Suretta Snyders

Suretta Snyders (18 August 1959 – 29 August 2014) was a South African judge who served in the Supreme Court of Appeal from December 2008 until her death in August 2014. Formerly an advocate and Senior Counsel in Johannesburg, she was appointed to the bench in February 1997 as a judge of the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court (later the Gauteng High Court).

Early life and education Snyders was born on 18 August 1959 in Prieska in the present-day Northern Cape. Her adolescent interest in law was inspired by the career of Leonora van den Heever, who was a judge in nearby Kimberley. She matriculated at Prieska High School in 1977 and attended Stellenbosch University, where she completed a BCom in law in 1980 and an LLB in 1982.

Legal career From 1982 to 1984, Snyders worked in the legal department of the Department of Transport, which had funded her education with a bursary.

Supreme Court of Appeal: 2008–2014 In August 2008, Snyders was one of several candidates whom the Judicial Service Commission shortlisted for possible appointment to two vacancies in the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Personal life She had one son with Robert Blake, to whom she was married until his death in 2001. At the time of her death, her partner was Carolyn Dempster.