Sir Alfred Stephen (20 August 180215 October 1894) was an Australian judge and Chief Justice of New South Wales.
Early life
Stephen was born at St Christopher in the West Indies. His father, John Stephen (1771–1833), was related to James Stephen, became a barrister, and was Solicitor-General at St Christopher before his appointment as Solicitor-General of New South Wales in January 1824. He arrived at Sydney on 7 August 1824 and in September 1825 was made an acting judge of the Supreme Court. On 13 March 1826, his appointment as judge was confirmed. He resigned his position at the end of 1832 on account of ill-health and died on 21 December 1833.
Alfred Stephen was educated at Charterhouse School and Honiton grammar school in Devon. He returned to St Christopher for some years and then went to London to study law. In November 1823 he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn, and the following year sailed for Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania).
Van Diemen's Land
Stephen arrived at Hobart on 24 January 1825 and on 9 May was made solicitor-general, and 10 days later, crown solicitor. He allied himself with Governor Arthur who had clashed with Joseph Tice Gellibrand, the attorney-general. Stephen's resignation of his position in August 1825, and his charges against his brother officer's professional and public conduct brought the matter to a head. Stephen always took an extremely high-minded attitude about his own conduct in this matter.
As Solicitor-General of Van Diemen's Land during the late 1820s–early 1830s, Stephen's career intersected with the Black War, the final push by European settlers to destroy the resistance of the Tasmanian Aboriginal People. Following an incident where four company servants under the supervision of Alexander Goldie shot one Aboriginal woman and executed another with an axe on 21 August 1829, the case came before Stephens. Despite the proclamation of martial law clearly stating "that defenceless women and children be invariably spared", Stephen ruled that the natives were "open enemies to the King, in a state of actual warfare against him", and thus "the Pursuit of the Natives by Mr Goldie and his party, was lawful". At a meeting of 400 of Hobart's most notable inhabitants discussing the establishment of a town guard on 22 September 1830, once discussion had turned to the broader question of the object of the operation, Stephens was reported as saying "If you cannot [capture them] … I say boldly and broadly, exterminate!".
In 1829 Stephen discovered a fatal error in land titles throughout the Australian colonies. The matter was rectified by royal warrant and the issuing of fresh titles in 1830. In January 1833 Stephen was gazetted attorney-general and showed great industry and ability in the position. He was forced to resign in 1837, his health having suffered much from overwork, but after a holiday he took up private practice with great success.
New South Wales
On 30 April 1839, he was appointed as acting-judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and he arrived in Sydney on 7 May. In 1841, when judge Willis went to Port Phillip, Stephen became a puisne judge and from 1839 to 1844 he was also a judge of the administrative court.
He published in 1843 his Introduction to the Practice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, and on 7 October 1844, he was appointed acting chief justice. His appointment as chief justice was confirmed in a dispatch from Lord Stanley dated 30 April 1845. He was to hold the position until 1873 and during that period not only carried out his judicial duties but advised the government on many complicated questions which arose in the legislature. In August 1852 he recommended that the second chamber under the new constitution should be partly nominated and partly elected. In May 1856 he was appointed President of the Legislative Council and held the position until January 1857. He was able to give the council the benefit of his experience by framing legislation dealing with land titles, the legal profession, and the administration of justice. He continued to hold his seat until November 1858 when judges were precluded from sitting in parliament.