Sarah Bradley (Judge)

Her Honour Judge Sarah Bradley, has been a Judge of the District Court of Queensland, Australia since 25th of March 1999, and a Judge of the Children's Court of Queensland.

B.A. University of Queensland 1976LL.B. University of Queensland 1978

Career Development

Legal Officer in Prosecution Section of Solicitor-General’s Office, Brisbane July 1978 to November 1979 Employed Solicitor, Mooloolaba and O’Dwyer and Murphy, Solicitors (subsequently O’Dwyer and Bradley), Woodridge November 1979 to August 1981August 1982 to June 1984 Partner in firm, O’Dwyer and Bradley, Solicitors July 1984 to March 1990 Part-time Member of the Misconduct Tribunals within the Criminal Justice Commission of Queensland August 1990 to August 1993 Chair or co-chair of Mediation Conferences for Legal Aid Office (Qld) February 1991 to June 1993 Stipendiary Magistrate - Rockhampton August 1993 to November 1995 Stipendiary Magistrate - Townsville December 1995 to March 1999 Member of District Court Judges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Committee Since 2000 Member of the council of James Cook University Since 2002 President of Australian Association of Women Judges Since 2006.

Recent controversy

Judge Bradley attracted criticism in 2007 when it was widely reported in the Australian media that nine teenagers who gang raped a 10-year-old girl escaped jail. She did not record convictions against six teenagers and gave suspended sentences to the three others over the 2005 gang rape at the indigenous Aurukun community on Cape York. Three others were given suspended sentences.

The girl had "probably agreed" to have sex with the nine, Judge Bradley said during her sentencing remarks. The current Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced his disgust at Bradley's decision. Judge Bradley's former law partner, solicitor Tim O'Dwyer, in December 2007 wrote this background piece for The Gold Coast Bulletin newspaper: "BEFORE she began making headlines for her sentencing of offenders, Judge Sarah Bradley left her mark indelibly...in Logan.Sarah Bradley is, in fact, the first (and only) magistrate ever to be elevated to Queensland's District Court.Ours was a great little suburban solicitors' partnership from 1984 to 1990. We won and lost a few court cases, but satisfactorily settled most.At the same time we survived a couple of conveyancing booms, shared some TAFE Justice of the Peace teaching, toasted a few radical High Court decisions and let our fax machine run hot for Amnesty International after China's Tiananmen Square massacre.After attending Nambour High (around the same time future Prime Minister Rudd was there) Sarah obtained arts and laws degrees from the University of Queensland and in 1978, after admission as a barrister, she worked as a legal officer in the prosecution section of the Solicitor General's Office, Brisbane.She then changed legal branches to spend two years as a solicitor on the Sunshine Coast.In 1992, after overseas travel, she took up employment as a solicitor with my then firm of O’Dwyer & Murphy.When Rod Murphy later left (to run a camping shop), Sarah joined me as a partner in his place and before long the name was changed to (and remains) O’Dwyer & Bradley.In 1990, having married and begun a family, Sarah retired from our practice, but soon served as a part-time member of the Misconduct Tribunals within the Criminal Justice Commission. Before being appointed a magistrate in 1993 she regularly chaired mediation conferences for the Legal Aid Office.Her first posting as a magistrate was to Rockhampton (from 1993 to 1995). She then transferred to Townsville, where she was also the visiting magistrate to Palm Island.At her District Court swearing-in in Cairns then Chief Judge Pat Shanahan spoke of the qualities which `eminently' fitted her forappointment to that bench: her amicable disposition, ability to mix and work as part of a team, her keen sense of humour and her reputation of being a hard worker.Attorney-General Matt Foley described Her Honour's `intellectual excellence', her `love of justice' and commitment to encouraging community participation in the criminal justice system.This commitment, he said, was particularly evident in her work on Palm Island, where she developed a strong relationship with a Community Justice Group by involving it with the sentencing process.From 1982 to 1988 she was a volunteer member of the South Brisbane Immigration and Community Legal Service and for four years was its management committee chairperson. Sarah said that she believed her appointment from the magistracy could be seen as `a recognition of the high level of competency, diligence and dedication' of that service throughout Queensland.She looked forward to continuing her work with Aboriginal communities.'The gross over-representation of indigenous people in our prisons and detention centres is unacceptable,' she said, adding that new ways had to be sought to deal with indigenous Australians who found themselves in the criminal justice system.So, where do I stand on Sarah Bradley's recent controversial sentencing?I agree with anthropologist, Profession Peter Sutton, who last week declined to join the universal chorus of condemnation: 'Whatever her motivations, Bradley must be heartbroken to be portrayed as treating the case in an inhumane and discriminatory manner. I am more than prepared to trust that she was motivated by some kind of goodwill.'"

[ [http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22897644-661,00.html Fury at lenient rape sentences by Cairns judge Sarah Bradley | Herald Sun ] ]

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