WA loses formidable legal mind with death of former Supreme Court judge and CCC inspector Michael Murray

WA has lost one of its most formidable legal minds after the weekend death of former Supreme Court judge Michael Murray. Mr Murray died on Sunday. He was 78 and had been struggling with ill health for several months. Mr Murray retired from the bench in January 2012, 47 years after being admitted to legal practice. He was WA’s most experienced Supreme Court judge, having served for 22 years. He was made Senior Judge around 2001. His career included appointments as Crown Counsel, which led to his extensive review of the Criminal Code, and president of the Law Society. He was the youngest Chief Crown Prosecutor, taking on the high-profile role in his early 30s. In an interview with The West Australian at the time he stepped down, the father-of -three and one-time accomplished squash player said he intended to keep active. He made good on his pledge and his retirement was partial, at best. The keen bridge player remained chairman of the juvenile parole board and was an adjunct professor of law at Murdoch University. “I also reckon I have what everybody reckons they have in them and that’s a bestseller novel, if that ever gets written,” he said. In 2013, he was appointed Parliamentary Inspector to the Corruption and Crime Commission. When he became the CCC’s independent watchdog, Mr Murray said he was attracted to the position because it was important to ensure the oversight of work which was often covert and secretive. The parliamentary inspector is responsible for auditing the CCC’s operations and dealing with complaints against the commission. His original three-year appointment was extended and he peppered his tenure with reports criticising the CCC over various operational controversies. Former Supreme Court judge-cum-former CCC Commissioner John McKechnie, who was the target of some of Mr Murray’s reports, today paid tribute to his former colleague. “Michael was a very fair judge and a very courteous one,” Mr McKechnie said. “He was just impossible not to like. He was a nice person, a decent person.” “He loved a single-malt whiskey and there were many times he and I used to share a glass after a long day in court. It was a tradition we continued when I was commissioner and he was parliamentary inspector. “He was a natural mentor. He would willing to give his time and help and encouragement.” Mr McKechnie said Mr Murray “was a strong believer in judges being all-rounders”. “If you look now you will see that in the Supreme Court we have more or less two divisions, the civil division and the criminal division, and judges tend to be in one or the other. Michael was a very strong believer that judges should be able to do everything. “As Senior Judge he often acted when we didn’t have a Chief Justice for a time and he acted with great aplomb.” Mr Murray retired as CCC inspector in April, shortly after Mr McKechnie left the role as commissioner after the parliamentary committee responsible for appointing him refused to do so. In his April 17 letter to CCC committee chairwoman Margaret Quirk, Mr Murray said his retirement was not a result of any dissatisfaction with the work, “which has at times been challenging”. “I should add that I have always received appropriate consideration from the Hon McKechnie QC and the other members of his team, although we have by no means always agreed upon the correct outcome of a particular problem,” he wrote. Mr Murray is survived by his wife Dale, children Timothy, Christopher and Abigail, daughter-in-law Samantha and grandchildren Sarah, Ben, Emma, Isaac, Max and Zachary. “We’ll miss your wonderful love, strength and support,” the family said in a bereavement notice. “You are always in our hearts.”