David Hodgson

David Hargraves Hodgson (10 August 1939 – 5 June 2012) was a judge of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, the highest court in the State of New South Wales, Australia, which forms part of the Australian court hierarchy. He was described by James Allsop, Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, as "one of the finest judges who ever graced a court in this country".

Education

Hodgson was educated at Sydney Grammar School from 1950 to 1956, where he played rugby, served in the cadets, was dux of the school, and topped the state in mathematics I and II.

Hodgson attended the University of Sydney with a university and Commonwealth scholarship.

Hodgson then attended the University of Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship, where he completed a Doctor of Philosophy on the topic of utilitarianism which formed the basis of his book, Consequences of Utilitarianism.

Legal career

In 1962 Hodgson served as associate to High Court judge Sir Victor Windeyer. He was admitted to the bar in 1965. He wrote primarily on the topics of free will and consciousness. Hodgson authored three books published by Oxford University Press, Consequences of Utilitarianism (1967), The Mind Matters: Consciousness and Choice in a Quantum World (1991) and Rationality + Consciousness = Free Will (2011). The judge also wrote on probability and plausible reasoning.

Personal Hodgson married in 1964 and had two sons and a daughter. He enjoyed classical music and jazz, and played tennis regularly.

Hodgson died on 5 June 2012.