George Hampel (judge)

George Hampel AM KC was a Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria from 1983 to 2000, having previously practised as a barrister since 1958.[1]

Early life

Hampel was born in Poland just prior to World War II, the son of Polish Jews. His family escaped from Poland to spend the wartime years in Russia. Although his immediate family survived the Holocaust, much of his extended family did not.[2]

When the war ended, he moved with his family to France, and then eventually to Australia.[3] He was then educated at Melbourne High School and the University of Melbourne.

Career

Hampel has held numerous positions in the legal profession, such as Vice-President of the Law Council of Australia, Vice-Chairman of the Victorian Bar Institute and Chairman of the Constitution Commission of Victoria, for which he received a Centenary Medal.[4]

Since 2000, he has been Professor of Trial Practice and Advocacy at Monash University, and Chairman of the Legal Practice Board of Victoria. He is also President of the International Institute of Forensic Studies.[5] He is considered a leader in the teaching of advocacy, and together with his wife, has trained war crime prosecutors at The Hague.[2]

In 2006, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.[6]

Personal life

Hampel is married to County Court of Victoria judge Felicity Hampel, SC, with whom he often teaches.[2] They have two children:

  • Hampel's son, Antony Hampel, an event coordinator, was the de facto partner of Phoebe Handsjuk, who plunged to her death in the garbage chute of their luxury apartment in Melbourne, in 2010, aged 24.[7] Despite a coroner's finding in 2014 that the death was a sleepwalking accident caused by a combination of depression, alcohol, and Stilnox, many questions remain.[8][9][10] In 2018, Hampel's then girlfriend, Baillee Schneider, was found dead on the kitchen floor of her parents' home with a cord wrapped around her neck. The Victorian coroner ruled in 2020 that the death was a suicide.[11][12]
  • Hampel's daughter, Kristina Hampel, escaped conviction in 2014 for selling cocaine and possessing a can of tear gas.[13]

References
  1. http://www.supremeco%5B%5D ' urt.vic.gov.au/CA256CC60028922C/Print/4097C6A5C7F1508DCA25732A00021F92?OpenDocument
  2. The power of two - www.theage.com.au
  3. Child Survivors: "the factors which have influenced their lives and achievements"
  4. It's an Honour: Centenary Medal: Retrieved 29 May 2013
  5. Professor The Hon. George Hampel QC, Monash Law
  6. It's an Honour: AM; Retrieved 29 May 2013
  7. Hardy, Robert (31 October 2016). "What really happened to Phoebe Handsjuk?". Marie Claire. Pacific Magazines. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  8. Bachelard, Michael; Baker, Richard (23 September 2016). "Death in a garbage chute: a new investigation into the mysterious death of Phoebe Handsjuk". The Age. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  9. "Phoebe's Fall". smh.com.au. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  10. Bachelard, Michael; Baker, Richard (29 September 2016). "Phoebe Handsjuk's waste chute death unlike anything else". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  11. Baker, Richard (16 June 2020). "Coroner finds Baillee Schneider death was not suspicious". The Age. Melbourne: Nine Entertainment Co. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  12. Schelle, Caroline (17 June 2020). "Baillee Schneider: Vic coroner rules death of model was not suspicious". news.com.au. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  13. Cameron Houston (1 December 2014). "Judge's daughter escapes conviction for cocaine trafficking". The Age. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
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