Southport Courthouse is the Gold Coast's major

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

. It houses courtrooms and chambers for part of the

District Court of Queensland The District Court of Queensland (QDC) is the second tier in the court hierarchy of Queensland, Australia. The Court deals with serious criminal offences such as rape, armed robbery and fraud. Juries are used to decide if defendants are guilty ...

, which has jurisdiction to hear criminal offences with penalties of less than 20 years imprisonment, some criminal offences with penalties of over 20 years imprisonment, and

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

matters up to A$750,000. It is located in the

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

legal district on the corner of Davenport and Hinze Street. A subsidiary

Magistrates' Court of Queensland The Magistrates Court of Queensland is the lowest court in the court hierarchy of Queensland, Australia. All criminal proceedings in Queensland begin in the Magistrates Court, with minor offences being dealt with summarily, and more serious o ...

is located at

Coolangatta Coolangatta is a coastal suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is the Gold Coast's southernmost suburb and it borders New South Wales. In the , Coolangatta had a population of 5,948 people. Geography Coolangatta and its ...

. The building was designed by ABM Architects. When completed the building housed five district courts, nine magistrates courts, a central registry, accommodation for 13 magistrates, six judges, and a watchhouse which contains cells for 68 detainees.

Court complex extensions

Queensland Premier The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...

Rob Borbidge Robert Edward Borbidge (born 12 August 1954) is a former Australian politician who served as the 35th Premier of Queensland from 1996 to 1998. He was the leader of the Queensland branch of the National Party, and was the last member of that p ...

opened the $25.9 million Southport Court extensions and watch house on February 2, 1998.

Judges

Southport's judges are: *Judge J.E. Newton - 25 February 1991 *Judge C.F Wall Q.C - 11 September 1996 *Judge M. E. Rackemann - 12 January 2004 *Judge F Kingham -17 July 2006.

References

External links

Queensland CourtsNational Library of Australia - Southport Court House and Police Station
Buildings and structures on the Gold Coast, Queensland Courthouses in Queensland Southport, Queensland 1998 establishments in Australia Government buildings completed in 1998 {{Australia-law-stub