John Winneke
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The Honourable John Spence Winneke AC AO QC RANR RFD was a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria and the President of the Court of Appeals division of the Supreme Court of Victoria, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian State of Victoria.
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[edit] Early life
John Spence Winneke was born to Sir Henry Winneke who was Solicitor-General for the State of Victoria, Chief Justice of Victoria, and Governor of Victoria. John Winneke's grandfather Henry Christian Winneke was a judge of the County Court of Victoria.
Winneke was educated at Scotch College and the University of Melbourne. When he completed his legal studies, he completed his articles with Josh Shaw of the law offices of Middleton McEarchern Shaw and Birch. He was admitted to practice as a solicitor on 1 March 1962. He was called to the Victorian Bar in 1962. He was appointed a QC in 1976.
[edit] Australian Defence Force
Winneke was commissioned as a commander in the Royal Australian Navy. He was also appointed a Defence Force Magistrate and held an appointment as a Reviewing Officer under the Defence Force Discipline Act.
[edit] Noted cases
In 1970, Winneke was counsel assisting William Kaye in the “abortion graft inquiry”, which inquired into allegations of corruption involving members of the Victorian Homicide Squad.
In 1981, he was appointed as a Royal Commissioner by the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of Victoria to inquire into the affairs of the Builders Labourers Federation.
He appeared as senior counsel for Mr and Mrs Chamberlain before Justice Morling in the Royal Commission into their convictions for the murder of their infant daughter. He appeared as counsel in the Royal Commission into the Westgate Bridge collapse, in the Derwent River Bridge Inquiry, and in the Victorian Housing Commission Inquiry.
[edit] Judicial career
Winneke was appointed on 7 June 1995 as a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria and as the President of the Court of Appeals division of the Supreme Court of Victoria. He was appointed as the acting Chief Justice for a brief period in 2003. He retired from the bench on 15 July 2005.
[edit] Honours
Winneke was awarded an Order of Australia (AO) in 1999, and in 2004 was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia (AC).
[edit] References
- Supreme Court of Victoria Website
- Who's Who Australia 2006.
- Victorian Bar News, Winter 2005, ISSN 0159-3285. http://www.vicbar.com.au/pdf/133WinterBN.pdf
- Victorian Bar Farewells. http://www.vicbar.com.au/pdf/134Farewells.pdf
- http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1056744&search_type=simple&showInd=true
