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Sarah Huggett

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Sarah Huggett is an Australian lawyer and judge who is the first female Chief Judge of the District Court of New South Wales.

Early life and education

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Sarah Huggett was born in Moree, one of eight children and the daughter of a police officer.[1][2] She has a BA from Macquarie University and graduated from the University of Sydney with first class honours in law in 1991.[1] Huggett completed a Master of Laws in 1995.[1][3]

Career

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Huggett worked for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from 1993, including time on exhange in the United Kingdom with the Crown Prosecution Service.[1][3] She was appointed a Crown prosecutor in 2001.[1] Huggett was an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School is Los Angeles in 2009.[1]

Huggett was appointed to the District Court of New South Wales in October 2012, working on the Criminal Trial Bench for twelve years.[1][4] She oversaw a number of complex criminal cases, including many child sexual abuses cases.[5] She was one of the judges on the court's Walama List, a trial of alternative sentencing procedures seeking to reduce Indigenous Australian incarceration.[1][2] She was the Court's representative on the Consent Monitoring and Advisory Group Meeting and Chair of the Child Sexual Offence Evidence Program Steering Committee.[6][4][5] She has said that lengthy sentences for sexual offences are "designed to punish the offender, denounce their conduct, protect the community and recognise the harm done to the victims".[7][8]

Huggett was appointed to the state Supreme Court in November 2023.[1][9] She was appointed Chief Judge of the District Court of NSW by Attorney General Michael Daley in April 2024, the first woman to hold the position.[1][4]

Notable cases

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Huggett was instructing solicitor to the DPP in the prosecution of Ivan Milat.[1][2] She presided over the judge-only trial of convicted murderer Chris Dawson for carnal knowledge of a student in 2023.[2][6][10] She imposed a maximum sentence of 32 years imprisonment on former MasterChef Australia contestant Paul Frost for child sexual offences.[11] In 2023, she acquitted Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka of rape through the act of stealthing in another judge alone trial.[12]

Personal life

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Huggett has two children.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Foye, Jonathan (16 April 2024). "First Woman Appointed as Chief Judge of District Court of New South Wales". Insights. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Doraisamy, Jerome (15 April 2024). "First woman appointed as Chief Judge of District Court of NSW". Lawyers Weekly. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "NSW Appoints Justice Huggett as First Female District Chief Judge". Mirage News. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Silver, Francisco (11 April 2024). ""Experience, integrity, strength of character" – Justice Huggett appointed Chief Judge of the District Court of New South Wales". LSJ Online. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  5. ^ a b Dudley, Ellie (10 April 2024). "Sarah Huggett appointed first female NSW District Court chief judge". The Australian. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Justice Sarah Huggett becomes first woman appointed as Chief Judge of NSW District Court". Women's Agenda. April 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Moree's Justice Sarah Huggett appointed as Chief Judge of District Court of NSW". The New England Times. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  8. ^ Forsyth, Heath (12 April 2024). "NSW Appoints Moree's Justice Sarah Huggett as first female District Chief Judge". Moree Champion. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  9. ^ Doraisamy, Jerome (29 November 2023). "New Supreme Court, District Court judges appointed in NSW". Lawyers Weekly. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  10. ^ Wells, Jamelle (15 September 2023). "Former Sydney teacher Chris Dawson jailed over unlawful sexual activity with student". ABC News. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  11. ^ Moona, Adhya (17 November 2023). "MasterChef Australia ex-finalist Paul Frost gets 24 years in jail for child sexual abuse". Dail O. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Sri Lankan cricketer found not guilty over Tinder date rape charge". SBS News. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
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