Top prosecutor transitions from Director of Public Prosecutions to the bench
Kerri Elizabeth Judd KC has been appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria.
This appointment follows her eight-year tenure with the Office of Public Prosecutions (OPP), where she served as Director of Public Prosecutions and played a key role in prosecuting some of the state’s most significant legal matters, including the cases against Peter Dupas, George Pell, and James Gargasoulas.
With over 30 years of legal experience, Justice Judd has served as both solicitor and counsel and was appointed Senior Counsel in 2007. Her legal career has spanned criminal law, administrative law, and common law, among other areas.
Notably, she also led the prosecution in Faruk Orman v The Queen, the first case related to the “Lawyer X” scandal, where the Victorian Court of Appeal commended her fairness.
Brendan Kissane KC, the newly appointed Director of Public Prosecutions, called her appointment a “significant achievement in an already eminent career,” in a press release. He noted that while her departure would be felt at the OPP, her presence on the Supreme Court would strengthen public confidence in the judiciary.
Justice Judd’s diverse career has also included representing the State of Victoria in various royal commissions, inquiries, and law reform reviews. She has held leadership roles within the legal community, including on the Victorian Bar Council, and mentored women in law.
Solicitor for Public Prosecutions Abbey Hogan praised Justice Judd’s integrity, work ethic, and commitment to fairness: “As a judge, I expect Kerri will apply herself with the same formidable intellect, integrity, down-to-earth civility, and capacity for hard work for which she is known.”
Justice Judd holds both a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne. She was also the first woman in Victoria to be appointed Director of Public Prosecutions, and her contributions to the legal profession have been widely recognized.