{{Short description|Australian Chief Justice}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}} {{Use Australian English|date=March 2017}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = The Honourable | name = Helen Murrell | honorific_suffix = SC | image = | caption = | order = 5th | office = Chief Justice of the Australian Capital Territory | term_start = 28 October 2013 | term_end = 4 March 2022 | appointer = Simon Corbell | predecessor = Terrence Higgins | successor = Lucy McCallum | office1 = Judge of the District Court of NSW | nominator1 = | appointer1 = | term_start1 = 13 September 1996 | term_end1 = 28 October 2013 | occupation = Lawyer<br />Jurist | alma_mater = University of New South Wales <br> University of Sydney | birth_name = Helen Gay Murrell | birth_date = | birth_place = | spouse = | children = | office2 = Senior Judge of the Drug Court of New South Wales | term_start2 = 1998 | term_end2 = 2003 | office3 = Acting Judge of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales | term_start3 = 1996 | term_end3 = 1996 | office4 = President of the Equal Opportunity Tribunal of New South Wales | term_start4 = 1997 | term_end4 = 1999 | office5 = Deputy President of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal of New South Wales | term_start5 = 1997 | term_end5 = 1999 | office6 = Deputy Chairperson of the New South Wales Medical Tribunal | term_start6 = 2005 | term_end6 = 2013 }} '''Helen Gay Murrell''' {{post-nominals|country=AUS|SC}} is an Australian lawyer and judge who was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://courts.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/967792/h_g_murrell_biography.pdf|title=Chief Justice Helen Gay Murrell Biography|website=Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory|access-date=23 March 2017}}</ref>
She is the first woman to be appointed Chief Justice.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/introducing-the-acts-first-female-supreme-court-chief-justice-20130912-2tlr1.html|title=Introducing the ACT's first female Supreme Court Chief Justice|last=Inman|first=Michael|work=Canberra Times|access-date=2017-03-23|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-12/helen-murrell-named-new-chief-justice/4953468|title=ACT appoints first female Chief Justice|date=2013-09-12|website=ABC News|language=en-AU|access-date=2019-03-24}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://www.womenaustralia.info/lawyers/biogs/AWE5433b.htm|title=Helen Gay Murrell|website=Australian Women's Register|language=en-gb|access-date=2019-03-24}}</ref>
== Early life == Murrell grew up in Seaforth, New South Wales.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/northern-beaches/peninsula-woman-to-be-chief-justice-in-the-act-supreme-court/news-story/4415cb49b439131754f11b1963214329|title=Peninsula woman to be Chief Justice in the ACT Supreme Court|last=Morcombe|first=John|date=2013-09-19|website=The Daily Telegraph|language=en|access-date=2019-03-24}}</ref>
She then studied at the University of New South Wales and graduated in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />
== Career == Murrell was admitted to practise in 1977.<ref name=":1" />
She first worked at the Commonwealth Crown Solicitor's Office and then at Legal Aid NSW.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" />
In 1981, Murrell was called to the bar and was appointed senior counsel in 1995.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> She also attended the University of Sydney and graduated with a Diploma of Criminology.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />
In 1996, she was appointed a Judge of the District Court of New South Wales.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> She was also an Acting Judge in the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales during this year.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />
She served as President of the NSW Equal Opportunity Tribunal and as Deputy President of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal of New South Wales from 1997 to 1999.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />
In 1998, Murell was involved in establishing the Drug Court of New South Wales.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> She was the first Senior Judge of that court and served until 2003.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />
In 2005, she was appointed the Deputy Chairperson of the New South Wales Medical Tribunal.
On 12 September 2013, Attorney-General Simon Corbell announced the appointment of Murrell to replace the retiring Chief Justice Terence Higgins.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />
Murrell was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Australian Capital Territory on 28 October 2013 and is the first woman to have been appointed to that role.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />
She currently also serves on the committee of the National Judicial College of Australia.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />
Murrell retired as Chief Justice in March 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rattenbury |first=Shane |author-link=Shane Rattenbury |date=2021-11-23 |title=Justice McCallum appointed as ACT Chief Justice |url=https://www.cmtedd.act.gov.au/open_government/inform/act_government_media_releases/rattenbury/2021/justice-mccallum-appointed-as-act-chief-justice |access-date=2022-03-09 |website=ACT Government |language=en}}</ref> She has served as a part-time commissioner of the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption since August 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History - Independent Commission Against Corruption |url=https://www.icac.nsw.gov.au/about-the-nsw-icac/overview/history |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=www.icac.nsw.gov.au}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}} {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murrell, Helen}} Category:Chief justices of the Australian Capital Territory Category:Women chief justices Category:University of New South Wales alumni Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:20th-century Australian judges Category:20th-century Australian women judges Category:21st-century Australian judges Category:Judges of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory Category:21st-century Australian women judges Category:People educated at Redlands, Cremorne