Jeffrey Miles

Jeffrey Allan Miles AO LLM BA (1935 - ) is a distinguished Australian judge, author and jurist. He is a former chief judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. He has also held judicial appointments in New South Wales and Papua New Guinea. He recently chaired the inquiry into the conviction of David Eastman who was convicted of murdering Australian policeman Colin Winchester.

Early years

Miles was born at Newcastle, New South Wales in 1935, the son of James Albert Miles and Dora Jessie Miles. He attended Newcastle Boys High School, a selective school in one of New South Wales’ major cities. He studied law at the University of Sydney.

Career

In 1958 he was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and practised until 1965. In 1965 he was admitted to the bar in both New South Wales and the Northern Territory. In 1976 he married Patricia. In 1978 he was appointed a Public Defender in New South Wales. Public Defenders hold a statutory appointment to represent criminals in higher courts in the State. Miles continued to practise as a barrister until 1980 when he was appointed to the judiciary.

In 1980 he was appointed judge to the National Court of Papua New Guinea. The National Court is the highest trial court in the island country. He worked as a judge there until 1982. In that year, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of New South Wales, the State's highest trial court.

In 1985 he appointed Chief Justice of the Australian Capital Territory. He was appointed concurrently to the Federal Court of Australia, the highest trial court at federal level in Australia. He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia on 10 June 1994 for services to the law and the community. [ [http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=882208&search_type=quick&showInd=true It's an Honour - Honours - Search Australian Honours ] ] He continued as a judge in both the Federal Court and the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory until his retirement in 2002.

Following his retirement, Justice Miles continued his work in the law, being appointed both an acting judge in the Supreme Courts of both New South Wales and in the Australian Capital Territory – appointments he held until 2005. During this time, he was honoured with the Australian Centenary Medal in 2003. In 2005, he agreed to sit on the Law Council of Australia’s Human Rights Observer Panel. [ Law Council of Australia MediaNet Press Release. Sydney: 6 April 2005. p 1] He also chaired the Torres Strait Fisheries Assessment Advisory Panel in 2006 and 2007.

Notable cases

Justice Miles dealt with many interesting cases during his career. An often cited and legally significant case is that of R v Hollingshed [ (1993) 112 FLR 109 ] . This case involved the interpretation of Australia’s obligations under an international treaty when it had not been applied by law into Australia as affecting the treatment of a prisoner. He embarked on a full and frank discussion of the New South Wales prison system. [http://acthra.anu.edu.au/articles/T%20Higgins%20speech%20to%20new%20practitioners.pdf] Whilst he held that the treaty could be used to "interpret" the criminal law, he declined to hold that being held in “isolated protective custody” was unlawful under international obligations. [ “International Law And Australian Prisoners” Groves, Matthew [2001] UNSWLJ 11 http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/journals/UNSWLJ/2001/11.html]

In another interesting case, Miles dealt with a claim for compensation for injuries suffered by a female complainant slipping on the floor at a supermarket. The complainant, aged 58, alleged that she had been deprived from potentially earning an income as a prostitute at a brothel. The complainant produced a number of young men who were prepared to testify that they were disappointed that the complainant had not been available as a prostitute. Miles declined to award any damages. [“Obiter Dictum”, Newsletter Edition. Australian Capital Territory Young Lawyers Association No: 13 Autumn 2005 http://www.lawsocact.asn.au/content/aylc/ylnewsletter/yln13.pdf]

Miles led an inquiry that generated significant media interest into the conviction of David Harold Eastman. The inquiry was held after a judicial review of his case was ordered in 2003. Eastman had been sentenced to life imprisonment for the shooting of Colin Winchester, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, outside his Canberra home in 1989. Eastman had earlier lost appeals to the Federal Court and the High Court of Australia. After hearing evidence at the inquiry for over two years, Miles presented his report to the Australian Capital Territory Government. He concluded that Eastman was fit to plead to the indictment. [”ACT cop killer seeks leave to reopen case” Amy Coopes, AAP General News Wire. Sydney: 25 September 2007. p 1] [”Inquiry rules Eastman was fit to plead”AAP General News Wire. Sydney: 10 October 2005. p 1] [”Inquiry begins into police murder conviction” ABC Premium News. Sydney: 11 October 2004. p 1]

Publications

*“Bail Legislation: Objectives and Achievements” http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/proceedings/06/miles.pdf
*“The Role of the Victim in the Criminal Process: Fairness to the Victim and Fairness to the Accused” (1995) 19 Criminal Law Journal 193
*”The Role of Judicature in the Australian Capital Territory” 1993, The Sixth Blackburn Memorial Lecture.

References