Graham Panckhurst QC

Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

 is a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 High Court

High Court of New Zealand

The High Court of New Zealand is a superior court of New Zealand. It was established in 1841 and known as the Supreme Court of New Zealand until 1980....

 Judge

Judge

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

. Panckhurst is a graduate of Canterbury University. In 1985 he was appointed as Crown Solicitor for Canterbury and the West Coast. Panckhurst took silk in 1994 and was appointed to the High Court bench in 1996.

In 2010 Panckhurst was appointed to head the Royal Commission into the Pike River Mine disaster

Pike River Mine disaster

The Pike River Mine disaster was a coal mining accident that began on 19 November 2010 in the Pike River Mine, northeast of Greymouth, in the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island. A first explosion occurred in the mine at approximately 3:44 pm . At the time of the explosion 31...

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Notable Trials

In 2009, Panckhurst heard the retrial of David Bain

David Bain

David Cullen Bain is a New Zealander who featured in one of the country's most notable murder cases. He was convicted in May 1995 of the murders of his parents and siblings in Dunedin on 20 June 1994...

. The trial was substantial with the prosecution calling 150 witnesses.