Mark Weinberg (judge)

Mark Samuel Weinberg AO QC (born 13 May 1948[2]) is a former judge of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria from July 2008 to May 2018. He is a former judge of the Federal Court of Australia who served from July 1998 to July 2008.[3][4]

The Honourable Justice Mark Weinberg AO QC
Judge of the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Victoria
In office 22 July 2008 – 9 May 2018
Judge of the Federal Court of Australia
In office 15 July 1998 – 19 July 2008
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
In office 1988 – December 1991
Preceded by	Ian Temby
Succeeded by	Michael Rozenes
Personal details
Born	Mark Samuel Weinberg 13 May 1948 Trelleborg, Sweden[1]
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	Monash University University of Oxford
Occupation	Academic, barrister, jurist

Early life

Weinberg was born in Sweden and lived in the United States until the age of 10, when he and his family moved to Melbourne. He attended Melbourne High School and later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) from Monash University. He was awarded the Supreme Court Prize in 1970, the year he graduated. In 1972 he received the Vinerian Scholarship for top graduate of the Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford.[5] In 1975 he was called to the Victorian Bar.

Career

From 1984 to 1985, Weinberg was dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Melbourne, having previously served as acting dean and deputy dean.[2]

In 1986, Weinberg was appointed Queen's Counsel. From 1988 until 1991, he was Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.[6]

After being appointed to the Federal Court in 1998, Weinberg also held appointments as deputy president of the Federal Police Disciplinary Tribunal, non-resident judge of the Supreme Court of Fiji, additional judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory and chief justice of the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island.[7] He resigned from the Federal Court and his other appointments in 2008 in order to take up office as a judge of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria.

In 2017, Weinberg was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the judiciary and to the law, particularly through reforms to criminal law and procedure, to legal education in Victoria and to the administration of justice in Fiji and Norfolk Island.[8]

Retirement

On 9 May 2018, Weinberg retired from the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria after 10 years of service.[9] He continues to hear cases as a reserve Judge.[9]

In 2018, he presided over the jury trial of Dimitrious Gargasoulas, the perpetrator of the January 2017 Melbourne car attack which killed six people and injured 27. In February 2019, he sentenced Gargasoulas to life in prison and a non-parole period of 46 years.[10]

In 2019, he heard the high-profile County Court appeal of Cardinal George Pell against his conviction for the commission of sexual offences. He dissented with the Court of Appeal 2-1 majority that rejected the appeal, which was subsequently overruled by the High Court.[11][12] He found that there was a "significant possibility" that Pell may not have committed the offences having serious doubt on the complainant's credibility and reliability and cited the High Court judgement in the Lindy Chamberlain case.[13]

Following the release of the Brereton Report, in December 2020, Weinberg was appointed by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton as the Special Investigator to investigate alleged war crimes by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.[14]

References

1. https://www.monash.edu/alumni/news/events/graduation/speaker-profiles/justice-mark-weinberg-ao
2. "The Hon Justice Mark Samuel Weinberg". Who's Who in Australia. Australian Associated Press. 2017.
3. "Former Judges of the Federal Court of Australia". Federal Court of Australia. Australian Government. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
4. "Judges: Current Supreme Court judges". Supreme Court of Victoria. Australia: Government of Victoria. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
5. "Justice Mark Weinberg AO". Monash University. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
6. "The Hon Mark Samuel Weinberg". Federal Court of Australia. Australian Government. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
7. "Law Oration 2016". Victoria Law Foundation. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
8. "Officer (AO) in the General Division of the Order of Australia" (PDF). Australia Day 2017 Honours List. Governor-General of Australia. 26 January 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
9. "The Court farewells Justice Weinberg". Supreme Court of Victoria. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
10. "Bourke Street killer James Gargasoulas jailed for life over massacre". The Guardian. AAP. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
11. "George Pell Victorian Court of Appeal judgment summary transcript". ABC News. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
12. "Judgement Summary: Pell v The Queen [2020] HCA 12" (PDF). High Court of Australia. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
13. "Pell v The Queen [2019] VSCA 186". Austlii. Supreme Court of Victoria - Court of Appeal. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
14. Greene, Andrew (16 December 2020). "Former federal court judge named as special investigator for Afghanistan war crime allegations". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 23 January 2021.