After her ‘brilliant boy’ drowned in an unfenced trench in 1937, Mrs Chester took legal action against the local council. Although her claim would ultimately be unsuccessful, the dissenting and empathic judgment of Justice Evatt would mark a critical moment in Australian law and its approach to psychological trauma. In our latest podcast author Gideon Haigh and Associate Professor Kylie Burns examine Justice Evatt’s judgment and discuss how inconsolable psychological trauma is viewed by our legal system today. Gideon Haigh is a well know Australian author and journalist, who has written several books on a wide variety of subjects.  Associate Professor Kylie Burns is a national recognised torts and personal injury researcher and educator. She is a co-author of the leading text Torts: Cases and Commentary. This lecture is brought to you by the Australian Academy of Law (academyoflaw.org.au/) and the Selden Society (Australia) (legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/selden-society).       Support the show (https://legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/membership-information)

Selden Society lecture series Australia

 Mrs Chester’s lost child: inconsolable psychological injury and Justice Evatt’s finest judgement

Listen to a panel discussion between the Hon Justice Peter Applegarth AM, author Gideon Haigh and Associate Professor Kylie Burns that took place after the lecture &apos;Mrs Chester’s lost child: inconsolable psychological injury and Justice Evatt’s finest judgment&apos;.This lecture was brought to you by Australian Academy of Law (academyoflaw.org.au/) and the Selden Society (Australia) (legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/selden-society). Support the show (https://legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/membership-information)

BONUS CONTENT: Mrs Chester’s lost child: inconsolable psychological injury and Justice Evatt’s finest judgment

Many leading equity texts and lawyers continue to quote Lord Eldon’s judgments. He is seen by many to be one of the most famous of the Chancery judges in equity law, as he systematised and bought certainty to its principles. Listen to Queensland barrister Andrew Stumer capture the interrelationship between Lord Eldon’s personal life, character and judgments.   Andrew Stumer was admitted to the Bar in 2010, practicing in commercial law. He served as an Associate to the Hon Justice Atkinson, Supreme Court of Queensland, undertaking articles of clerkship with Allens before commencing extensive postgraduate study aboard. Mr Stumer then worked as a Senior Associate at Allens, prior to commencing practice at the Bar.  Read the paper. Watch the lecture.Support the show (https://legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/membership-information)

Lord Eldon

Sir Samuel Griffith was undoubtedly the instigator of some of the greatest law reform moments in Queensland history. This lecture attempts to capture the most significant pieces of law reform for which he was singularly responsible for more than a quarter of a century.  The range of subjects include both civil and criminal law, substantive law and procedural law with a view to identifying what was innovative and, at times, audacious. About the speaker: The Hon Justice David Jackson began his career in law when he was admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1977. In 1990 his Honour was appointed Queen’s Counsel. Justice Jackson previously served as a member of the Supreme Court Library Committee and chaired the Queensland Law Reform Commission between 2014 and 2020. His Honour has been a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland since 2012. Read the paper. View the lecture.Support the show (https://legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/membership-information)

The audacity of Griffith as a law reformer

Mary Genevieve Gaudron was the first woman to be appointed a justice of the High Court of Australia. Gaudron served on the Court as one of its most influential members for 16 years (1987–2003), and her career has been described as ‘a classic example of talent and industry triumphant over limited opportunity’. Listen as the Hon Roslyn Atkinson AO tells the fascinating story of Gaudron’s stellar career. From being the first woman in New South Wales to be appointed as Solicitor-General and Queen’s Counsel, to her appointment as a justice of the High Court of Australia at 43, to her term as President of the International Labour Organisation’s Administrative Tribunal in Geneva. Read the paper.View the lecture.Support the show (https://legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/membership-information)

Justice Mary Gaudron

Has there ever really been a revolution in private law, never mind the law of obligations? Professor Hector MacQueen addresses that question by considering the relationship between law and revolution.  Read the paper.View the lecture. Support the show (https://legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/membership-information)

Private law’s revolutionaries: authors, codifiers and merchants?

To mark our brand new exhibition, The many hats of Sir Samuel Griffith, our latest podcast features the Australian Academy of Law and Selden Society (Australia) webinar, Celebrating Samuel Griffith.  The Hon Justice Peter Applegarth AM chairs a distinguished panel, exploring some of the interesting and important aspects of Griffith’s life: The Hon Chief Justice Catherine Holmes AC on Griffith the Politician Professor Carolyn Evans, Vice Chancellor and President of Griffith University on Griffith’s role in drafting the Constitution John McKenna QC on Griffith the Lawyer Dr Raymond Evans on Griffith’s early life Professor Sarah Joseph on the Griffith Court View the speaker notes. Watch the webinar recording.Become a Selden Society member. Support the show (https://legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/membership-information)

Celebrating Samuel Griffith

After discovering a badly decomposed snail at the bottom of a bottle of ginger ale, Mrs Donoghue became ill and then sued the manufacturer. Lord Atkin’s judgment in this case would have a lasting impact on society. Hear the Hon Justice Applegarth AM discuss this case and others that made Lord Atkin one of the most influential judges of his or any generation.   Read the paper.View the lecture. Visit the exhibition.Support the show (https://legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/membership-information)

