Judicial movements … Sofronoff appointment seen as a strong move … Will Timbo send flowers? … Earl Warren calls it a day … Contenders polishing their whiskers
Queenslanders are dancing in the streets and in shire halls throughout Queensland at news of the appointment of Brisbane’s leading Cossack as President of the Court of Appeal.
The sound of a thousand balalaikas welcomed Walter Sofronoff as Margaret McMurdo’s replacement.
The Cossack is a White Russian, his father leaving the homeland and becoming a successful horse trainer in Hong Kong.
As a result Walter ended up as a boarder at Church of England Grammar School.
According to one of our field agents he overcame that prejudicial upbringing to become a great counsel and is a dynamic and courageous individual.
He’s never boring, crashing Ferraris and bi-planes with equal bravado. He walked away from the Toowoomba aircraft crash like Sam Shepherd in The Right Stuff.
His advocacy helped win the Wik case in the High Court – no mean achievement. As I file this report, the town is awash with Stolichnaya.
At the other end of the continent, there is sobbing in Yarraside as news spread of the resignation from October 1 of chief justice Marilyn (Earl) Warren.
At 66 she’s well shy of her compulsory senility, but having been chief justice since November 2003, she’s entitled to feel enough is enough as the country’s longest serving CJ.
Vic’s Bar put out a statement saying all the right things about the CJ’s encouragement of diversity and as a role model for women.
Justice Lex Lasry said she’s been “outstanding”, while the head of The Conveyancers’ Association, Belinda Wilson, said the CJ had fought for the Supreme Court’s modernisation.
She is to be congratulated for her efforts to de-wig the court and for her work in rearranging judicial administration with the creation of Court Services Victoria.
Who will be handed the crown, is the topic on everyone’s lips, as contenders riffle through their archives searching for old ALP or union membership cards.