Terry O'Gorman is a lawyer in

Queensland, Australia Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, ...

and leading civil libertarian. In 1979, O'Gorman was elected President of the

Queensland Council for Civil Liberties The Queensland Council for Civil Liberties (QCCL) is a voluntary organisation in Australia concerned with the protection of individual rights and civil liberties. It was founded in 1966 in order "to protect and promote the human rights and freed ...

('QCCL') and served as president until 1985. He again held presidency from 1990 to 1994. He is currently the Vice President of the QCCL. O'Gorman specialises in

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

, yet it was the area of Aboriginal Aid in which he first commenced his legal career. An influential member of the QCCL, "it was during the days as a university student and under the rule of

Joh Bjelke-Petersen Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen (13 January 191123 April 2005) was an Australian politician and farmer who served as premier of Queensland between 1968 and 1987, for almost 20 years, as state leader of the National Party (earlier known as the C ...

that he first became aware of the need to protect civil rights." In 2008 O'Gorman commented that "civil liberties on the streets have improved, but the battle has moved to a 'law and order auction' being played out in the media, which used to be centred around the political cycle but now appears to be a permanent fixture.""Civil Libertarian and Criminal Lawyer Terry O'Gorman" ABC Local conversations with Richard Fidler 7 Aug 2008. Abc.net.au. Web. 7 May. 2012

Early years

Raised in Brisbane, he was one of 15 children raised in a Catholic family which included two police officers, another lawyer, and three nuns. As a university student during the

Bjelke-Petersen Bjelke-Petersen is the name of an Australian family of Danish descent. The common ancestors of the Australian family are Georg Peter Bjelke-Petersen (born c. 1845), a Danish farmer and master-builder, and his wife Caroline Vilhelmine (maiden nam ...

years, O'Gorman became aware of the need to fight for human rights. His early working years were spent with Aboriginal Legal Aid. It was there that he noticed the brutal treatment of indigenous Australians at the hands of the police. Taking matters into their own hands, O'Gorman and colleagues began secretly taping the police. This resulted in a number of miscarriage of justice cases being proved. By cross-examining

during the

Fitzgerald Inquiry The Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct (the Fitzgerald Inquiry; 1987–1989) into Queensland Police corruption was a judicial inquiry presided over by Tony Fitzgerald QC. The inquiry resulted ...

, he was instrumental in changing the thinking and mindset of judges and politicians who refused to believe that the police were abusing their positions of power.

Later years

In later years O'Gorman became involved in the Australian Council of Civil Liberties. He has also been involved in a number of issues involving racism, treatment of asylum-seekers, the introduction of the

Smart Card A smart card (SC), chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card), is a card used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an Embedded system, embedded integrated circuit (IC) chip. Many smart ...

and the

Go card Go, GO, G.O., or Go! may refer to: Arts and entertainment Games and sport * Go (game), a board game for two players * '' Travel Go'' (formerly ''Go – The International Travel Game''), a game based on world travel * Go, the starting position ...

. He has also been critical of the way that Australia's police have dealt with indigenous Australians, and the resulting

Deaths in custody A death in custody is a death of a person in the custody of the police or other authorities or while in prison. In the 21st century, death in custody remains a controversial subject, with the authorities often being accused of abuse, neglect and ...

. In July 2010 it was reported in major newspapers around Australia that people have had their movements tracked by using the Go Card. It had turned out that Australian police had been accessing the Go Card records to find out about the movements of certain people. O'Gorman had commented that he wasn't surprised that the police were accessing Go Card records, stating that previous concerns asserting that Go Cards would be used for surveillance had been justified.Brisbane Time
Police watching where you Go, Sean Baugmart
/ref> O'Gorman also stated that he was unsure if his Go Card was registered, as his wife had obtained it for him, but added that he would be de-registering it. As of August 2010, Queensland Police were set to appeal to the state’s privacy commissioner not to cut their access to the movements of Brisbane's commuters that were recorded on the Go Cards.

Current

At present he is a lawyer with Robertson O'Gorman Solicitors. He is also the Vice President of the

.Robertson O'Gorman Solicitor
Terry O’Gorman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogorman, Terry 20th-century Australian lawyers Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Brisbane Australian civil rights activists 21st-century Australian lawyers