The Honourable James Roland Tomson Wood AO, KC (born 1941) is the chairman of

Law Reform Commission of New South Wales The New South Wales Law Reform Commission is a commission to investigate, review and advise on the reform of the law in New South Wales, a state of Australia. The present commission came into existence on 25 September 1967 although it had been ...

, the chairman of the

New South Wales Sentencing Council The New South Wales Sentencing Council is an advisory body established by the New South Wales Government to provide guidelines and to promote consistency in sentencing of offenders in New South Wales, a state of Australia. The council provides ad ...

, the Inspector of the Police Integrity Commission and a former judge in Australia. He is currently a judge of the

Fiji Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal of Fiji is one of three courts that were established by Chapter 9 of the 1997 Constitution, the others being the High Court and the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal was a new institution established when the 1997 Constitut ...

Early years

Wood was born in Sydney in 1941. He attended

Knox Grammar School , motto_translation = The Manly Thing Is Being Done , established = , founder = John Gilmore, William McIlrath, Robert Gillespie and Andrew Reid , type = Independent school, Independe ...

and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

, graduating with the

University Medal A University Medal is one of several types of award conferred by universities upon outstanding students or members of staff. The usage and status of university medals differ between countries and between universities. As award on graduation Many ...

in Law in 1964.

Career

Wood was admitted as a solicitor of the

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court ...

in 1964. He was called to the bar in 1970 and subsequently became a

Queen's Counsel 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 o ...

. He was appointed a judge of the

in 1984 and became the Chief Judge at Common Law in 1984 before retiring in 2005. He served as chairman of the

between 1982 and 1984. During his time as a judge, he served as a royal commissioner in the New South Wales police royal commission. He is widely recognized as a conservative judge, who is mostly known for his involvement in the case of the murder of Leigh Leigh. In this case a 14 year old female victim was gang raped, mutilated, tortured and her body discarded on a beach in New South Wales. Woods was widely criticized for his judgement as he shifted the blame of the rape and murder partly on the underaged victim. After being the presiding judge in this case, he went to dismiss the appeal of this case as head of the Crime Commission. He is currently the chairman of both the

New South Wales Law Reform Commission The New South Wales Law Reform Commission is a commission to investigate, review and advise on the reform of the law in New South Wales, a state of Australia. The present commission came into existence on 25 September 1967 although it had been ...

and the

. In November 2008 he released the Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into

Child Protection Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home. One of the ways to e ...

Services in NSW. The inquiry reported on what changes were required within the child protection system to improve the safety of children and families in NSW. Wood is also Patron o
Pathfinders
an Armidale-based not for profit organisation that supports vulnerable and disadvantaged children and communities.

Honours

He received an AO in 2000 for "service to the community as Royal Commissioner into the New South Wales Police Service, and to the judiciary as a Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales".

References

*Who's Who Australia 2006. *Law Reform Commission homepage - http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/lrc/ll_lrc.nsf/pages/LRC_wood 1941 births Living people Australian King's Counsel Australian royal commissioners Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales People educated at Knox Grammar School Australian judges on the courts of Fiji Officers of the Order of Australia {{Australia-law-bio-stub