Gregory Reginald James (born 15 September 1944) is a former judge of the

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian States and territories of Australia, State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil law (common law), civil matters, and hears ...

. Admitted as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

in 1972, at age 38 in 1982, James was one of the youngest

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

s ever appointed in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. He was one of several counsel involved in legal proceedings in the aftermath of the 1970 Bathurst Gaol riots, as well as lead counsel for the

Bandidos Motorcycle Club The Bandidos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Bandido Nation, is an outlaw motorcycle club with a worldwide membership. Formed in San Leon, Texas, San Leon, Texas, in 1966, the Bandidos MC is estimated to have between 2,000 and 2,500 members and ...

during the

Milperra massacre The Milperra Massacre, Milperra bikie shoot-out or Father's Day Massacre was a gunfight between rival motorcycle gang members on 2 September (Father's Day in Australia) 1984, in Milperra, a south-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. The ...

trial, one of the largest single trials in Australian history.

Biography

He was educated at North Sydney Boys High School and Sydney University. He was a founding member of Barristers Services Co-operative Limited, which founded Frederick Jordan Chambers, the largest single group of barristers in New South Wales in 1972. He was appointed as a part-time Commissioner for the NSW Law Reform Commission from 1985 to 1989 and again since 1999. He was appointed Counsel for Veterans during the

Royal Commission into British nuclear tests in Australia The McClelland Royal Commission or Royal Commission into British nuclear tests in Australia was an inquiry by the Government of Australia, Australian government in 1984–1985 to investigate the conduct of the United Kingdom, British in its use, ...

from 1984-1985. In 1988 he was appointed as an Associate Judge of the

District Court of New South Wales The District Court of New South Wales is the intermediate court in the judicial hierarchy of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a trial court and has an appellate jurisdiction. In addition, the Judges of the Court preside over a rang ...

, serving in this role until 1990. In 1989 he, along with a number of other barristers, founded Forbes Chambers at 185 Elizabeth Street, Sydney creating a specialist criminal chambers with no traditional head of chambers hierarchy. He was asked and accepted the role of prosecutor for the first Australian War crimes prosecution during the period 1990 to 1994 and led the prosecution during the trial of

Ivan Polyukhovich Ivan Timofeyevich Polyukhovich (1924–1997) was an accused (and eventually acquitted) Ukrainian-Australian World War II war criminal. He was born at Serrniki, Pinsk. Background Following Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, some Ukra ...

for the 1942 murder of 850 Jews in Ukraine. In 1998 he was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, holding that position until his retirement in 2005. Upon his retirement he was appointed Royal Commissioner for the

Kapunda Road Royal Commission The Kapunda Road Royal Commission was a royal commission created by the Government of South Australia in 2005 to inquire into the circumstances surrounding the hit and run death of Ian Humphrey and the circumstances around the trial and convicti ...

. Upon the completion of the Royal Commission, he was invited by the

RAMSI The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), also known as Operation Helpem Fren, Operation Anode and Operation Rata (by New Zealand), began in 2003 in response to a request for international aid by the Governor-General of Solom ...

mission to

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

to contribute to the ongoing education of judges and magistrates in Solomon Islands. Upon his return from Solomon Islands he was asked to assist with the reform of mental health law and processes in New South Wales and reform the state's criminal law with respect to persons with a mental illness. He was also appointed the president of the Mental Health Review Tribunal of New South Wales, he stepped down from that position in 2012 in order to return to the Bar. He has been a chair on the Law Advisory Committee at

Southern Cross University Southern Cross University (SCU) is an Australian public university, with campuses at Lismore and Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales, and at Coolangatta, the most southern suburb of the Gold Coast in Queensland. In 2019, it was ranke ...

since 2007, teaching advocacy at the Southern Cross University's Summer School for more than 10 years. He is an adjunct professor at Southern Cross University and was awarded a Doctorate of Laws (''Honorius Causa'') of that university in 2012, and chairs the curriculum committee for the law school at the University of Western Sydney. He has been the honorary legal counsel of Scouts New South Wales for over 10 years, retiring from the role in 2019. He received Scouts’ National Presidents Award on World Scout Day 2020.

Honours and awards

In 2012 he was appointed as a Member of General Division of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AM) for services to judicial education, mental health law reform, international relations and administration of criminal justice. He is recognised as one of Australia's leading appellate court counsel, as well as one of the Australia's greatest criminal counsel. He resumed full-time practice as a barrister in mid-2012 taking chambers at Frederick Jordan Chambers. He has since joined as a member and taken chambers at 11 Garfield Barwick Chambers.

Personal life

He is keen surfer, skier, and an avid rugby union fan. James is married to Barbara Ramjan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Greg Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Living people 1944 births Australian King's Counsel Members of the Order of Australia Judges of the District Court of NSW 20th-century Australian judges 21st-century Australian judges People educated at North Sydney Boys High School