{"id":1600,"date":"2012-08-14T08:28:23","date_gmt":"2012-08-14T08:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tgr.net.au\/wp\/forums\/discussion\/transgender-barrister-returns-to-court"},"modified":"2012-08-14T08:28:23","modified_gmt":"2012-08-14T08:28:23","slug":"transgender-barrister-returns-to-court","status":"publish","type":"topic","link":"https:\/\/tgr.net.au\/wp\/forums\/discussion\/transgender-barrister-returns-to-court","title":{"rendered":"Transgender Barrister Returns to Court"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hi Girls. See Link below from news.com.au today. This is one inspiring lady.<\/p>\n<p>Regards to all<\/p>\n<p>Marian<\/p>\n<p>http:\/\/www.news.com.au\/national\/top-criminal-barrister-david-stokes-transitions-to-heather-stokes\/story-fndo4dzn-1226450277413<\/p>\n<div class=\"bbcode_quote\">\n<div class=\"bbcode_quote_head\">Quote:<\/div>\n<div class=\"bbcode_quote_body\">A RESPECTED Adelaide criminal lawyer has made her first appearance in court since transitioning from life as a man.<\/p>\n<p>Heather Stokes, formerly known as David, represented convicted murderer Kelly Lee Pearman in the Supreme Court today.<\/p>\n<p>Pearman was jailed for life, with a 15-year non-parole period, for the April 2010 murder of Karen Hodgson.<\/p>\n<p>Transgender people's perception of their own sex is at odds with their biology.<\/p>\n<p>The Advertiser understands Ms Stokes has been transitioning from male to female for several months.<br \/>\nDavid Stokes<\/p>\n<p>David Stokes outside the District Court in January.<\/p>\n<p>She is in the process of changing both her legal name and practising certificate.<\/p>\n<p>Former Supreme Court Chief Justice John Doyle was informed of the change before it occurred.<\/p>\n<p>So too were District Court Chief Judge Terry Worthington and Chief Magistrate Liz Bolton.<\/p>\n<p>Ms Stokes, who was a champion 100m runner in her youth, represented murderer Zialloh Abrahimzadeh earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>Other high-profile former clients include former AFL footballer Fabian Francis and APY Lands chairman Bernard Singer.<\/p>\n<p>Ms Stokes yesterday declined to comment citing \"personal reasons, and because it's 2012\".<\/p>\n<p>Law Society of SA president Ralph Bonig said there was \"no question\" Ms Stokes enjoyed her peers' support and respect.<\/p>\n<p>\"Heather's ability to practice law has not changed from last week to this week,\" he said.<\/p>\n<p>\"As such, the Society is just as supportive of her this week as it was last week.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/cms\/media\/kunena\/attachments\/legacy\/23_303178heatherstokes_1.jpg\" alt=\"23_303178heatherstokes_1.jpg\" class=\"bbcode_img\" \/>\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"template":"","topic-tag":[],"class_list":["post-1600","topic","type-topic","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tgr.net.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic\/1600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tgr.net.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tgr.net.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/topic"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tgr.net.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic\/1600\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tgr.net.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"topic-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tgr.net.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic-tag?post=1600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}