Mary Stella Jerram (born 6 November 1945) is a former State Coroner of New South Wales. Jerram was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Honorary Division in the 2018 Australia Day Honours: "For significant service to the law in New South Wales as State Coroner, and as a role model for women in the legal profession."

Early life and education

Born and raised in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in 1945 to a "fairly conservative middle-class family", Jerram attended St. Hilda's Collegiate School in

, New Zealand, and the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Languages. Following her graduation, she was gainfully employed as a high school teacher of English and modern languages in Sydney, having moved there in 1969 with her husband and two young children. Regarding her career as a teacher, Jerram states that, "at the same time, I think I never really saw myself as teaching for the rest of my life" and with a previous history of advocacy, she soon thereafter commenced law studies.

Career

Early legal career

Following her completion of law studies, Jerram worked as a legal officer at the New South Wales Independent Teachers' Union from 1980 to 1987Tony Harris. (2007.) ''Basket Weavers and True Believers: The Making and Unmaking the Labor Left in Leichhardt Municipality C1970–1991'', Leftbank Publishing, pp. 52–3.Legal Aid NSW. (2007.
''The Green Issue''
46. and as a criminal

duty solicitor A duty solicitor, duty counsel, or duty lawyer, is a solicitor whose services are available to a person either suspected of, or charged with, a criminal offence free of charge, if that person does not have access to a solicitor of their own and us ...

and senior advocate at the New South Wales Legal Aid Commission from 1987 to 1994,The Statutory Functions of the Coroner – Continuing Professional Development Programs , College of Law
/ref> up until her secondment to an industrial inquiry into prisoners and prison officers.

Magisterial appointment

In 1994, Jerram was appointed as a

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

; after one general year and one as a specialist Children's Magistrate of New South Wales, she undertook the Goulburn country circuit for the next two-and-a-half years. In 2000, Jerram became the Deputy Chief Magistrate of the

Local Court of New South Wales The Local Court of New South Wales is the lowest court in the judicial hierarchy of the Australian state of New South Wales. Formerly known as the Court of Petty Sessions and the Magistrates Court, there are more than 160 branches across New Sou ...

. In this capacity and role, Jerram provided advice regarding legislative and other proposals of assistance to the New South Wales Government and also education for other magistrates.

Early retirement

At the end of 2001, Jerram took an early retirement to live on a farm in her homeland of New Zealand. For the following five years, she had a commission as Acting Magistrate and came from New Zealand about five times a year for a fortnight to act as a ''locum'', mainly at the

Downing Centre The Downing Centre is a major heritage-listed former department store and now courthouse complex in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It features state government courts, including the Local Court, the District Court, and a law library known ...

in Sydney, Australia.

Magisterial reappointment

After 5 years of retirement, Jerram "missed the law and ��Australia" and moved back to Australia. In October 2006, she was re-appointed as a full-time New South Wales magistrate.

Coronial appointment

Jerram was appointed by

New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

John Hatzistergos, with the announcement made on 3 May 2007, and succeeded John Abernethy as the State Coroner of NSW. Commencing her (initially) 5-year contract and her tenure as State Coroner of New South Wales on 7 May 2007, Jerram became the first female State Coroner of New South Wales and was assisted by the Deputy State Coroner, His Honour Magistrate Paul A. MacMahon. Jerram retired in November 2013.

Notable Cases

In 2008 Jerram presided over an inquest into the death of Jacob Kovco. Kovco was a private in the Australian Army who was killed while deployed to Iraq in 2006. He was fatally wounded by a single shot to the head from his own Browning 9mm sidearm. A military inquiry found Private Kovco accidentally shot himself while mishandling his pistol. This conclusion was disputed by his family and on 2 April 2008, a jury inquest returned a similar verdict, finding that his death was "irresponsibly self-inflicted", and that when he pulled his gun's trigger he "disregarded the possible consequences of danger".

Personal life

Jerram was married to Ian Cameron, with whom she had joined the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

in October 1975. Jerram left the ALP around 1987. Jerram relocated to the Sydney suburb of Beecroft in 1969 with Cameron and her two children. She moved to Balmain a few months before joining the ALP. Her partner since 1995 has been Philip Manning Taylor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jerram, Mary Australian coroners Australian magistrates Australian schoolteachers Australian solicitors Living people New Zealand emigrants to Australia 20th-century Australian lawyers 20th-century Australian women lawyers New Zealand schoolteachers University of Otago alumni People educated at St Hilda's Collegiate School 1945 births 21st-century Australian judges 21st-century Australian women judges