Diane Fingleton

Diane McGrath Fingleton (born 11 January 1947) 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.

Early life Fingleton was educated at St. Stephen's Cathedral School and All Hallows' School, in Brisbane. She was a stenographer on Bill Hayden's staff in the Whitlam government years. She studied at university in the late 1970s and early '80s, and graduated with a law degree. She waitressed at night and studied by day.

The following year, Fingleton attracted criticism from Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Paul de Jersey and others for holding reconciliation ceremonies in six Magistrates Courts in Queensland and issuing a formal apology to indigenous peoples.

Conviction In 2002, 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. and this resulted in her being charged and imprisoned for retaliation against a witness, a criminal offence under the Queensland Criminal Code. The crown brought in a prosecutor from NSW, Margaret Cunneen.

Released later that year, Fingleton worked as a lecturer at Griffith University.

The following year, in 2005, the High Court unanimously allowed the appeal and quashed Fingleton's conviction.