Richter was born in the Kirghiz Republic, at that time a republic of the Soviet Union. His father, Berek, was a Polish Jew, and his mother, Sofia, was Ukrainian; they had met there after being displaced during World War II. After living for ten years in Israel, Richter's family moved to Melbourne, Australia, following an uncle who had already established business in the Rag Trade. Along with the rest of his family, the 13-year-old Richter arrived in Australia with little or no English. It has been reported that he taught himself English with the aid of television programs and dictionaries. Richter has been described as a "progressive atheist".
Membership of statutory bodies and professional organisations
Richter was a committee member of the then "Criminal Bar Association of Victoria", and the Victorian Bar Council from 1997 to 1999. Richter was President of the from 1994 to 1996. In addition to his business as a barrister, Richter was also a part-time Commissioner of the Law Reform Commission of Victoria from 1989 to 1992. He was appointed a silk on 26 November 1985.
Notable cases
In 1987, Richer acted for surgeon Ian McGoldrick who was indicted on 11 charges of procuring abortions contrary to the then sections 64 to 66 of the Victorian Crimes Act 1958 The case was dismissed at committal hearings, the presiding Justice following Justice Menhennitt's reasoning in 1969 matter of R v DavidsonVR 667 at 670. In 1994, Richter successfully defended Victorian Police officer Cliff Lockwood in the Supreme Court of Victoria against charges that Lockwood allegedly murdered Walsh Street police shootings suspect Gary Abdallah in 1989. In 1996 Richter successfully defended John Elliott against charges that he allegedly illegally moved A$ 66.5 million from Elders IXL, to "Equiticorp Tasman Ltd", a shelf company Elliot was alleged to control. In 1998 Richter led the defense for now convicted "Hoddle Street Massacre" perpetrator Julian Knight. Richter continues to represent Knight during his parole hearings on a pro-bono basis. In 2000 and 2003, Richter acted for then ATSIC chairman Geoff Clark. In 2002 Richter acted for Ray Williams in the HIH InsuranceRoyal Commission and the inter-related court cases. In 2005, Richter successfully defended Melbourne underworldcrime figureMick Gatto against the charge of murdering suspected underworld hitman Andrew Veniamin. In 2009, Richter successfully defended Labor minister Theo Theophanous over rape charges. In the same year, Richter represented a high school teacher who pleaded guilty to committing sexual acts against a teenage girl. During the sentencing appeal, Richter argued that the victim was a "drama queen". The appeal was successful, with Richter's client being freed. In 2015, Richter represented an athletics coach to national champions, with extensive links to one of the country's elite Catholic schools, St Kevin's College, Melbourne Toorak, who was convicted of grooming a child under the age of 16. In 2016, Richter represented one of the conspirators behind the 2015 Anzac Day Terror Plot, with the conspirator sentenced to seven years imprisonment, for a crime that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Richter argued that his client's "rehabilitation is in the public interest". In 2017, Richter intervened in the case of Susan Neill-Fraser, who was convicted in 2010 of the murder of Bob Chappell, meeting with Tasmanian PremierWill Hodgman to call for an independent inquiry. In 2017, Richter was retained by Cardinal George Pell after Pell was charged by Victoria Police in relation to multiple allegations of historical child sexual abuse. At Pell's 2019 sentencing hearing, Richter said that the case was "no more than a plain vanilla sexual penetration case where the child is not actively participating". He later issued a written apology for making the statement. Bret Walker has replaced Richter as Pell's lead counsel for his subsequent appeal.
