Andrew L. Urban
Contrary to his apparent intention, Dr Simon Longstaff’s heartfelt and personal reflection laid out in his column (The Australian, May 5, 2026) reinforces the inappropriateness of the practice known as “welcome to country” in 21st century Australia. The element missing is context. (This article is published here given the high level of the public interest and debate on the matter.) Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban
It starts today. Witnesses will be heard at the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, starting with Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. Ever since the release of the Terms of Reference, we have been concerned at how probing Commissioner Virgina Bell will be to examine how Labor’s actions generated the environment in which antisemitism flourished since October 7, 2023. Are we heading for a case of wrongful conviction, wrongfully blaming failures of the security services while ignoring the grave mistakes – commissions and omissions – of PM Albanese and Team? See our full submission to the Commission. Continue reading
STEVEN FENNELL explores both sides of the Nicola Gobbo debate, wrongful convictions and the fracture of Australian justice. Continue reading
Convicted of a 2012 double murder, Marco Rusterholz believes he is (like Sue Neill-Fraser), a victim of Tasmania’s discredited legal system. To avoid an apprehension of bias, we have sought an independent, structured, adversarial analysis of his case by LIA (Legal Intel AI); a stress test. Continue reading
In his post on April 25, 2026, The Record and the Reality: What Transcripts Don’t Show in Criminal Appeal, STEVEN FENNELL argued that transcripts are an incomplete reconstruction of a trial. In this companion piece, he provides a cautionary tale from personal experience of what occurs when an appellate court doesn’t struggle with an incomplete record but actively adopts a mistaken narrative from the prosecution as part of its legal architecture.
Continue reading
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