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

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 ...

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

Early life

Fogarty was born in

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori language, Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast List of regions in New Zealand, region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The populat ...

on 12 August 1947. He studied law at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree in 1971, before completing a

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

degree at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

in 1974.

Legal career

Fogarty joined the

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

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 ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. 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 An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

. 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 people, Māori iwi (tribe) 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 a ...

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

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. 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, 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