Lord Atkin

In the early hours of a cold Brisbane morning in 1968, David Bertram Brooks entered the unlocked front door of Queensland’s historic Supreme Court. Resentful of the police and the justice system for his frequent arrests, Brooks made his way to the judges’ chambers and set the building alight. In the days following the fire, judges, their associates, members of the legal profession and law students from The University of Queensland diligently searched through the charred rooms to salvage books, court records, artworks and personal effects.  Speaker the Hon Richard Chesterman AO RFD QC was a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland (1998–2008) and Queensland Court of Appeal (2008–2012). He also served on the Mental Health Tribunal (1998–2002) and as a Commercial List judge (2002–08). In September 1968 he was a final year law student and associate to the Hon Justice Wanstall, (later Chief Justice). Read the lecture. View the lecture.  Support the show (https://legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/membership-information)

Supreme Court Fire of 1968

Sir Harry Talbot Gibbs PC AC GCMC QC served as a Justice of the High Court of Australia for more than 16 years (1970–87), rising to the office of Chief Justice from 1981 to 1987. As a judge of exemplary ability and integrity, with no political affiliations, Sir Harry Gibbs played a key role in maintaining public confidence in the High Court during this challenging period of controversy and change. Speaker David Jackson AM QC leads New Chambers in NSW. His principal areas of practice are appellate, constitutional, commercial, common, public and administrative, taxation and revenue law, equity, arbitration and mediation. He was an associate to Sir Harry Gibbs while he was a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland. He was called to the Bar in 1964, appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1976 and worked in private practice in Brisbane until 1985 when he was appointed a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia (1985–87). Read the speaker&apos;s notes.View the lecture recording. Support the show (https://legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/membership-information)

Sir Harry Gibbs CJ

In this episode Professor Warren Swain examines Lord Mansfield and his influence in developing the common law to meet the growing needs of commercial practice.In particular, his judgments shaped the law in relation to bills of exchange, marine insurance and intellectual property and he drew upon equitable concepts to create the groundwork for the later development of doctrines of estoppel and restitution.View the speakers notes. Support the show (https://legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/membership-information)

Lord Mansfield

Barrister, legal scholar, parliamentarian, and judge, Sir Edward Coke (1552–1634) was at the very centre of some of the most dramatic moments in England&apos;s legal history including the trials of the Earl of Essex (1600), Sir Walter Raleigh (1603) and the conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot (1605).His outspoken conduct as a Member of Parliament soon led to his arrest and imprisonment in the Tower of London on charges of treason (1622). Even in death, at the age of 82, concern about his radical views resulted in his papers being seized by the authorities.In this insightful and entertaining episode, The Hon Justice Patrick Keane AC covers the myriad aspects of Coke&apos;s life including his early career and his appointments as Speaker of the House of Commons, Attorney-General, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and Chief Justice of the King&apos;s Bench.View the speakers notes. Support the show (https://legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/membership-information)

Sir Edward Coke

The appointment of Thomas William McCawley to the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1917 was a decision destined to provoke controversy. The challenge to his appointment was based on what were called 'purely legal and constitutional grounds', but personal motives, partisan manoeuvring and ideological goals were never far from the surface.  The case was heard by the Supreme Court, the High Court of Australia and ultimately the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, and involved several layers of constitutional controversy.  McCawley ultimately won the case and was soon after appointed Chief Justice. Sadly, he did not live long to enjoy it—he died three years later while rushing to catch a train at Roma Street Station.  https://legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/2018-lecture-fiveSupport the show (https://legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/membership-information)

Law and politics in McCawley's case

In this episode of the podcast, the Hon Margaret McMurdo AC pays tribute to the life and work of Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to be appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Throughout her long and distinguished legal career, Justice O’Connor bore witness to changing attitudes and opportunities for women in the law. She became one of the most influential members of the Supreme Court, and her moderate and more narrowly expressed approach regularly proved to be decisive of the outcome. Listen as Justice McMurdo, the first woman to be appointed as presiding judge of an Australian appellate court, explores O’Connor’s influence on generations of women lawyers and judicial officers in the US and Australia.  Support the show (https://legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/membership-information)

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor

Lord Thomas Bingham of Cornhill was described in his obituary as the greatest English judge since the Second World War. He was the first modern judge to hold all of the positions of Master of the Rolls, Lord Chief Justice, and Senior Law Lord. In this lecture, the Honourable Justice James Edelman pays tribute to the life and legacy of Lord Thomas Bingham. His Honour considers the elements of style, intelligence, patience, humility and respect that combined to make Lord Bingham one of the greatest judges of the modern era.  For more information on this lecture and on the Selden Society, visit the Supreme Court Library Queensland website https://legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/lecture-seven-lord-binghamSupport the show (https://legalheritage.sclqld.org.au/membership-information)

Lord Bingham of Cornhill

Join a variety of judicial officers, legal professionals and academics for this informative and provocative series of legal history lectures. Each episode presents a single story uncovering a unique aspect of our common law past. This might be literature or language, a fascinating event or item, a significant person, or the development of a legal idea. These lectures are recorded in the Banco Court, Brisbane, and are now available to the world.

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Selden Society lecture series Australia

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