Judith Mary Ablett-Kerr (née Ablett; born ) is a criminal defence lawyer and

King'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 New Zealand.

Early life and education

Ablett-Kerr was born in 1946 or 1947 in Wales and grew up there. Her mother Bessie died when she was eight, and her father Henry raised Ablett-Kerr and her brother. Her father was a lay Baptist preacher and a Conservative politician. Ablett-Kerr joined the Welsh Young Conservatives as a teenager and became the branch chair at the age of 15. She was also a national debating champion in her teenage years. Ablett-Kerr studied law at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in Cardiff in 1970. She was the second female barrister in Wales.

Career

Ablett-Kerr began her career as a Crown prosecutor in Wales. She emigrated to New Zealand and settled in Dunedin in 1981. She was admitted to the New Zealand bar in 1982. In April 1995, she was appointed a Queen's Counsel, becoming the third female and the first female criminal defence lawyer in New Zealand to be made a QC. Ablett-Kerr has served as defence lawyer in a number of high-profile cases. In the mid-1990s she and Greg King successfully defended scientist Vicky Calder against charges of attempted murder. She worked for childcare worker Peter Ellis following his conviction in the Christchurch Civic Childcare Centre case, and defended Clayton Weatherston for the

murder of Sophie Elliott On 9 January 2008, 22-year-old Sophie Kate Elliott (born 11 June 1985) was stabbed to death by ex-boyfriend Clayton Robert Weatherston (born 9 January 1976), in Dunedin, New Zealand. The crime and trial were covered extensively in the news me ...

. Ablett-Kerr has defended a number of women in domestic violence cases, most notably Gay Oakes, who was convicted for burying her partner in their garden but released on parole in 2002. In the 2002 Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honours, Ablett-Kerr was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to the legal profession.

Personal life

Ablett-Kerr was twice married before moving to New Zealand. She had a son, Rupert, from her first marriage to a London judge, and another son, Edward, from her second marriage to Edward Hampson, an insurance broker. In 1987, she married Lewis Kerr, known as a theatre director in Dunedin, and the couple adopted the surname ''Ablett-Kerr''. Her elder son, Rupert Ablett-Hampson, became a lawyer, and was appointed the deputy chief censor of New Zealand in 2021. Her younger son, Edward Ablett-Hampson, has been a staffer for

Murray McCully Murray Stuart McCully (born 19 February 1953) is a New Zealand former politician. He is a member of the National Party, and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2017. Early life Born in Whangārei, McCully was educated at Arap ...

when he was the

minister of foreign affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

, and a principal advisor at the Ministry of Social Development. Ablett-Kerr's brother, Michael Ablett, was the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

's candidate in the

Dunedin Central Dunedin Central was a parliamentary electorate in the city of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand from 1881 to 1890 and 1905 to 1984. Population centres The previous electoral redistribution was undertaken in 1875 for the 1875–1876 election. In the ...

electorate at the 1978 general election, but was not elected, finishing second behind the Labour candidate, Brian MacDonell.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ablett-Kerr, Judith Living people 1940s births Year of birth uncertain New Zealand King's Counsel Welsh emigrants to New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand lawyers 21st-century New Zealand lawyers Criminal defense lawyers Alumni of the University of London Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit 20th-century New Zealand women lawyers 21st-century New Zealand women lawyers