Serious criminal matters that were not punishable by death were heard by the courts of quarter sessions. From 1858 each district court judge had a concurrent appointment as chairman of the courts of quarter sessions for the district to which they were appointed.[2] In 1973 the separate district courts and courts of quarter sessions were replaced by a single District Court which exercised both criminal and civil jurisdiction throughout the state.
The position of Chairman of the District Court Judges was introduced in 1950 to exercise administrative functions in relation to the courts similar to role of the Chief Justice in the Supreme Court. The role was renamed Chief Judge with the restructure of the courts in 1973.
The Compensation Court of New South Wales was abolished on 1 January 2004 and the judges were transferred to the District Court, maintaining their seniority based on the date of their appointment to the Compensation Court.[3]
In 1918 the Judges Retirement Act 1918 (NSW), operated to retrospectively impose a retirement age of 70 immediately affecting Charles Heydon, Ernest Docker and Grantley Fitzhardinge and subsequently other judges in a similar position, such as Montgomerie Hamilton and Alfred Backhouse.
| Position | Name | Appointment commenced | Appointment ended | Term in office | Comments | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan=3 | Acting Judge of the Supreme Court (January 1952) Judge of the Supreme Court (19541962) | [4] [5] | |||||
| years | Acting Judge District Court (1932, 1935 & 1938) Judge District Court (19471959) | [6] | |||||
| [7] | |||||||
| [8] [9] | |||||||
| Director of Public Prosecutions (19871994) Judge of the Supreme Court (1994 & 2002) | |||||||
| Judge of District Court (20002006) Chief Magistrate Local Court (20022010) Judge of the Supreme Court (2006) | [10] | ||||||
| Judge of District Court (20122023) Judge of the Supreme Court (20232024) | [11] | ||||||
| Commissioner to the Courts of Requests (18451858) Judge of the Supreme Court (18651876) | [12] | ||||||
| Commissioner to the Courts of Requests (1858) | [13] | ||||||
| Acting Judge of the Supreme Court (18781881) | [14] | ||||||
| 10 years, 210–239 days | [15] | ||||||
| Judge of the Supreme Court (18651881) | [16] | ||||||
| [17] | |||||||
| years | |||||||
| [18] [19] | |||||||