Michael Rozenes is the former Chief Judge of the
County Court of Victoria
The County Court of Victoria is the intermediate court in the Australian state of Victoria. It is equivalent to district courts in the other states.
The County Court is the principal trial court in the state, having a broad criminal and ci ...
, an intermediate court in
Victoria, Australia
Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...
. He presided over the County Court for thirteen years, retiring in June 2015.
Early life
Rozenes was born in the Polish city of
Sosnowiec
Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Metropolis GZM municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Industrial Re ...
and migrated with his family to Australia at the age of three. He was educated at the
North Caulfield State School and then at
Brighton Grammar School
Brighton Grammar School is a private school, private Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican day school for boys, located in Brighton, Victoria, Brighton, a south-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia.
Founded in ...
. At Brighton Grammar Rozenes represented the school in football, cricket and tennis and was an accomplished sprinter. He then attended
Monash University
Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...
, graduating with a Bachelor of Jurisprudence in 1967 and 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 ...
in 1969.
Professional life
After graduating from university, Rozenes then served articles with
Frank Galbally of the firm Galbally & O'Bryan and was admitted to the
Supreme Courts of Victoria,
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 ...
,
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
,
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
,
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
and
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
in 1971, and subsequently signed the Bar Roll in 1972.
From 1972 to 1976 he had a general criminal and common law practice and from 1977 to 1991 he practised exclusively in the criminal jurisdiction with a specialisation in complex taxation, corporate and appellant criminal cases. He appeared before numerous Royal Commissions, including the HIH Royal Commission, Builders' Royal Commission and Melbourne Ambulance Service Royal Commission.
He was appointed a
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 1986. Over the course of his career at the Bar, Rozenes sat on the Victorian Bar Council, the Criminal Bar Association of Victoria Committee and the Victorian Bar Ethics Committee.
In February 1992, he was appointed
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
The Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions or, informally, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) is an independent prosecuting service and government agency within the portfolio of the Attorney-General of ...
, and his initial three-year term was extended for a further two years.
In 1997 Rozenes returned to practice at the private Bar and from 1998 to 2001, was Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association of Victoria.
On 25 November 2002 Rozenes was appointed as the Chief Judge of the
County Court of Victoria
The County Court of Victoria is the intermediate court in the Australian state of Victoria. It is equivalent to district courts in the other states.
The County Court is the principal trial court in the state, having a broad criminal and ci ...
.
He retired from the Court on 22 June 2015 and was eventually succeeded as Chief Judge by Senior Crown Prosecutor
Peter Kidd SC.
Honours
*
Officer 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 ...
(2010) for "distinguished service to the judiciary, particularly as Chief Judge of the County Court of Victoria and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, and through contributions to law reform and legal education".
Notable cases
Rozenes appeared as Counsel in the following reported cases:
High Court
* ''Ridgeway v The Queen'' (1995) 78
A Crim R 307;
* ''Cheatle v The Queen'' (1993) 177
CLR 541;
* ''Dietrich v The Queen'' (1992) 177
CLR 292;
* ''Commissioner of Australian Federal Police v Propend Finance Pty Limited'' (1997) 188
CLR 501;
* ''Re Rozenes, Director of Public Prosecutions and Another; Ex parte Burd and Others'' (1994) 120
ALR 193;
* ''Michaels v The Queen'' (1995) 184
CLR 117;
Court of Appeal – Supreme Court of Victoria
* ''Rozenes and Anor v Kelly and Ords''
996
Year 996 ( CMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Japan
* February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Emperor Kazan.
* 2 March: Emperor ...
1 VR 320
County Court of Victoria
* "
R v McManus and Harvey" (Victorian County Court, June 2007) Rozenes presided over the landmark media case during which two journalists (Gerard McManus & Michael Harvey) refused to reveal their sources for a story they wrote for the Herald Sun newspaper. In sentencing the two journalists, Rozenes said: "Courts in Australia and England have made clear statements to the effect that journalists are not above the law and may not without penalty expect to be permitted to follow their personal collegiate standards where those standards conflict with the law of the land. Until that law is altered, if it is ever to be, then journalists remain in no different position than all other citizens." As a consequence of the case, federal and state governments in Australia moved to change the law to permit judges discretion to take into consideration the journalist's code of never revealing their source.
Junior in
* ''A v Hayden'' ("ASIS Case") (1984) 156
CLR 532 to G. Griffith QC;
* ''Baker Plaintiff; and Campbell Defendant'' 153
CLR 52 to D M J Bennett QC.
[.]
Board memberships
*Current board member, Judicial College of Victoria.
*Current board member, Monash Law Foundation.
*Current chairman, Victorian Electoral Boundaries Commission.
*Current Convener, Life in the Law; a support group for law practitioners who are considering leaving the legal profession.
*Former Council Member, The Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration Incorporated; Member, Project and Research Committee.
*Former board member, Victorian Council of Legal Education.
*Co-Chair, Australian Criminal Law National Liaison Committee, Law Council of Australia, 2002.
*Member, Working Group on Criminal Trial Procedure, Standing Committee of Attorneys-General, 1999.
See also
*
County Court of Victoria
The County Court of Victoria is the intermediate court in the Australian state of Victoria. It is equivalent to district courts in the other states.
The County Court is the principal trial court in the state, having a broad criminal and ci ...
*
Judiciary of Australia
The judiciary of Australia comprises judges who sit in federal courts and courts of the States and Territories of Australia. The High Court of Australia sits at the apex of the Australian court hierarchy as the ultimate court of appeal on matter ...
*
Australian court hierarchy
The judiciary of Australia comprises judges who sit in federal courts and courts of the States and territories of Australia, States and Territories of Australia. The High Court of Australia sits at the apex of the Australian court hierarchy as t ...
References
External links
County Court Victoria Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rozenes, Michael
1946 births
Living people
People educated at Brighton Grammar School
21st-century Australian judges
Australian King's Counsel
Directors of Public Prosecutions of Australia
Judges from Melbourne
Lawyers from Melbourne
Monash Law School alumni
Officers of the Order of Australia
Polish emigrants to Australia
Judges of the County Court of Victoria