Andrew L. Urban*
The Australian featured this extensive article in the March 25, 2015, edition. It was the first detailed mainstream media analysis of the Sue Neill-Fraser case and serves to inform those new to the subject – and a briefing to those who have recently become interested. Continue reading
There is an unspoken assumption at the heart of the criminal justice system: that the written record is an accurate and sufficient representation of what occurred in court, writes STEVEN FENNELL. It is not. Transcripts are treated as authoritative. They are relied upon by appellate courts, journalists, legal academics, and, ultimately, by the public in forming judgments about the fairness of proceedings. They are, in effect, the official memory of the justice system. Continue reading
Some have mistakenly asserted that the prosecution of Ben Roberts-Smith proves the principle of legal equality is well-respected in Australian law. It proves the reverse, writes CHRIS MERRITT in The Australian. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban
I just have to share this with readers who may have missed it. In recent weeks, a number of comments have turned up on previous stories about the Sue Neill-Fraser case. It’s been 16 years since the abomination of her trial and wrongful conviction (and she is now out of prison on parole), and still there are those who are obsessed with some aspects of the case. None more vividly than to continue the prosecution’s fevered attempts to ‘keep Vass off the boat’, as I first called in March 2021. The most recent yesterday. The only reason I raise it again is to share my amazement at the repeated but irrational efforts to save the prosecution from the massive embarrassment of having been found out about how this sausage (wrongful conviction) was made. Continue reading
Writing from bitter personal experience after spending 1,400 days on remand, STEVEN FENNELL explains why he should have received bail, especially given the High Court’s indignant, virtually instant quashing of his conviction. Perhaps he wasn’t sufficiently high profile – like Ben Roberts-Smith? Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban
Dealing with tendency evidence in my book Presumption of Evil about the Noel Greenaway conviction (arguably wrongful) for historical sexual abuse, I refer to another man who was convicted of sexual abuse on tendency evidence. He and Greenaway (and Frank Valentine, my sequel to Presumption of Evil) are not the only ones, of course. Tendency evidence is the iceberg in the path of HMS Justice Titanic. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban
Roberts-Smith’s central position in evidence at the 2003 defamation trial was that the newspaper allegations were false and that all killings he was involved in were lawful engagements with insurgents during combat operations in Afghanistan. He denied murdering prisoners or ordering unlawful killings. But Justice Besanko rejected significant parts of Roberts-Smith’s account and found that several allegations of unlawful killings were proven to the civil standard of proof. He also found Roberts-Smith was not a reliable witness in some respects and that parts of his testimony were untruthful. It was a fateful fork in the road that leads to the criminal trial. Continue reading
Hosted by Sam Bamford, a former Australian Army infantry paratrooper and combat veteran with a deployment to Afghanistan in 2012, the 2 Worlds Collide Podcast has evolved into one of Australia’s most outspoken independent platforms. In this must-see episode, Special Forces Operator Scott Jones recounts his first-hand experiences near and alongside Ben Roberts-Smith. This is the edited transcript. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban
Wielding more power than judges and enjoying professional immunity, some Crown prosecutors fail to act in accordance with the responsibilities that come with that power. Any attempt to improve the legal system should start by enforcing the existing guidelines. That’s up to the prosecutors themselves and judges – but judges can intervene only after misconduct becomes visible. Continue reading
Hosted by Sam Bamford, a former Australian Army infantry paratrooper and combat veteran with a deployment to Afghanistan in 2012, the 2 Worlds Collide Podcast has evolved into one of Australia’s most outspoken independent platforms. In this must-see episode, Special Forces Operator Scott Jones recounts his first-hand experiences near and alongside Ben Roberts-Smith. Be prepared to be astonished. Continue reading