Jeffrey Miles

Jeffrey Allan Miles (20 March 1935 – 11 February 2019) was an Australian author and jurist. He was a Chief Justice of the Australian Capital Territory. He also held judicial appointments in New South Wales and Papua New Guinea. In 2005 he conducted a judicial review into the fitness to be tried of David Eastman who had been convicted of murdering Australian policeman Colin Winchester. In 2008, he was elected President of the Australian Capital Territory Branch of the International Commission of Jurists.

He attended Newcastle Boys High School and matriculated to the University of Sydney;

Following his retirement, Miles continued his work in the law, being appointed both an acting judge in the Supreme Courts of both New South Wales and in the Australian Capital Territory – appointments he held until 2005. He also chaired the Torres Strait Fisheries Assessment Advisory Panel in 2006 and 2007. This case involved the interpretation of Australia's obligations under an international treaty when it had not been applied by law into Australia as affecting the treatment of a prisoner. He embarked on a full and frank discussion of the New South Wales prison system. Whilst he held that the treaty could be used to interpret the criminal law, he declined to hold that being held in “isolated protective custody” was unlawful under international obligations.

Miles dealt with a claim for compensation for injuries suffered by a female complainant slipping on the floor at a supermarket. The complainant, aged 58, alleged that she had been deprived from potentially earning an income as a prostitute at a brothel. The complainant produced a number of young men who were prepared to testify that they were disappointed that the complainant had not been available as a prostitute. Miles declined to award any damages.

Miles led an inquiry into the fitness to be tried of David Harold Eastman. Eastman had been sentenced to life imprisonment for the shooting of Colin Winchester, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, outside his Canberra home in 1989. Eastman had earlier lost appeals to the Federal Court and the High Court of Australia from his conviction. After hearing evidence at the inquiry for over two years, Miles presented his report to the Australian Capital Territory Government. He concluded that Eastman was fit to plead to the indictment.

Awards and honours On 10 June 1994, he was made an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia for "service to the law and the community".

In 2003, he was awarded the Centenary Medal.

Publications

"Bail Legislation: Objectives and Achievements"; "The role of the victim in the criminal process: fairness to the victim and fairness to the accused"; "The Role of Judicature in the Australian Capital Territory"; "The Judicature in the Australian Capital Territory"; "Justice at the Seat of Government".