come from regional WA to Perth for every round of hearings.
"He's my baby. He's strong, like me, and he'll always be in my heart. Nothing in this world will ever take away our love for him or his love for us," Wayne Gentle, Cleveland's father, said.
"I just want justice for my son, for someone to be punished the right way."
The inquest continues.
