John Gerard Fogarty (12 August 1947 – 10 December 2022) was a New Zealand jurist. He was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1990, and served as a judge at the High Court from 2003 to 2017.

Early life

Fogarty was born in

Greymouth Greymouth () ( Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...

on 12 August 1947. He studied law at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

, graduating with 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 ...

degree in 1971, before completing a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degree at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...

in 1974.

Legal career

Fogarty joined the

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

law firm of Weston Ward and Lascelles, becoming a partner in 1978. He began practising as a barrister sole in 1985, with an emphasis on public and commercial law, and also worked as an arbitrator and mediator. Fogarty was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1990. On 13 November 2003, Fogarty was sworn in as a judge of the High Court, serving until 11 August 2017. On his retirement from the bench, he was granted the retention of the title ''The Honourable'' for life. Fogarty sat in the High Court in Christchurch until 2014, when he moved to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

. In 2013, he was Christchurch's civil list judge, and from 2007 to 2015 he was a member of the criminal and civil division of the Court of Appeal. As a judge, Fogarty is best known for his ruling in the 2009 case of ''Takamore v Clarke'', in which he found that the wife of James Takamore had the right to choose where her husband should be buried and could override the tikanga (customs) of the

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

tribe,

Ngāi Tūhoe Ngāi Tūhoe (), often known simply as Tūhoe, is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. It takes its name from an ancestral figure, Tūhoe-pōtiki. ''Tūhoe'' is a Māori-language word meaning "steep" or "high noon". Tūhoe people also bear the sobriquet ...

, into which he had been born. Fogarty's judgment was subsequently upheld by the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. For many years, Fogarty was an advisor to the Deaf Sports Federation of New Zealand, and he served as a member of the organising committee for the 1989 World Games for the Deaf that were held in Christchurch.

Personal life and death

Fogarty was married to Nan Michelle Hall, and they had three children. Fogarty died in Auckland on 10 December 2022, at the age of 75. The chief justice, Dame

Helen Winkelmann Dame Helen Diana Winkelmann (born 1962) is the 13th and current Chief Justice of New Zealand, having been sworn in on 14 March 2019. She is the second woman to hold the position, following her immediate predecessor, Sian Elias. Early life and ...

, paid tribute to Fogarty, saying that he "brought to the bench a broad and deep knowledge of the law", and that "as a lawyer, and then as a judge, he worked selflessly for a just outcome." She also noted that "he was a man of unfailing courtesy" and that "he was also a kind, humble and elegant man – elegant in his style, in his thinking and in his writing."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fogarty, John 1947 births 2022 deaths People from Greymouth University of Canterbury alumni University of Toronto Faculty of Law alumni New Zealand King's Counsel High Court of New Zealand judges University of Canterbury Faculty of Law alumni