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John Leslie Toohey AC QC (born 1930 ), Australia n Judge , was a Justice of the High Court Of Australia from 1987 to 1998 . EDUCATION Toohey was educated at the University Of Western Australia , graduating in 1950 with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws, with first class honours in each. He was later to return to the university as a Senior Lecturer in Law from 1957 to 1958 . He was also a Visiting Lecturer from 1953 to 1965 . LEGAL CAREER Toohey was called to the Western Australian Bar in 1952 , and was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1968 . He served as president of the Western Australian Bar Association in 1970 , and was president of the Law Society Of Western Australia from 1972 to 1973 . In 1974 , Toohey was a Barrister with the Aboriginal Legal Service of North Western Australia in Port Hedland . JUDICIAL CAREER In 1977 , Toohey was appointed a justice of the Federal Court Of Australia , and, concurrently, a Justice of the Supreme Court Of The Northern Territory . In the same year, he was also selected as the inaugural Aboriginal Land Commissioner, a position he held until 1982 . From 1985 to 1986 , Toohey was a member of the Constitutional Commission. Toohey was a Federal Court justice until 1987 , when he was appointed to the High Court Of Australia . After eleven years on the bench, Toohey retired from judicial service in 1998 . He is now a Visiting Professor in Law at the University Of Western Australia . In September 2000 he was appointed to be one of the three independent members of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry (chaired by Lord Saville ) into the events of 30 January 1972 in Londonderry , Northern Ireland (replacing New Zealander Sir Edward Somers QC, who retired for personal reasons). HONOURS Toohey was made a Companion of the Order Of Australia in 1988 (AC), Australia’s highest civilian honour. Also in 1988 , Toohey was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in laws from Murdoch University in Perth , Western Australia . |
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