New Supreme Court judges announced

7/1/04
A significant generational change is continuing in the WA Supreme Court with the announcement today of two new justices - Judge Lindy Jenkins (44) and barrister Rene Le Miere (51).
While highly qualified, both are relatively young, the parents of young children and represent a new generation of top judges taking up the reins in the State's superior court.
Attorney General Jim McGinty said that over the past three years, almost half the complement of 18 Supreme Court judges had been replaced, following an unprecedented number of retirements.
Judge Jenkins and Mr Le Miere will replace retiring Justices Robert Anderson and Kevin Parker. They will take up their appointments early next month.
Mr McGinty said it was unusual for such an extensive reshaping of a superior court to occur in such a relatively short time frame.
"It has become a real changing of the guard with a significantly younger group of judges now in place," he said.
"Certainly, the age change has been very pronounced, with all of the new appointments aged in their 40s to early 50s."
Mr McGinty said there had also been a gradual shift in the gender imbalance evident in the top court, with the appointment of Judge Jenkins bringing to four out of 18 the number of female Supreme Court judges, compared with just one three years ago.

• Lindy Jenkins - a District Court Judge since 2001 - will move to the Supreme Court on February 3. A respected solicitor and prosecutor and former Deputy Crown Counsel before she was appointed to the District Court, Judge Jenkins has extensive experience in both the criminal and civil law jurisdictions.

• Rene Le Miere QC will take up his appointment on February 2. Mr Le Miere has extensive experience in areas ranging from personal injury litigation and industrial law through to defamation and commercial law. His achievements as a barrister were formally recognised in 1993 when he was appointed Queens Counsel.