John Murtagh Macrossan was born in Brisbane in 1930. He graduated St Columban's College and then studied an Arts Degree in 1950 and later a Bachelor of Laws, with honours, both from the University of Queensland. In 1951 he was admitted as barrister of the Supreme Court and initally worked for his father's firm, Macrossan & Co.

In 1954 he was awarded a Bachelor of Civil Laws from Exeter College at Oxford. He practiced law for 15 years in Brisbane and in 1980 was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court. He was made Chief Justice of Queensland in 1989 and was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1993.

He retired in 1998 but continued as Griffith University Chancellor, a position he had held since 1988, until 2000. He was awarded a Centenary Medal in 2003 from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. He died in 2008.