Kevin Fredrick O'Leary QC (19 February 1920 – 3 August 2015) was the second Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of the Northern Territory The Supreme Court of the Northern Territory is the superior court for the Australian Territory of the Northern Territory. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. It is a ...

. He was appointed to that position on 12 September 1985 after James Muirhead had acted in the position following the relocation to

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

of the Territory's first Chief Justice William Forster earlier that year.

Education and early life

Chief Justice O'Leary was born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, and attended the

Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham (also known as CBHS Lewisham), is a private Roman Catholic comprehensive single-sex secondary day school for boys, located in Lewisham, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ...

. He commenced studying law at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

and joined the Australian Imperial Forces in 1940 and the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

in 1942. After the war ended, he returned to studying and eventually graduated with Honours in 1948 and was admitted to practice the following year.

Legal career and other interests

Chief Justice O'Leary practised as a barrister and solicitor in Sydney and established the firm of Colreavy and O'Leary. He was called to the Bar in 1957 and relocated to the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

, where he served with distinction. He has held many important roles during his career: * Lecturer, Practice and Procedure and the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

(1964–1982) * Vice-President, Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory (1965–1967) ** President (1967–1970) * Member, Executive of the

Law Council of Australia The Law Council of Australia, founded in 1933, is an association of law societies and bar associations from the states and territories of Australia, and the peak body representing the legal profession in Australia. The Law Council represents m ...

(1969–1976) ** Vice President (1972–1974) *** President (1974–1976) * First Chair, Australian Legal Education Council from (1977–1981) * Founding Director, Legal Workshop at the Faculty of Law at the Australian National University (1971–1982) * Elected, Honorary Member of the American Bar Association (1976) Chief Justice O'Leary was appointed as an Acting Judge of the National Court of Papua New Guinea in 1976 and as an Acting Judge of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in 1982. That appointment was made permanent in 1983. He was elevated to the position of Chief Justice in 1985. He resigned in 1987 due to ill-health and relocated to

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. In retirement he lived in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, and was a resident at Calvary Retirement Village. He was appointed as a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in the Northern Territory immediately following his retirement.

Publications

* ''Principles of Practice and Procedure'' (with A. E. Hogan) (1976) * ''Supreme Court Civil Procedure'' (1987)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oleary, Kevin 1920 births 2015 deaths Australian barristers Chief justices of the Northern Territory Judges of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory 20th-century Australian judges Australian military personnel of World War II Australian King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel 21st-century King's Counsel Australian judges on the courts of Papua New Guinea Lawyers from Sydney Australian people of Irish descent People educated at Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham