Peter Aloysius McInerney (1927–2014) was an Australian barrister and

New South Wales Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court ...

judge.

Biography

McInerney was born in

Goulburn, New South Wales Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, approximately south-west of Sydney and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters patent by Queen Victor ...

, the only child of grazier Leslie McInerney and his wife, Florence (née Smith). Forebears had farmed in the Southern Tablelands for more than 150 years, and Peter grew up on the family property, Moonyah, near Collector. His initial education was by correspondence, then at the tiny Breadalbane Primary School. He completed his Leaving Certificate in 1945 at St. Joseph's College in

Hunters Hill Hunters Hill is a suburb of Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government in Australia, local ...

, where he led the senior debating team. He matriculated to receive a double degree in Arts and Law from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

Career

Legal career

After graduation, McInerney commenced as an associate to

judges John Clancy and

Cyril Walsh Sir Cyril Ambrose Walsh KBE (15 June 1909 – 29 November 1973) was an Australian judge who served on the High Court of Australia from 1969 until his death in 1973. Early life Walsh was born in Sydney, New South Wales, the son of Michael a ...

. He was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1955 and practised from Selborne Chambers focussing on common and criminal law. He represented many clients in the Newcastle and Broken Hill regions in industrial injury matters and appeared in a number of cases for battered women accused of murdering their husbands. He was a brilliant trial advocate, always meticulously prepared. 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 ...

(QC) in 1974 and appeared for prisoners in the Nagle Royal Commission(1976–78) into the Bathurst prison riots.

Judicial career

He was appointed a judge of the

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian States and territories of Australia, State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil law (common law), civil matters, and hears ...

in 1985. He presided over many high-profile trials including that of Gregory Allen Brown the Downunder Hostel arsonist. In 1997, the long convicted sadistic murderer Kevin Crump successfully applied to the Supreme Court of NSW to convert his life sentence into a minimum term and an additional term. McInerney heard the appeal and maintained the severity of the initial term, sentencing Crump to a minimum term of 30 years and an additional term for the remainder of his life In February 2016 the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed Crump's application for leave to appeal McInerney's 1997 sentence determination.

Other appointments

McInerney was called out of retirement twice to head judicial inquiries into the Glenbrook (1999) and the

Waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

(2003) rail accidents.

Personal life

He married Jeanette Hardie in 1956, and the couple raised five children in Killara, New South Wales. For seventeen years he was president of

The Australian Golf Club The Australian Golf Club is a golf club located in Rosebery, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Although it survived numerous course location changes, it is arguably the oldest golf club in Australia. To date the course has held 22 Australian Ope ...

in Sydney.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McInerney, Peter 1927 births Australian Roman Catholics 2014 deaths People educated at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill Sydney Law School alumni Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Australian King's Counsel