Vic: Supreme Court's 150th Anniversary
By Royal Abbott
MELBOURNE, Feb 11 AAP - The Supreme Court of Victoria marked its 150th anniversarytoday with a special sitting involving all of the court's 31 justices in one of the court'shistoric courtrooms.
The court was established in Melbourne in 1852 after Victoria became a separate statea year earlier.
The current building was first occupied in 1884 but the Supreme Court's first buildingwas at the corner of La Trobe and Russell streets, adjoining the Old Melbourne Jail.
Addressing the court today, Law Institute president John Corcoran recounted how thefirst chief justice, Sir William a Beckett (a Beckett), believed the gold rush then underway would inevitably overshadow all the state's previous promise.
To illustrate the changes in attitude since then, he said Sir William also had a reputationfor being puritanical.
A supporter of the temperance movement, Sir William once said he looked forward tothe day when the law would sweep away the alcohol abuse which be believed to be responsiblefor filling the state's prisons and lunatic asylums.
Chief Justice John Phillips also revisited the court's history in recounting how thelibrary held the court records of the treason trials of four of the Eureka stockade miners.
"In all, 13 miners were tried for high treason. All were acquitted.
"The conduct of the prosecution case against them was not assisted by the circumstancethat the principal prosecution witness was deaf as a post," Justice Phillips said.
In reviewing his predecessors, Justice Phillips commented that the court's currentjudges could not compete with the versatility of some of their forebears.
"Sir William Stawell, who was chief justice for many years from 1857, won the GrandNational Steeplechase at Flemington riding his own horse," he said.
As part of the anniversary celebrations, and perhaps to demonstrate his own versatility,Chief Justice Phillips will be assisting with guided tours of the building this Saturday.
Bookings can be made through the Law Institute of Victoria.
AAP ra/gfr/jnb/br
KEYWORD: SUPREME
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий