In 1952, Dixon was appointed Chief Justice of the High Court by Menzies, who remained Prime Minister throughout Dixon's tenure in the position. This marked the beginning of a period described by Lord Denning as the "golden age" of the High Court. Complemented by the work of Justices Kitto, Fullagar and Windeyer, Dixon led what New South Wales Chief Justice Jim Spigelman has described as "one of the great common law benches of history". This period was one of relative stability in the area of Australian Constitutional Law. This was in part due to Dixon's leadership of his Court, which resulted in a higher proportion of joint judgments than before or since. The most notable decisions from this period include "Boilermakers' Case", and the "Second Uniform Tax case". As Chief Justice he was also responsible for a number of seminal decisions in areas as diverse as contract law, and criminal law and precedent. In "Tait v R" he dramatically intervened to prevent the hanging of a mentally ill murderer before his appeal to the High Court could be heard.