Robert Richter (lawyer)
Encyclopedia
Robert Richter QC
is a prominent Australia
n barrister
, based in Melbourne
.
Born in Kyrgyzstan
c
1945, Richter's family arrived in Australia in 1959. Richter was admitted to the degrees of Bachelor of Arts
and Bachelor of Laws
in the late 1960s. He was "called to the bar
" on 5 August 1971. A prominent critic of human rights
violations and advocate for the rule of law, he often represents plaintiff
s unpopular in public opinion, some of high profile.
1945 in the then Kirghiz Republic
, a federal state of the former Soviet Union
. After having lived for ten years in Israel
, Richter's family moved to Melbourne, Australia, following an uncle who had an already established business in "the Rag Trade
". Along with rest of his family, the 13-year-old Richter arrived in Australia with little or no English
. It has been reported that he taught himself English with the aid of Television program
s and dictionaries.
Richter's son Louis is a rock musician who has been a member of Australian indie pop
bands Mid-State Orange and The Lucksmiths
.
, and the Bachelor of Laws
with honours from Monash University
.
from 1997 to 1999. Richer was President of the Victorian Council for Civil Liberties from 1994 to 1996. In addition to his business as a barrister, Richter was also a part-time Commissioner of the Law Reform Commission of Victoria from 1989 to 1992.
against charges that he allegedly illegally moved A$
66.5 million from Elders IXL, to "Equiticorp Tasman Ltd", a shelf company Elliot was alleged to control.
In 2002 Richter acted for Ray Williams
in the HIH Insurance
Royal Commission
and the inter-related court cases.
In 1998 Richter led the defense for now convicted "Hoddle Street Massacre" perpetrator Julian Knight
.
In 1987, Richer acted for surgeon
Dr Ian McGoldrick who was indicted on 11 charges of procuring abortions
contrary to the then sections 64 to 66 of the Victorian CRIMES ACT (1958) The case was dismissed at committal hearings, the presiding Justice following Justice Menhennitt's reasoning in 1969 matter of R v Davidson[1969] VR 667 at 670
In 1994, Richter successfully defended Victorian Police
officer Cliff Lockwood in the Supreme Court of Victoria
against charges that Lockwood allegedly murdered Walsh Street police shootings
suspect Gary Abdallah in 1989.
In 2000 and 2003, Richter acted for then ATSIC chairman Geoff Clark.
In 2005, Richter successfully defended Melbourne underworld crime figure Mick Gatto against the charge of murdering suspected underworld hitman Andrew Veniamin
.
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
is a prominent Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
, based in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
Born in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
c
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
1945, Richter's family arrived in Australia in 1959. Richter was admitted to the degrees of Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
in the late 1960s. He was "called to the bar
Call to the bar
The Call to the Bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party, and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar"...
" on 5 August 1971. A prominent critic of human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
violations and advocate for the rule of law, he often represents plaintiff
Plaintiff
A plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the term used in some jurisdictions for the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court...
s unpopular in public opinion, some of high profile.
Personal life
Richter was born cCirca
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
1945 in the then Kirghiz Republic
Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic
The Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Kirghiz SSR, the Kyrgyz SSR, or even Kirghizia, was one of republics that made up the Soviet Union...
, a federal state of the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. After having lived for ten years in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Richter's family moved to Melbourne, Australia, following an uncle who had an already established business in "the Rag Trade
Textile industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the production of yarn, and cloth and the subsequent design or manufacture of clothing and their distribution. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry....
". Along with rest of his family, the 13-year-old Richter arrived in Australia with little or no English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. It has been reported that he taught himself English with the aid of Television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
s and dictionaries.
Richter's son Louis is a rock musician who has been a member of Australian indie pop
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
bands Mid-State Orange and The Lucksmiths
The Lucksmiths
The Lucksmiths were an indie pop band from Melbourne, Australia known for witty, intelligent lyrics, a strong melodic sense and a jangly pop sound harkening back to early-80's bands such as The Smiths and The Go-Betweens.-History:...
.
Tertiary education
Richter was admitted to the degrees of the Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
, and the Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
with honours from Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
.
Membership of statutory bodies and professional organisations
Richter was a committee member of the then "Criminal Bar Association of Victoria", and the Victorian Bar CouncilVictorian Bar
The Victorian Bar is the bar association for the Australian State of Victoria. Its members are barristers registered to practice in Victoria. On 19 January 2006, there were 1627 counsel practising as members of the Victorian Bar. Once a barrister has been admitted to practice by the Supreme Court...
from 1997 to 1999. Richer was President of the Victorian Council for Civil Liberties from 1994 to 1996. In addition to his business as a barrister, Richter was also a part-time Commissioner of the Law Reform Commission of Victoria from 1989 to 1992.
Notable cases
In 1996 Richter successfully defended John ElliottJohn Elliott (businessman)
John Dorman Elliott is a former president of the Liberal Party, and former president of Carlton Football Club. In 2003 he was found guilty of trading while insolvent and in 2005 declared bankrupt...
against charges that he allegedly illegally moved A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
66.5 million from Elders IXL, to "Equiticorp Tasman Ltd", a shelf company Elliot was alleged to control.
In 2002 Richter acted for Ray Williams
Ray Williams (businessman)
Raymond Reginald Williams is an Australian businessman and corporate criminal. In 2005 he was imprisoned for two years and nine months for filing false financial statements and failing his duty as a director....
in the HIH Insurance
HIH Insurance
HIH Insurance was Australia's second largest insurance company. It was placed into provisional liquidation on 15 March 2001. The demise of HIH is considered to be the largest corporate collapse in Australia's history, with liquidators estimating that HIH's losses totalled up to $5.3 billion...
Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
and the inter-related court cases.
In 1998 Richter led the defense for now convicted "Hoddle Street Massacre" perpetrator Julian Knight
Julian Knight
Julian Knight is the mass murderer who on 9 August 1987, shot dead seven people and injured 19 during a shooting spree in Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia, in what became known in Australian history as the Hoddle Street Massacre....
.
In 1987, Richer acted for surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
Dr Ian McGoldrick who was indicted on 11 charges of procuring abortions
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
contrary to the then sections 64 to 66 of the Victorian CRIMES ACT (1958) The case was dismissed at committal hearings, the presiding Justice following Justice Menhennitt's reasoning in 1969 matter of R v Davidson
In 1994, Richter successfully defended Victorian Police
Victoria Police
Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of Victoria, Australia. , the Victoria Police has over 12,190 sworn members, along with over 400 recruits, reservists and Protective Service Officers, and over 2,900 civilian staff across 393 police stations.-Early history:The Victoria Police...
officer Cliff Lockwood in the Supreme Court of Victoria
Supreme Court of Victoria
The Supreme Court of Victoria is the superior court for the State of Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1852, and is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited jurisdiction within the state...
against charges that Lockwood allegedly murdered Walsh Street police shootings
Walsh Street police shootings
The Walsh Street police shootings was the 1988 murder of two Victoria Police officers, Constables Steven Tynan, 22, and Damian Eyre, 20. The officers were responding to a report of an abandoned car when they were gunned down about 4.50am in Walsh Street, South Yarra, Australia on 12 October...
suspect Gary Abdallah in 1989.
In 2000 and 2003, Richter acted for then ATSIC chairman Geoff Clark.
In 2005, Richter successfully defended Melbourne underworld crime figure Mick Gatto against the charge of murdering suspected underworld hitman Andrew Veniamin
Andrew Veniamin
Andrew "Benji" Veniamin was an Australian criminal, convicted car thief, murderer accused of killing 7 underworld figures and was one of the key figures involved in the Melbourne underworld killings...
.