The District Court of Queensland is a court in Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, a state of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It has jurisdiction to hear:

• appeals from decisions of the Magistrates' Court of Queensland
  Magistrates' Court of Queensland
  The Magistrates Court of Queensland is the lowest court for the Australian state of Queensland. The court is the first stop in many criminal and civil actions and deal with minor criminal and civil matters...
  
  ;
• serious criminal matters of an indictable nature including armed robbery, rape and dangerous driving; and
• civil matters for claims between $150,000 and $750,000.

The Court has judges permanently appointed in Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

, Rockhampton

Rockhampton, Queensland

Rockhampton is a city and local government area in Queensland, Australia. The city lies on the Fitzroy River, approximately from the river mouth, and some north of the state capital, Brisbane....

, Townsville, Cairns, Southport

Southport, Queensland

-Sport:The Southport Sharks Australian rules football club has a presence in the area, including a club and function centre.-Transport:The Broadwaterway is a foreshoreway that encourages pedestrians and cyclists to travel along the Broadwater foreshores of Southport.A ferry terminal is planned for...

, Ipswich

Ipswich, Queensland

Ipswich is a city in South-East Queensland, Australia. Situated along the Bremer River Valley approximately 40 kilometres away from the state's capital Brisbane. The suburb by the same name forms the city's Central Business District and administrative centre...

, Beenleigh and Maroochydore and regularly sits in other regional centres.

History

The original court was established in 1866 to ease the Supreme Court workload. However, in 1921 the Queensland Parliament decided District Courts were no longer necessary and the courts were abolished. They were re-established in 1958 to relieve the workload in the Supreme Court of Queensland

Supreme Court of Queensland

The Supreme Court of Queensland, which is based at the Law Courts Complex, is the superior court for the Australian State of Queensland and sits around the middle of the Australian court hierarchy...

.

The present court is constituted under the District Court of Queensland Act 1967 (Qld). That act amalgamated the previous District Court in existence prior to 1967 into the new District Court.

Composition

The Governor of Queensland may appoint a chief judge of the court. The governor may also appoint judges to the court. The appointment is by way of the issuing of a commission under the great seal of the state.

The court is headed by Chief Judge Patricia Mary Wolfe.

The current judges of the court are:

Brisbane

• Judge N.A. Skoien (Senior Judge) - 1982
• Judge G. Trafford-Walker (Senior Judge) - 1983
• Judge W. Howell - 27 July 1984
• Judge G.S. Forno, Q.C. - 19 February 1988
• Judge H. Botting - 3 May 1989
• Judge M.J. Noud - 17 July 1989
• Judge K.J O'Brien - 27 October 1989
• Judge N.F. McLauchlan, Q.C.
• Judge P.D. Robin, Q.C. - 1 May 1990
• Judge H. O'Sullivan - 1991
• Judge P.G. Nase - 12 August 1993
• Judge M.W. Forde - 25 January 1995
• Judge C.J.L. Brabazon, Q.C - November 1995
• Judge D.J. McGill, S.C. - 9 September 1996
• Judge N. Samios - 21 August 1998
• Judge M.J. Shanahan
• Judge J. M. Dick, S.C. - 14 December 2000
• Judge A.M. Wilson S.C. - 24 May 2001
• Judge W. Tutt - 24 May 2004
• Judge M. Griffin - 29 October 2004
• Judge Ryrie - 28 February 2005
• Judge T Rafter - 15 December 2006
• Judge Terry Martin SC - 12 July 2007
• Judge David Searles - 12 July 2007

Townsville

• Judge R.D Pack - 18 December 1997
• Judge Durward SC - 21 August 2006

Rockhampton

• Judge G. Britton S.C. - 26 November 1998

Southport

• Judge J.E. Newton - 25 February 1991
• Judge C.F Wall Q.C - 11 September 1996
• Judge M. E. Rackemann - 12 January 2004
• Judge F Kingham -17 July 2006

Cairns

• Judge P.J. White - 28 August 1992
• Judge S.Bradley - 25 March 1999

Maroochydore

• Judge K.S. Dodds - 14 March 1986
• Judge J.M. Robertson - 24 September 1994

Ipswich

• Judge D. Richards - 1 December 1998
• Judge G. Koppenol - 12 September 2007

Beenleigh

• Judge I. Dearden - 28 February 2005

The governor may also appoint judicial registrars and registrars for the court. They are officers of the court and do not constitute the court.

General

The District Court is open to members of the public and the media. However, as with the Magistrates Court, access to the hearing and media reporting of the case may be restricted if, for example, a defendant is under 17 years of age.