Diane McGrath Fingleton was born on 11 January 1947 and is a former magistrate in the Queensland Magistrates Court, most notable for being appointed Chief Magistrate and later being convicted of the offence of intimidation of a witness, before the conviction was quashed on appeal to the High Court of Australia.
11 Facts About Diane Fingleton
1.
2.
Diane Fingleton was a stenographer on Bill Hayden's staff in the Whitlam government years.
3.
Diane Fingleton studied at university in the late 1970s and early '80s, and graduated with a law degree.
4.
In 1999, Diane Fingleton was appointed to the position of Chief Magistrate.
5.
In 2002, Diane Fingleton emailed a fellow Magistrate, Basil Gribbin, threatening to have him dismissed from the senior position of Co-ordinating Magistrate, whilst retaining his position as Magistrate, because he had supported a colleague in a workplace dispute against her.
6.
Diane Fingleton viewed Gribbin's action as evidence he had no faith in her role as Chief Magistrate, perceiving his behaviour to be openly provocative and disloyal.
7.
Diane Fingleton appealed, and the Queensland Court of Appeal appeal upheld her conviction but halved her jail sentence.
8.
Diane Fingleton sought special leave to take her case to the High Court of Australia.
9.
Later that year, Diane Fingleton was again appointed and sworn in as a magistrate of the Caloundra Magistrates Court.
10.
Diane Fingleton continued to serve at board appointments and speaker engagements.
11.
In 2017, Ms Diane Fingleton was special guest speaker at the 50th anniversary event for human rights and legal advocacy organisation, Queensland Council for Civil Liberties in Brisbane.