The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation.
Duncan James Colquhoun Kerr, SC is a barrister. He is a former justice of the Federal Court of Australia. He also served as President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal from 2012 to 2017.
Sir Harry Talbot Gibbs was Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1981 to 1987 after serving as a member of the High Court between 1970 and 1981. He was known as one of Australia's leading federalist judges although he presided over the High Court when decisions such as Koowarta v Bjelke-Petersen in 1982 and Commonwealth v Tasmania expanded the powers of the Commonwealth at the expense of the states. Gibbs dissented from the majority verdict in both cases. On 3 August 2012, the Supreme Court of Queensland Library opened the Sir Harry Gibbs Legal Heritage Centre. It is the only legal heritage museum of its kind in Queensland and features a permanent exhibition dedicated to the life and legacy of Sir Harry Gibbs.
The Constitution Alteration Bill 1977 was a successful proposal to alter the Australian Constitution to introduce a retirement age of 70 for federal judges. It was put to voters for approval in a referendum held on 21 May 1977. After being approved in the referendum, it received the royal assent and became law on 29 July 1977.
The Supreme Court of Tasmania is the highest State court in the Australian State of Tasmania. In the Australian court hierarchy, the Supreme Court of Tasmania is in the middle level, with both an appellate jurisdiction over lower courts, and decisions made by Court to be heard on appeal by the High Court of Australia.
Peter George Underwood, was an Australian jurist and the Governor of Tasmania from 2008 until his death in 2014. He was the Chief Justice of Tasmania from 2004 to 2008, having been a judge of the Supreme Court of Tasmania from 1984.
Sir Alfred Stephen was an Australian judge and Chief Justice of New South Wales.
William John Ellis Cox, was Governor of Tasmania from 15 December 2004 to 2 April 2008, prior to which he was the state's Chief Justice and Lieutenant Governor.
Sir Leslie James Herron was a prominent Australian barrister, judge, Chief Justice and Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales. Biographer Martha Rutledge describes him as being "interested, interesting and with a lively sense of humour", but that he "conducted his court with consideration, dignity and mercy". The ferry The Lady Herron was named after his wife.
Robert Richter is an Australian barrister, based in Melbourne. He has handled a number of high-profile cases including defendants unpopular in public opinion. He is an adjunct professor at Victoria University. He is a critic of human rights violations and advocates for the rule of law.
Stephen Peter Estcourt is an Australian judge, who has been Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Tasmania since April 2013. From 2004 to 2013, he maintained barristers' chambers in Hobart and Melbourne, dividing his time between the two.
Bryan Alan Beaumont was a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia from May 1983 until February 2005. He also held positions in the legal systems of Pacific countries including Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu.
Geoffrey Arthur Akeroyd Nettle is a former Justice of the High Court of Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy, who served from 3 February 2015 to 30 November 2020. Prior to his appointment to the High Court, he served as a judge at the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Victoria, where he presided from June 2004 to 2015.
Sir Herbert Nicholls was an Australian judge and politician, who was Chief Justice of Tasmania from 1914 to 1937, and as an independent member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly from 1900 to 1909. In parliament, he served as Attorney-General and Leader of the Opposition.
Sir John Demetrius Morris was an Australian jurist, who was Chief Justice of Tasmania from 1940 until his death in office in 1956.
Crime in Tasmania has existed since the earliest days of the European settlement in 1803. Laws creating criminal offences are contained entirely in statutes, statutory regulations, and by-laws, common law offences having been abolished by the Criminal Code Act 1924 s 6. Most offences are enforced by Tasmania Police, although a small category of offences are prosecuted by other statutory authorities such as local governments, and the Tasmanian branch of RSPCA Australia. All offences are prosecuted through the Tasmanian justice system, and sentences of imprisonment are administered by the Tasmania Prison Service. Some crime statistics for Tasmania are provided on the Tasmania Police website.
The Murder of Bob Chappell occurred on 26 January 2009 in Hobart in Tasmania. Robert Adrian Chappell, the de facto partner of Susan Blyth "Sue" Neill-Fraser, disappeared from their yacht, Four Winds. Neill-Fraser was found guilty of his murder in 2010. Various appeals have all been dismissed.
Kim Baumeler is an Australian barrister, based in Hobart, Tasmania.
Fabiano Cangelosi is an Australian barrister, based in Hobart, Tasmania. Cangelosi has been involved in a number of high-profile cases, and was between 2018 and June 2020 the Tasmanian President and Director of the Australian Lawyers Alliance. Since August 2022, Cangelosi has been an occasional contributor to Crikey, writing on Tasmanian legal and political affairs.
Timothy James Ellis SC is a Tasmanian barrister and former Tasmanian Director of Public Prosecutions.
