Victoria’s top prosecutor appointed Supreme Court judge

Kerri Judd KC, who became the first woman to become Victoria’s Director of Public Prosecutions six years ago, will make the move from the bar table to the bench after being appointed a Supreme Court judge.

Peter Dupas, George Pell, and James Gargasoulas are among the high-profile matters prosecuted by Kerri Judd KC.

The state’s top prosecutor has been appointed a Supreme Court judge.

Kerri Judd KC, who was the first female to become Victoria’s Director of Public Prosecutions six years ago, will make the move from the bar table to the bench.

It is a full circle for Justice Judd who served as a judge’s associate in the Supreme Court to Justice William Crockett AO and Justice Ian Gray before signing the bar roll.

Prosecutor Brendan Kissane KC will take over as DPP.

Justice Judd, in a note to Office of Public Prosecutions staff on Tuesday, said her eight-year tenure had been “challenging”.

But she said it was also a “true honour and privilege”.

“Appearing for and advising the Crown, whether as a solicitor, Crown Prosecutor, or member of the private Bar, is challenging – it demands much of us,” she said.

“And assisting victims and witnesses of crime as they navigate the intricacies, twists and contradictions of our imperfect justice system is likewise no easy feat.

“None of these timeless truths could be otherwise. Because though much has changed in recent years, there’s rightly no relief from the weight of public expectation that justice, through the vehicle of our office, must prevail within the confines of which we work.”

Kerri Judd has been appointed a Supreme Court judge. Picture: Supplied

Mr Kissane said Justice Judd’s appointment was “another significant achievement in an already eminent career, and a testament to the esteem in which Kerri Judd is held across the profession”.

“Her appointment represents as wonderful gain for the bench and public confidence in the administration of justice, although a corresponding loss for our Office, which will be keenly felt,” Mr Kissane said.

But shadow attorney-general Michael O’Brien highlighted “significant controversies” under Justice Judd’s reign, and welcomed a new face in the director role.

“Victoria’s Office of Public Prosecutions has weathered a number of significant controversies under Kerri Judd KC’s leadership,” he said.

“These include the failure to lay charges over the Lawyer X scandal and the George Pell miscarriage of justice.

“Nonetheless, I congratulate Ms Judd on her appointment to the Supreme Court — a court where she raised a complaint which led to the early retirement of Justice (Lex) Lasry.”

In February, Justice Lasry sensationally resigned after learning the director had lodged a complaint about him with the Judicial Commission of Victoria.

The complaint related to the experienced judge’s decision to grant a permanent stay in the case of Simiona Tuteru, the trucking boss of the driver who killed four police officers in the Eastern Freeway tragedy in August 2020.

Justice Judd, who was appointed Senior Crown Prosecutor in August 2016, before being made Director less than two years later, has more than 30 years’ legal experience.

She worked as a solicitor from 1989-91, then counsel from 1991 before coming senior counsel in 2007.

Among the high-profile criminal matters she has prosecuted include serial killer Peter Dupas, Cardinal George Pell, and Bourke St car rampage killer James Gargasoulas.

She was also involved in the barrister-turned-police informer Nicola Gobbo-related appeal by Faruk Orman, where the Court of Appeal expressly commended her “conspicuous fairness” as a prosecutor.

She has acted in significant inquiries and commissions including, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission.

Justice Judd was the first student from Croydon High School to be accepted into the study of law, and holds a Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne.

Her appointment follows the retirement of Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth, who sat on the bench for more than two decades.