John Leslie Toohey AC QC (born 1930), Australian judge, was a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1987 to 1998.

Education

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Toohey was educated at the University of Western Australia, graduating in 1950 with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws, with first class honours in each. He was later to return to the university as a Senior Lecturer in Law from 1957 to 1958. He was also a Visiting Lecturer from 1953 to 1965.

Legal career

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Toohey was called to the Western Australian Bar in 1952, and was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1968. He served as president of the Western Australian Bar Association in 1970, and was president of the Law Society of Western Australia from 1972 to 1973. In 1974, Toohey was a barrister with the Aboriginal Legal Service of North Western Australia in Port Hedland.

Judicial career

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In 1977, Toohey was appointed a justice of the Federal Court of Australia, and, concurrently, a Justice of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory. In the same year, he was also selected as the inaugural Aboriginal Land Commissioner, a position he held until 1982. From 1985 to 1986, Toohey was a member of the Constitutional Commission. Toohey was a Federal Court justice until 1987, when he was appointed to the High Court of Australia. After eleven years on the bench, Toohey retired from judicial service in 1998. He is now a Visiting Professor in Law at the University of Western Australia. In September 2000 he was appointed to be one of the three independent members of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry (chaired by Lord Saville) into the events of 30 January 1972 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland (replacing New Zealander Sir Edward Somers QC, who retired for personal reasons).

Honours

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Toohey was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1988 (AC), Australia’s highest civilian honour. Also in 1988, Toohey was awarded an honorary doctorate in laws from Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia.

Justices of the High Court of Australia | 1930 births | Living people | Companions of the Order of Australia