Law/
Prima Facie: Film screening with playwright Suzie Miller.

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Wednesday 17th April 2024

Seminar | 4:45 PM-8:00 PM

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An unexpected event forces a criminal barrister to confront the lines where the patriarchal power of the law, burden of proof and morals diverge.

Don’t miss this special screening of the National Theatre UK’s production of Suzie Miller’s electrifying play. Renowned actor, Jodie Comer, gives a riveting one-woman performance as a rising young criminal defence barrister whose view of the justice system is shattered after she is sexually assaulted.   

This internationally award-winning play is mandatory viewing for newly appointed High Court judges in Northern Ireland. The thought provoking performance offers a fresh perspective on power and insight into the experience of sexual assault victims and the court process.

Suzie Miller will join the Hon Marcia Neave AO, the Hon Jennifer Coate AO, and the Hon Justice John Champion for a discussion after the screening.  

If you would like to bring along a partner, friend, or family member to this event please email education@judicialcollege.vic.edu.au with your guest's name.

Speaker.

Author
Suzie Miller

Suzie Miller is a contemporary international novelist, playwright, librettist and screenwriter drawn to complex human stories. Her work has been produced around the world, winning multiple prestigious awards including the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play 2023 for her smash hit one-woman play Prima Facie, which had a sold-out season on London's West End and opened on Broadway in New York in 2023.
Miller is educated in science and law, with a doctorate in drama and mathematics. She practised human rights and children’s rights law before writing full time and has worked with organisations such as the Aboriginal Legal Service, Legal Aid Children’s Court and the Shopfront Legal Service. She is the Co-Founder of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights. 
Her first novel, Prima Facie, was published by Pan Macmillan in Australia in 2023 and will be published in the UK and US this year. She is currently developing major projects in theatre, literature, and screen.

FORMER JUSTICE OF THE COURT OF APPEAL, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA AND CURRENT COMMISSIONER FOR THE AUSTRALIAN LAW REFORM COMMISSION
The Hon Marcia Neave AO

The Hon Marcia Neave AO has been involved in shaping the laws that define our community in her career as a judge, law reformer, public policy maker and academic. She held roles as a Research Director and part-time Commissioner at the New South Wales Law Reform Commission, and in 1985 she chaired the Victorian Inquiry into Prostitution. She served as Chairperson of the Victorian Law Reform Commission from 2000-2006, which included leading the 2004 sexual offences inquiry. In 2006, she was appointed as a judge of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria. She retired from the bench upon her appointment as Chair of the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence in 2015. More recently, she was President and Commissioner of the inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings and is now a Commissioner for the Australian Law Reform Commission’s inquiry into Justice Responses to Sexual Violence.

ACTING CHAIR OF THE VICTORIAN LAW REFORM COMMISSION
The Hon Jennifer Coate AO

The Hon Jennifer Coate AO has held a number of judicial appointments, including Deputy Chief Magistrate, the inaugural President of the Children’s Court of Victoria and Judge of the County Court of Victoria. She was appointed as the State Coroner of Victoria in 2007 and held that position until 2012. In January 2013, she was appointed a judge of the Family Court of Australia and thereafter served as a Commissioner for the Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse. Prior to her appointments, the Hon Jennifer Coate AO worked as a solicitor for the Legal Aid Commission of Victoria, and as a legal policy officer in the Attorney-General’s office of the Victorian Government. She has been a Commissioner at the Victorian Law Reform Commission for many years, including for both the 2004 and 2021 sexual offences inquiries. Earlier this year she was appointed as Acting Chairperson of the Victorian Law Reform Commission. She is also the current Chair of the Victims of Crime Consultative Committee, a forum aimed at improving the experiences of victims in the legal system.

Supreme Court of Victoria  
Justice John Champion

The Hon Justice John Champion was appointed to the Supreme Court of Victoria in 2017. He signed the Victorian Bar Roll in 1977 and was appointed Senior Counsel in 2003. He worked as in-house counsel at the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions from 1999 to 2005. He has previously chaired the Criminal Bar Association and is the current Chair of the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences. From 2011 to his appointment to the Supreme Court, he was the Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions, responsible for instituting and conducting indictable criminal matters on behalf of the State, at a time when the Office of Public Prosecutions had a dedicated Specialist Sexual Offences Unit. He was a member of the Sexual Assault Advisory Committee, an early contributor to establishing the Intermediary Pilot Program, and currently sits on the Victims of Crime Consultative Committee.

Event resources.

  • Document

    Prima Facie: Event program

    View the event program, including further reading and resources.
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