Jennifer Ann Coate (born 8 February 1953)''Who's Who in Australia'', ConnectWeb (2017). is an Australian

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

. Coate was a Judge of the

Family Court of Australia The Family Court of Australia was a superior Australian federal court of record which deals with family law matters, such as divorce applications, parenting disputes, and the division of property when a couple separate. Together with the Fede ...

and one of the six Royal Commissioners appointed by the

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Government of Australia, Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 t ...

Early life

Coate studied law at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

. She graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1979, and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1984. Coate worked part-time as a teacher while she studied law.

Career

Upon graduating, Coate worked as a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

and then a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

. She also served as an

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

, and contributed to a range of

social policy Social policy is a plan or action of government or institutional agencies which aim to improve or reform society. Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize soci ...

groups and committees. In 1992, Coate was appointed a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

. By September 1996, she was Deputy Chief Magistrate of Victoria. In June 2000, she was made a judge of the

County Court of Victoria The County Court of Victoria is the intermediate court in the Australian state of Victoria. It is equivalent to district courts in the other states. The County Court is the principal trial court in the state, having a broad criminal and civi ...

, and was made the first female President of the

Children's Court of Victoria The Children's Court of Victoria is a statutory court created in Victoria, Australia. The court deals with criminal offences alleged to be committed by children aged between 10 and 17 and with proceedings concerning children under the age of 17 ...

. One of the most significant reforms she oversaw as President of the Children's Court was the establishment of a Children's

Koori Court A Koori Court is a separate division of the Magistrates', County and Children's Courts of Victoria, Australia. The Koori Court (Magistrates), Children's Koori Court, and County Koori Court hear selected cases, where Indigenous Australians have ...

, a specialist court designed to accommodate juvenile Indigenous offenders. In 2001, Coate was made part-time Commissioner of the Victorian Law Reform Commission. Coate left the Children's Court in April 2006. On 29 November 2007, she formally took up responsibilities as

Coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, marking the first time a woman had taken on the role; and served in that role until her appointment to the Family Court. Until 2006, she served as the first female President of the

. Additionally, Coate has been involved in a wide range of charitable and community organizations. She has served as Chair of the Health Services for Abused Victorian Children Advisory Group and Chair of the Anglicare Steering Committee for Group Conferencing Restorative Justice. On 11 January 2013, Judge Coate was named as one of the six Royal Commissioners appointed to investigate child sexual abuse by the Australian government Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. In the

2019 Australia Day Honours The 2019 Australia Day Honours are appointments Australian honours system, to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2019 by the Governor General of Australia, Pet ...

Coate was made an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO) for "distinguished service to the law, and to the judiciary, to legal administration, and to child and youth justice".

Personal

Coate is reportedly highly respected in legal circles as an extremely bright, thoughtful lawyer, who occasionally acts unconventionally to demonstrate a point. In 1993, when Coate had only recently been appointed a magistrate, a controversy broke out in a Victorian court, when a female solicitor was criticized by a judge for coming to court in polka-dot stockings and a suit with a skirt that finished above the knee. The incident attracted widespread media attention and sparked extensive debate. In a silent protest against her colleague's comments, Coate spent the remainder of the week dressed in outlandishly coloured and patterned stockings, ensuring that she was seen widely and publicly in Melbourne's legal precinct.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coate, Jennifer 1953 births 21st-century Australian judges Australian women judges Monash Law School alumni Australian coroners Living people Australian royal commissioners Officers of the Order of Australia Judges of the Family Court of Australia Australian magistrates Judges of the County Court of Victoria 21st-century women judges People from East Melbourne Judges from Melbourne