Basil Gribbin was a co-ordinating magistrate in the

Beenleigh Beenleigh is a town and suburb in the City of Logan, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Beenleigh had a population of 8,252 people. A government survey for the new town was conducted in 1866. The town is the terminus for the Beenl ...

Magistrates Court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Co ...

and a member of the Queensland Magistrates Association, which is the equivalent of a Magistrates Union. Gribbin served as a Magistrate from 9 January 1987 to 10 May 2008.

Legal career

Gribbin commenced his working life as a clerk at the Magistrates Court at

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and W ...

in 1964. He later worked as a registrar in over nine court registries including

Springsure Springsure is a town and a locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Emerald on the Gregory Highway. It is the southern terminus of the Gregory Highway and the northern terminus of the Dawson Highway. It is ...

Herberton Herberton is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Herberton had a population of 855 people. Geography Herberton is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. It is situ ...

, Cairns,

, Inala and

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of ...

. After being admitted as a legal practitioner in late 1984, he undertook a series of appointments as Acting Magistrate at Herberton, Cairns, Beenleigh, Inala and Rockhampton over a two-year period before being appointed as a Queensland Magistrate. In 1998, Queensland Courts established a Rules Committee to introduce and monitor the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules. Magistrate Gribbin served as one of the court's two representatives on the committee since its inception — a role he relinquished just prior to his retirement.

Role in imprisonment of Di Fingleton

He is most famous for having written an

affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a statemen ...

in 2002 in support of a fellow magistrate named Ann Thacker, who was challenging a decision made by then

Chief Magistrate Chief magistrate is a public official, executive or judicial, whose office is the highest in its class. Historically, the two different meanings of magistrate have often overlapped and refer to, as the case may be, to a major political and admini ...

Di Fingleton Diane McGrath Fingleton (born 11 January 1947) is a former magistrate in the Queensland Magistrates Court, most notable for being appointed Chief Magistrate and later being convicted of the offence of intimidation of a witness, before the conv ...

to transfer her from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 30 ...

. This resulted in Fingleton sending Gribbin an email asking him to show cause why she should not dismiss him from the position of supervising magistrate. Gribbin responded by accusing her of attempting to pervert the course of justice and trying to interfere with his right to give evidence in support of Thacker. Gribbin referred the matter to the

Department of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members of ...

(DPP), and this resulted in Fingleton being convicted of the offence of retaliating against a

witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

. Her conviction was later quashed on appeal in a unanimous decision of the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established following passage of the ''Judiciary Act 1903''. It ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gribbin, Basil Living people Australian magistrates People from Queensland Year of birth missing (living people)