John Morris (judge)
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The Honourable Sir John Morris KCMG |
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|---|---|
| 8th Chief Justice of Tasmania | |
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In office 15 April 1940 – 3 July 1956 |
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| Preceded by | Sir Harold Crisp |
| Succeeded by | Stanley Burbury |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
24 December 1902 Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 3 July 1956 (aged 53) Hobart, Tasmania, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Louisa McDermott |
| Alma mater | University of Melbourne |
| Profession | Judge, barrister |
Sir John Demetrius Morris KCMG (24 December 1902 – 3 July 1956) was an Australian jurist, who was Chief Justice of Tasmania from 1940 until his death in office in 1956.
Morris was born in 1902 in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn. He was the third child of James Demetrius Morris, a New Zealander of Greek descent, and his Victorian-born wife Margaret Jane Smith. He was educated at St Patrick's College, East Melbourne, and then studied arts and law at the University of Melbourne.
On 7 November 1927, Morris was admitted to the Victorian Bar. In October 1930, he and his new wife, Mary McDermott, moved to Hobart, where Morris was admitted to the Tasmanian Bar. He joined the law firm of Albert Ogilvie, later becoming a partner in the firm with Ogilvie and Nick McKenna, which was renamed Ogilvie, McKenna & Morris in 1931. Morris eventually handled most of the firm's case work when Ogilvie and McKenna shifted their focus to political aspirations, and he left the partnership in 1938 to establish his own legal practice.
In July 1939, the Premier of Tasmania, Edmund Dwyer-Gray appointed Morris to the Supreme Court of Tasmania as acting Chief Justice while Sir Harold Crisp was on long service leave pending his retirement. With Crisp's term concluded in April 1940, Morris was sworn in as Chief Justice on 15 April. He was made Knight Bachelor on 1 January 1943, and upgraded to Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1952. As Chief Justice, Morris oversaw the 1947 case of corruption charges against the Premier, Robert Cosgrove, in which Cosgrove was acquitted of all charges and resumed the premiership in February 1948.
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