French
DeutschMaurice Casey (judge)
Sir Maurice Casey | |
|---|---|
| Judge of the Court of Appeal | |
| In office 6 May 1986 – 28 August 1995 | |
| Judge of the High Court | |
| In office 7 March 1975 – 6 May 1986 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Maurice Eugene Casey 28 August 1923 Christchurch, New Zealand |
| Died | 19 January 2012 (aged 88) Auckland, New Zealand |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 9 or 10 |
| Relatives | Eugene Casey (father) |
| Alma mater | Victoria University College |
| Occupation |
|
| Known for | Injunction during Finnigan v New Zealand Rugby Football Union |
Sir Maurice Eugene Casey (28 August 1923 – 19 January 2012) was a New Zealand lawyer and judge. He was appointed to the bench of the Supreme Court (now the High Court) in 1975, and elevated to the Court of Appeal in 1986. He retired in 1995.
Biography
[edit]Casey was born in Christchurch in 1923. His parents were Eugene and Beatrice Casey. He received his education at St Patrick's College in Wellington, and at Victoria University College (1940–1946) from where he graduated LLM (Hons).[1]
Casey was admitted to the bar in 1946 and practised in Lower Hutt, Blenheim, and from 1950 in Auckland. On 7 March 1975, he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court,[2] which became the High Court in 1980. He became a household name in New Zealand when his injunction prevented the planned All Blacks tour to South Africa in 1985.[3] Instead, an unofficial tour by a team known as the New Zealand Cavaliers took place in 1986.
Casey was appointed to act as an additional judge of the Court of Appeal for six months from 10 May 1986,[4] and on 6 May 1986 he was formally appointed a judge of that court.[5] The same year, he was appointed privy counsellor.[1] He retired from the Court of Appeal in August 1995.[1] After his retirement, he sat on appellate courts of various Pacific Island nations.[1] He was part of the Fijian Court of Appeal that decided Republic of Fiji Islands v Prasad and found that the interim government installed after the 2000 Fijian coup d'état was unconstitutional.[3]
Casey married Stella Katherine Wright in 1948, and the pair had nine[1] or ten[3] children. His wife was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the community, in the 1991 New Year Honours.[6] Casey himself was made a Knight Bachelor six months later in the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours.[7] He was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977, and the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal in 1990.[8]
Casey died in Auckland on 19 January 2012, his wife having predeceased him in 2000.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Adlam, Geoff. "Rt Hon Sir Maurice Eugene Casey, 1923 – 2012". New Zealand Law Society. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
- ^ "Appointment of judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette. No. 27. 26 March 1975. p. 646. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ^ a b c Tahana, Yvonne (21 January 2012). "Judge's ruling halted divisive All Black tour". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
- ^ "Additional judge of the Court of Appeal appointed" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette. No. 40. 20 March 1986. p. 1195. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ^ "Appointment of judge of Court of Appeal" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette. No. 72. 15 May 1986. p. 2108. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ^ "No. 52383". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1990. p. 1.
- ^ "No. 52564". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 15 June 1991. p. 29.
- ^ Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 93. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
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