Gerald Friedman SC (13 September 1928 – 11 September 2023) was a South African judge who was Judge President of the Cape Provincial Division of the Supreme Court.

Early life and education

Friedman studied at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

and obtained the degrees of BA and

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

Career

In 1950, Friedman was admitted to the Cape

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

and twenty year later, in 1970 he

took silk In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or a ...

. In 1977, he was appointed a judge at the Cape Provincial Division of the Supreme Court and in 1990, he was promoted to Judge of Appeal. In 1992 re-joined the Cape Division of the Supreme Court, becoming the Judge President of the Cape, a post he had held until 1998. From 1999 until 2010, Friedman acted as the chairperson of the Financial Services Appeal Board and from 1999 until 2007, also as chair of the Ombudsman's Council.

Notable cases

Friedman was the presiding judge in the murder trial of the accused for the murder of the American student, Amy Biehl, during 1993. He convicted the accused and sentenced them to 18 years in prison.

Death

Friedman died on 11 September 2023, two days before his 95th birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedman, Gerald 1928 births 2023 deaths 20th-century South African judges South African judges University of Cape Town alumni White South African people