Southport-based Magistrate Dzenita Balic and Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Philip McCarthy KC have been appointed as judges of the District Court of Queensland.
They begin their formal appointments on Monday, 26 August.
Magistrate Dzenita Balic began her career as a legal support officer with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
Magistrate Balic was first called to the Bar in 2006 and moved through the ODPP ranks to become the Principal Crown Prosecutor at Ipswich, Maroochydore and Brisbane.
Her Honour prosecuted more than 150 criminal trials to verdict and more than 120 appeals in the Court of Appeal. Her Honour also regularly appeared in the Mental Health Court jurisdiction on the most serious of references.
Magistrate Balic was welcomed to the Magistrates Court Bench in 2022. She has contributed to policy and practice improvements as a member of the criminal sub-committee, domestic violence committee and therapeutic jurisprudence committee of the Magistrates Court.
Originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Magistrate Balic arrived in Australia as a refugee.
She is a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Justice Network and is a former Diversity Chair on the Committee of the Women Lawyers Association of Queensland (2020-2022).
Mr McCarthy KC was first called to the Bar in 1997 and was appointed as the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) in 2021.
He was recognised as a leader within the legal profession through his appointment as King’s Counsel in December 2019.
Mr McCarthy KC has conducted more than 100 appeals in the Queensland Court of Appeal and appeared as lead counsel in 10 special leave applications in the High Court of Australia.
Mr McCarthy KC was a member of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce, the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council and a member of the Forensic Services Queensland Interim Advisory Board.
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