Helen Gay Murrell SC is an Australian lawyer and judge who was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory.[1]
Helen Murrell | |
|---|---|
| 5th Chief Justice of the Australian Capital Territory | |
| In office 28 October 2013 – 4 March 2022 | |
| Appointed by | Simon Corbell |
| Preceded by | Terrence Higgins |
| Succeeded by | Lucy McCallum |
| Judge of the District Court of NSW | |
| In office 13 September 1996 – 28 October 2013 | |
| Senior Judge of the Drug Court of New South Wales | |
| In office 1998–2003 | |
| Acting Judge of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales | |
| In office 1996–1996 | |
| President of the Equal Opportunity Tribunal of New South Wales | |
| In office 1997–1999 | |
| Deputy President of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal of New South Wales | |
| In office 1997–1999 | |
| Deputy Chairperson of the New South Wales Medical Tribunal | |
| In office 2005–2013 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Helen Gay Murrell |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Alma mater | University of New South Wales University of Sydney |
| Occupation | Lawyer Jurist |
She is the first woman to be appointed Chief Justice.[2][3][4]
Early life
editMurrell grew up in Seaforth, New South Wales.[5]
She then studied at the University of New South Wales and graduated in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws.[1][4]
Career
editMurrell was admitted to practise in 1977.[2]
She first worked at the Commonwealth Crown Solicitor's Office and then at Legal Aid NSW.[2][4]
In 1981, Murrell was called to the bar and was appointed senior counsel in 1995.[1][2][4] She also attended the University of Sydney and graduated with a Diploma of Criminology.[1][4]
In 1996, she was appointed a Judge of the District Court of New South Wales.[2][3][4] She was also an Acting Judge in the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales during this year.[1][4]
She served as President of the NSW Equal Opportunity Tribunal and as Deputy President of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal of New South Wales from 1997 to 1999.[1][2][3][4]
In 1998, Murell was involved in establishing the Drug Court of New South Wales.[2][3][4] She was the first Senior Judge of that court and served until 2003.[1][4]
In 2005, she was appointed the Deputy Chairperson of the New South Wales Medical Tribunal.
On 12 September 2013, Attorney-General Simon Corbell announced the appointment of Murrell to replace the retiring Chief Justice Terence Higgins.[2][3][4]
Murrell was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Australian Capital Territory on 28 October 2013 and is the first woman to have been appointed to that role.[1][2][3][4]
She currently also serves on the committee of the National Judicial College of Australia.[1][4]
Murrell retired as Chief Justice in March 2022.[6] She has served as a part-time commissioner of the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption since August 2022.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Chief Justice Helen Gay Murrell Biography" (PDF). Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Inman, Michael. "Introducing the ACT's first female Supreme Court Chief Justice". Canberra Times. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f "ACT appoints first female Chief Justice". ABC News. 12 September 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Helen Gay Murrell". Australian Women's Register. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ Morcombe, John (19 September 2013). "Peninsula woman to be Chief Justice in the ACT Supreme Court". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ Rattenbury, Shane (23 November 2021). "Justice McCallum appointed as ACT Chief Justice". ACT Government. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
- ^ "History - Independent Commission Against Corruption". www.icac.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 28 February 2023.