{{Short description|Australian jurist}} {{distinguish|Peter Kid}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = His Honour Chief Judge | name = Peter Kidd | honorific_suffix = SC | image = | alt = | caption = | office = Chief Judge of the County Court of Victoria | term_start = 8 September 2015 | term_end = 2025 | nominator = Martin Pakula | appointer = Linda Dessau | predecessor = Michael Rozenes | successor = Amanda Chambers | office1 = Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria | term_start1 = 24 May 2016 | appointer1 = Linda Dessau | nominator1 = Martin Pakula | birth_name = Peter Barrington Kidd | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1965|10|4}} | birth_place = Adelaide, South Australia | citizenship = | education = Prince Alfred College | alma_mater = University of Adelaide (LLB)<br>University of Genova (LLM) | profession = Judge, lawyer }} '''Peter Barrington Kidd''' SC (born 4 October 1965) is an Australian jurist. He served as Chief Judge of the County Court of Victoria from 8 September 2015 to 2025, and as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria since 24 May 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/senior-crown-prosecutor-appointed-chief-judge-county-court|title=Senior Crown Prosecutor Appointed Chief Judge Of County Court|website=www.premier.vic.gov.au}}</ref>
As chief judge of the County Court, Kidd chaired the County Court's Board of Management and was a member of the Courts Council, the governing body of Court Services Victoria. He also sat on the boards of the Judicial College of Victoria.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.judicialcollege.vic.edu.au:80/about-us/college-board|title=College Board | Judicial College of Victoria|website=www.judicialcollege.vic.edu.au}}</ref> and the Judicial Commission of Victoria.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.judicialcommission.vic.gov.au/about/board-of-the-judicial-commission|title=Board of the Judicial Commission|website=www.judicialcommission.vic.gov.au}}</ref>
In 2018–2019, he presided over the trial of Cardinal George Pell whom he sentenced to six years in jail.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-13/george-pell-sentenced-for-sexually-abusing-choirboys/10876012|title=George Pell jailed for 'breathtakingly arrogant' abuse of two choirboys|date=2019-03-13|website=ABC News|language=en-AU|access-date=2019-08-21}}</ref> In April 2020 the High Court of Australia quashed that verdict because there was "a significant possibility that an innocent person has been convicted because the evidence did not establish guilt to the requisite standard of proof".<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6826839/High-Court-of-Australia-Pell-v-The-Queen.pdf | title=PELL v THE QUEEN | date=2020-04-07 | website=assets.documentcloud.org}}</ref>
Kidd holds a Master of Laws from the University of Geneva, where he specialised in international humanitarian and criminal law, and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Adelaide.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.vicbar.com.au/news-events/welcome-his-honour-chief-judge-peter-kidd|title=Welcome - His Honour Chief Judge Peter Kidd}}</ref>
Kidd was admitted to practice in 1990,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vicbar.com.au/news-events/peter-kidd-sc-appointed-chief-judge-county-court-victoria|title=Peter Kidd S.C. - Appointed Chief Judge of the County Court of Victoria | Victorian Bar|website=www.vicbar.com.au}}</ref> and signed the Victoria Bar Roll in 1995.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.liv.asn.au/practice-resources/law-institute-journal/archived-issues/lij-december-2015/new-kidd-on-the-block|title=New Kidd on the block|website=www.liv.asn.au}}</ref>
Between 2005 and 2008, Kidd worked as an International Prosecutor at the War Crimes Chamber of the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which investigated and tried war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed during the Bosnian conflict in the 1990s.<ref name=":0" />
Kidd joined Victoria's Crown Prosecutors' Chambers in January 2009 after returning to Australia, and in November 2011 he was appointed Senior Counsel. In July 2013 he was appointed a Senior Crown Prosecutor.<ref name=":0" />
== References == {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=Michael Rozenes }} {{s-ttl|title=Chief Judge of the County Court of Victoria |years=2015–present}} {{s-aft|after=Amanda Chambers}} {{s-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidd, Peter}} Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:Judges from Melbourne Category:Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria Category:Adelaide Law School alumni Category:University of Geneva alumni Category:People educated at Prince Alfred College Category:Australian barristers Category:Judges of the County Court of Victoria Category:Australian expatriates in Switzerland Category:Australian Senior Counsel