Patricia Lynette Goliath was born on 15 October 1964 and is a South African judge of the High Court of South Africa.
21 Facts About Patricia Goliath
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Patricia Goliath has been the acting Judge President of the Western Cape Division since December 2022, when John Hlophe was suspended and then impeached.
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Patricia Goliath was an acting judge in the Constitutional Court of South Africa in 2018, and in 2019 she was shortlisted for permanent elevation to the apex court.
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Patricia Goliath later completed an LLM and certificate in labour law at the University of Cape Town, as well as a diploma in insolvency law at the University of Pretoria.
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Patricia Goliath was a member of the Black Lawyers' Association.
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Patricia Goliath published on human rights issues including prisoners of war, gun control, and juvenile sentencing and life imprisonment.
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On 1 January 2006, Patricia Goliath joined the bench of the High Court of South Africa as a judge of the Western Cape Division.
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In matters of public prominence, Patricia Goliath presided in the Anene Booysen murder trial, the 2017 murder trial of artist Zwelethu Mthethwa, and the 2022 civic campaign to halt the development of new Amazon headquarters at the River Club in Observatory, Cape Town.
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Patricia Goliath's 2015 decision in Steyn v Hasse was an important judgment on the law of universal partnerships, and her 2016 decision in Tlouamma v Speaker of the National Assembly was relied on by parties in the Constitutional Court matter of UDM v Speaker of the National Assembly.
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In 2020, Patricia Goliath heard Mineral Sands Resources v Reddell; Mineral Commodities v Dlamini; Mineral Commodities v Clarke, a high-profile defamation suit brought by mining companies against activists opposed to the development of the Xolobeni titanium mine and Tormin sand mine.
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Patricia Goliath dismissed the suit in February 2021, upholding the activists' defence that strategic litigation against public participation constitutes unlawful abuse of process; it was the first time that such a defence had been tested in South African law.
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In June, President Jacob Zuma announced that, on the advice of the JSC, he had appointed Patricia Goliath to take office as Deputy Judge President with effect from 1 July 2016.
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When President Cyril Ramaphosa suspended Hlophe from office on 14 December 2022, Patricia Goliath took over his office in an acting capacity.
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Patricia Goliath continued to act in the office after Hlophe was impeached in early 2024.
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Patricia Goliath was seconded to the Constitutional Court as an acting justice for a full year in 2018.
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Patricia Goliath wrote one of two leading judgments in Jacobs v S, which was a notable matter because the court deadlocked.
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Patricia Goliath was asked about the Constitutional Court's treatment of her Tlouamma judgment in UDM v Speaker, about the court's deadlock in Jacobs v S, and about her understanding of the separation of powers principle.
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On 15 January 2020, Patricia Goliath approached the JSC with a formal complaint against Judge President Hlophe, accusing Hlophe of, inter alia, physical assault, intimidation, and nepotism in favour of his wife, Western Cape Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe, who was named in the complaint.
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Salie-Hlophe responded with fierce recriminations, leading Patricia Goliath to threaten her with a defamation lawsuit.
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Mogoeng and Patricia Goliath confirmed that they had met to discuss Hlophe in October 2019, though Mogoeng disputed that he had been aware of Patricia Goliath's complaint before it was made formally.
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Patricia Goliath is married to Roderick Goliath since 30 January 1993, with whom she has 2 children.