Sydney silk appointed as Supreme Court
judge
Issued:
Tuesday, 15 April 2014
[PDF, 93KB]
Leading criminal
law barrister Peter Hamill SC will move from the bar table to the bench of the
Supreme Court of NSW, Attorney General Greg Smith SC announced
today.
“Mr
Hamill’s appointment as a judge is well deserved and I am sure the Supreme Court
will benefit from his sharp legal mind and considerable experience,” Mr Smith
said.
“He
is no stranger to the Supreme Court, having appeared as defence counsel in
numerous criminal trials involving serious charges such as
murder.”
Mr
Hamill has been a barrister for 26 years and was appointed as Senior Counsel in
2004.
The
Sydney silk has practised at all levels of the criminal justice system, from the
Local Court to the High Court. He has appeared in more than 150 criminal
appeals.
In
recent years, Mr Hamill has also worked on some of the state’s most significant
coronial inquests and commissions of inquiry.
Mr Hamill was counsel for the
family of Roberto Laudisio Curti at the inquest into the Brazilian student’s
death during a police arrest, and was counsel assisting the coroner at the
inquest into the disappearance of northern beaches teenager Trudie
Adams.
He
was also counsel for the NSW Police Force at the judicial inquiry into the
conviction of Phuong Ngo, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of
politician John Newman.
Mr Hamill’s other areas of expertise include disciplinary
proceedings and legal ethics. He has sat on a Professional Conduct Committee of
the NSW Bar Association since 2004.
He began his legal career as a
clerk in the Local Court and achieved his legal qualifications by studying part
time for the Barristers’ Admission Board examinations.
Mr Hamill worked as Justice Mary
Gaudron’s Associate in the High Court before commencing practice at the Bar in
1988. He was a founding member of Forbes Chambers where he has practised since
1989.
Mr
Hamill will be sworn in as a Supreme Court judge on 29 April
2014.