John Dominic Burns is a Judge of the

Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory is the highest court of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in Civil law (common law), civil matters and hears the most serious Criminal ...

and a former Chief Magistrate of the Australian Capital Territory.

Career

Burns was admitted to practice in 1981. He first worked at Legal Aid NSW. In 1983, Burns moved to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

and worked for the Deputy Crown Solicitors Office as a prosecutor. The following year he joined the

Australian Government Solicitor The Australian Government Solicitor (AGS) is an Australian public servant and a federal government agency of the same name which provides legal advice to the federal government and its agencies. AGS was originally the Crown Solicitor's Office, ...

. Burns then joined the firm Gallens Barristers and Solicitors in 1985 and shortly became a partner. He was called to the bar in 1989 and joined Blackburn Chambers. In 1990, Burns was appointed a Magistrate of the Australian Capital Territory and a Magistrate of the Norfolk Island Territory. After the retirement of Ron Cahill, Burns was appointed Chief Magistrate of the Australian Capital Territory on 15 December 2009. In July 2011, it was announced that Burns would be appointed to 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 ...

. He was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court on 1 August 2011. Burns currently serves on the ACT Law Reform Advisory Committee.

References

Judges of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory 21st-century Australian judges Magistrates of the Magistrates Court of the Australian Capital Territory Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Australian magistrates {{Australia-law-bio-stub