About
Areas of Practice
Appellate - Criminal Appeals
Criminal - Appellate
Criminal - Crimes Against the Person
Criminal - Drugs
Criminal - Fraud
Criminal - Juvenile Justice
Criminal - White Collar and Corporate Crime
Year Admitted to Practice
1976
Date signed Bar Roll
1985
Date Appointed Silk
1996
Qualifications
LLB (University of Adelaide)
Profile Description
I specialise in criminal law and general appellate work, but practice areas include civil, wills and estates, trusts, commercial, family, industrial and trade practices law.
Jurisdictions Practised in:
High Court, Federal Court, Supreme Court, Industrial Court, Family Court and the various Tribunals.
Whilst I practice from Chambers, I provide work experience opportunities to many law students and post graduates.
As a result of approaches over the years, I have spoken at schools, the Universities, to professional groups and to other community groups about criminal law issues.
I have also performed "pro bono" work for litigants unable to afford representation.
Professional Appointments
1975-1976
Articles of Clerkship at Moran & McRae, Barristers & Solicitors
March 1976
Admitted to the Supreme Court of South Australia
1976-1982
Salaried solicitor at Moran and Partners with general practice specialising in criminal counsel work
1982-1985
Partner at Moran and Partners
1985
Commenced to practice as a Barrister at the Independent Bar
1987-1989
Provided counsel work and advice to in house solicitors at the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement
1996
Appointed Queen’s Counsel
1999
Appointed as part-time Commissioner of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (Commonwealth)
2000
Appointed as Member of Board of Examiners for admission to Legal Practice in South Australia
2001
Chairperson of the Criminal Law Committee of Law Society of South Australia
2004
Appointed as Chief Counsel for the Legal Services Commission of South Australia
2005-2010
Judge of the District Court of South Australia
2010-2015
Barrister at Gilles Street Chambers
2016 to present
Barrister at Frank Moran Chambers
High Court appearances as lead counsel include:
Pfennig v The Queen [1995] HCA 7; (1992) 182 CLR 461
Inge v The Queen [1995] HCA 55; (1999) 199 CLR 295
Barns v Barns (Mutual Wills) [2003] HCA 9; (2003) 214 CLR 169
Douglass v The Queen [2012] HCA 34
Huynh v The Queen [2013] HCA 6
Lindsay v The Queen [2015] HCA 16
Police v Dunstall [2015] HCA 26
Presley v Director of Public Prosecutions (SA) [2016] HCA 30
Bucca v The Queen [2016] HCA 46
Perera-Cathcart v The Queen [2017] HCA 9
The Queen v Dickman [2017] HCA 24
Chiro v The Queen [2017] HCA 37
Hamra v The Queen [2017] HCA 38
DL v The Queen [2018] HCA 26
Johnson v The Queen [2018] HCA 48
Other notable South Australian cases as lead counsel:
The Queen v Von Einem (“Family Murders”) [1991] SASC 2740
The Queen v Haydon (“Snowtown murders”) see [2004] SASC 437 and [2005] SASC 16-23
Poniatowska v DPP (Cth) [2010] SASCFC 19
R v Keogh (No 2) [2014] SASCFC 136