Henry George Fryberg

Henry George Fryberg
Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland
In office
23 September 1994 – 2013

Justice Henry George Fryberg was a Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, Australia. Justice Fryberg was sworn in on 23 September 1994.[1] His Honour retired in 2013 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.[2]

Henry George Fryberg was born on 29 November 1943 in Brisbane, to Lt Col Abraham Fryberg, then acting director-general of health, and his wife Vivian Greensill (née Barnard). Fryberg completed his primary education at Ascot State School (1949–57) and his secondary education at Brisbane Grammar School (1958–61), and studied at the University of Queensland, graduating Bachelor of Arts with honours (1965) and a Bachelor of Laws with honours (1967). He was awarded Wilkinson Memorial Prize and the Henderson Prize for law.

On 13 December 1967, Fryberg was admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland and in New South Wales, Papua New Guinea, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and the Solomon Islands. Fryberg served as associate to Victor Windeyer of the High Court of Australia (1968–70), before commencing practice at the bar in Brisbane. Fryberg took silk in Queensland on 1 December 1983, in New South Wales (1988) and the Northern Territory (1992).

On 23 September 1994, Fryberg was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland. He also served on the Land Appeal Court (1995–96) and the Medical Assessment Tribunal (1996–2001) and has taught leading evidence in the bar practice course since the 1980s.

Notable Cases

Brisbane City Council v. Matthews

Brisbane City Council v. Matthews [2006] QSC 25, involved an application brought under the Vexatious Proceedings Act as a result of the numerous proceedings brought by the respondent Mathews against the Brisbane City Council (BCC) and other parties. Mathews was a disability pensioner as a result of a head injury he had sustained many years before, and his injuries affected his ability to concentrate for long periods. Justice Fryberg heard the application before all chamber applications in the list that day in order to assist the respondent, who was self-represented, in being able to present his case. After noting that Mathews had brought multiple proceedings, Justice Fryberg found that they were vexatious under the meaning of the Act:

The features of the proceedings to which I have been referred generally are in my view accurately summarised by [counsel for the applicant]. There is a joinder of multiple defendants without any basis for joinder; there are allegations of bias against judges which are completely unsubstantiated (and I should add that the allegations made orally before me today included allegations of bias against the lady who is now the Chief Judge of the District Court and also against the lady who is the Governor); there is the making of hopeless claims; there are unparticularised allegations of deceit and fraud; there are exaggerated damages claims; there is non-compliance with Court proceedings and in particular a failure to deliver complying pleadings; and finally, there is bringing of claims in respect of which it is not possible to demonstrate the suffering of any loss.[3]

As a result, Justice Fryberg declared Mathews a vexatious litigant and made an order prohibiting him from commencing any new proceedings against BCC.

The case of Legal Services Commissioner v Quinn [2008] QLPT 19 concerned a Discipline Application brought against a solicitor in the Legal Services Tribunal. The Application followed Quinn’s guilty plea and conviction for importing child pornography, possessing a child abuse computer game and possessing child abuse photographs in the District Court of Queensland in 2007.[4] The Application was brought by the Legal Services Commission following the convictions. Justice Fryberg’s judgment was delivered ex tempore and was notably brief, since this was an extremely uncomplicated case for the tribunal. At the hearing, His Honour stated that:

I am satisfied that the respondent was guilty of professional misconduct. I recommend that the name of the respondent be removed from the local roll... I order that the respondent pay the applicant's costs of the application assessed as for a Supreme Court application.[5]

As a result, Quinn’s entitlement to practice was removed.

R v Bruce Gordon Ward

The accused, a surgeon, was accused of negligently cutting a patient's vein during an operation and prescribing blood-thinning drugs that hastened her death.[6]

On 5 March 2009, a hearing took place in order to resolve disclosure issues, as well as when the trial would be held. His Honour rejected the proposed directions submitted by the defence because they would not provide sufficient disclosure to the prosecution of the expert evidence to be presented by the defence.[7]

In August 2009, new evidence emerged from nurses, leading to Justice Fryberg suggesting that the case against the accused was not strong enough to likely lead to conviction. The prosecution subsequently dropped the charge, and so Ward was acquitted.[8]

R v. Hargraves and Stoten

In 2010, Justice Fryberg heard the case of R v. Hargraves and Stoten [2010] QSC 188, two men charged with count of conspiracy to dishonestly cause a loss to a Commonwealth entity between May 2001 and June 2005. After they were convicted by a jury, Fryberg sentenced Hargraves to a sentence of imprisonment of 6½ years, with a non-parole period of 3 years and 9 months and Stoten a term of imprisonment of 6½ years, with a non-parole period of 3 years and 9 months.[9][10]

R v. Patel

In 2013, Justice Fryberg presided over the retrial of former Bundaberg surgeon Jayant Patel for one of the manslaughter charges, which sat for 22 days and heard from 25 witnesses.[11] Patel was acquitted of the charge by the jury.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Henry Fryberg (23 September 1994). ", 'Address by Justice Fryberg on the occasion of his swearing in" (PDF). Supreme Court of Queensland.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Supreme Court of Queensland (9 February 2006). "Brisbane City Council v. Matthews [2006] QSC 25 (9 February 2006)". austlii.edu.au. Retrieved 10 March 2006.
  4. ↑ Legal Services Commission (13 February 2008). "Legal Services Commissioner v Quinn [2008] QLPT 19" (PDF). Legal Services Commissioner. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
  5. ↑ Supreme Court of Queensland (2 August 2010). "Legal Services Commissioner v Quinn [2008] QLPT 19 (22 August 2008)". Austlii.
  6. ↑ Amelia Bentley (22 August 2008). "Surgeon's actions caused fatal catastrophic bleeding, court told". Brisbane Times. Retrieved July 16, 2009.
  7. ↑ Supreme Court of Queensland (5 March 2009). "R v. Ward [2009] QSC 38 (5 March 2009)". Austlii. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  8. ↑ Sean Parnell (July 2, 2010). "Manslaughter charge sets precedent". The Australian.
  9. ↑ Supreme Court of Queensland (8 June 2010). "R v. Hargraves and Stoten [2010] QSC 188 (8 June 2010)". Austlii. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  10. ↑ Kym Agius (June 8, 2010). "Gold Coast men jailed for tax fraud". Brisbane Times.
  11. ↑ Brooke Baskin (March 11, 2013). "Judge orders jury in Jayant Patel manslaughter trial to 'pay attention' to evidence when deciding if he is guilty or not guilty". The Courier Mail.
  12. ↑ Brooke Baskin, Tony Keim & Josh Robertson (14 March 2013). "Jayant Patel not guilty over patient death but more charges loom". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
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