David Kingsley Malcolm, AC, QC (6 May 1938 – 20 October 2014) was the

Chief Justice of Western Australia The Chief Justice of Western Australia is the most senior judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the highest ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of Western Australia. The chief justice is both the judicial head of the Su ...

from May 1988 until his retirement from the bench in February 2006. He was also an expatriate justice of the Supreme Court of Fiji. Born in Bunbury, Western Australia, Malcolm was educated at Guildford Grammar School in Perth and was awarded a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

in 1960. Malcolm was a graduate of the University of Western Australia. He studied for his BCL at Wadham College, Oxford. Before serving as Chief Justice, Malcolm was a deputy counsel for the Asian Development Bank and one of Western Australia's most prominent Queen's Counsel. He regularly appeared before the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

, and appeared as counsel on one of the last Australian appeals to the Privy Council before the Australia Act 1986 took effect. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on the retirement of the widely respected

Francis Burt Sir Francis Theodore Page Burt (14 June 1918 – 8 September 2004) was an Australian jurist who served as the 11th Chief Justice of Western Australia, from 1977 to 1988, and the 27th Governor of Western Australia, from 1990 to 1993. Burt wa ...

. In 1990 he also became

Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

of the state. Malcolm earned great respect during his time as Chief Justice, and received great acclaim from the legal profession on his retirement on 7 February 2006. However, during his final year on the bench he came under increasing pressure, by the media, for perceived failings on the bench after he aborted a murder trial. At his farewell, the Attorney-General,

Jim McGinty James Andrew McGinty (born 22 September 1949) is an Australian former politician. He was a Labor member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1990 to 2009, representing the district of Fremantle. He was Labor Party leader and Lea ...

, commented on the landmark judgement that Malcolm had handed down in the appeal of John Button, a high-profile case in which a manslaughter conviction was quashed over 30 years after the event. Wayne Martin replaced Malcolm as Chief Justice, and Malcolm later became Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame Australia,

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

Malcolm died in Perth in October 2014, aged 76. The David Malcolm Justice Centre, a 33-storey skyscraper located on Cathedral Square in the Perth CBD, was named in his honour in 2016. The tower houses the civil arm of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

and offices for the Department of the Attorney General and Department of Treasury.

References

* Taylor, Alister (ed) (1997) ''The Australian roll of honour : national honours & awards 1975–1996'' Sydney, N.S.W. : Roll of Honour Publications, – item on Malcolm's'' AC 1992 for service to the law and to the Crown''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malcolm, David Kingsley 1938 births 2014 deaths Australian Rhodes Scholars Companions of the Order of Australia People from Bunbury, Western Australia People educated at Guildford Grammar School Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Chief Justices of Western Australia Judges of the Supreme Court of Western Australia 20th-century King's Counsel Australian King's Counsel Australian judges on the courts of Fiji Supreme Court of Fiji justices University of Western Australia alumni