It is with great pleasure that the Office of Public Prosecutions celebrates the appointment of its outgoing Director of Public Prosecutions, Kerri Elizabeth Judd KC, as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria.
The appointment marks a fitting conclusion to the Hon. Justice Judd’s eight-year tenure with the Office of Public Prosecutions, which commenced with her appointment as Senior Crown Prosecutor in August 2016 and culminated in her appointment to Director less than two years later. She also briefly served as Acting Chief Crown Prosecutor.
Justice Judd will bring to the court over thirty years’ legal experience as solicitor (1989-91), counsel (1991 onwards) and senior counsel (2007 onwards), having led or advised on some of most high-profile criminal matters in recent memory. These include the prosecutions of Peter Dupas, George Pell, and James Gargasoulas, as well as Faruk Orman v The Queen (the first Gobbo-related appeal), where the Victorian Court of Appeal expressly commended her “conspicuous fairness” as a prosecutor.
On behalf of the Office of Public Prosecutions, newly appointed Director of Public Prosecutions Brendan Kissane KC and Solicitor for Public Prosecutions Abbey Hogan warmly congratulate Justice Judd on her appointment.
“This is yet another significant achievement in an already eminent career, and a testament to the esteem in which Kerri Judd is held across the profession,” Mr Kissane said. “Her appointment represents as wonderful gain for the bench and public confidence in the administration of justice, although a corresponding loss for our Office, which will be keenly felt.”
Before joining Crown Prosecutors’ Chambers, Justice Judd developed a wide-ranging private practice, having regularly been briefed in criminal law, administrative law, common law, contempt, and defamation matters, as well as a range of other areas, including regulatory and professional disciplinary proceedings. She also frequently appeared for the State of Victoria in various royal commissions, inquiries, and inquests, and has conducted several law reform reviews on behalf of the Victorian Government.
Ms Hogan said this diversity of experience and expertise spoke to the contribution Justice Judd would inevitably make as a judicial officer.
“As a judge, I expect Kerri will apply herself with the same formidable intellect, integrity, down-to-earth civility and capacity for hard work for which she is known,” she said.
“She has always been a scrupulously fair prosecutor, and will be greatly missed as an advocate, leader, and mentor to all our lawyers.”
Prior to signing the bar roll, Justice Judd served as a judge’s associate in the Supreme Court of Victoria to the Hon. William Crockett AO and the Hon. Ian Gray. She was the first student from Croydon High School to be accepted into the study of law, and the first woman in Victoria to be appointed Director of Public Prosecutions.
Her wider service activities include the mentoring of women in law, leadership and membership positions on several committees, including the Victorian Bar Council, and she has regularly devoted time to teaching positions within the Victorian Bar and at the Leo Cussen Centre for Law.
Justice Judd holds a Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne.