Can Australian justice system learn from major UK report?

Posted on February 20, 2026 by andrew

In its landmark report just released under the title, “Rebuilding forensic science for criminal justice: an urgent need” the House of Lords’ Science and Technology Committee has completed its thorough investigation into the most consequential aspect of the criminal justice system: forensic sciences. Australia’s politicians, lawyers and forensic scientists could take it as a red alert to our own systems, writes ANDREW L. URBAN.  Continue reading →

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Shamed Scottish Judges exposed for unfair application of rape shield laws

Posted on February 19, 2026 by andrew

Too often men simply aren’t allowed to provide juries with relevant evidence critical to their defence, writes BETTINA ARNDT. And not only in Scotland … in Australia too. Continue reading →

Posted in General articles | 4 Comments

Paul Reynolds saga back from the grave

Posted on February 14, 2026 by andrew

“The Police Commissioner later apologised for the funeral.” That sentence in a news report caught my eye when looking into the case of Paul Reynolds, prompted by a former senior Tasmanian lawyer and police officer. That sentence was part of a report in news.com.au which also reported that “At the time of his death in 2018, Reynolds was being internally investigated by Tasmania Police Professional Standards – but that the investigation trailed off once he died by suicide.”  Now the Tasmanian Greens want to resurrect it. 

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“one of the most dangerous convictions” to be debated in Tasmanian Legislative Council

Posted on February 11, 2026 by andrew

Tasmania’s Legislative Council will debate a call on the government to establish a Commission of Inquiry into and report on the correctness of the conviction of Susan Neill-Fraser for the murder of Bob Chappell – “arguably one of Australia’s most dangerous convictions,” states Michael Gaffney MP, who  tabled the latest Etter Selby Report and moved the motion. Continue reading →

Posted in Case 01 Sue Neill-Fraser | 13 Comments

Frank Valentine – guilty by say-so: the book that cries ‘foul’

Posted on February 10, 2026 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban

It is probably the worst possible time to publish another book arguing how a man was wrongfully convicted of historical sexual abuse of teenage girls. I am aware of this. FRANK VALENTINE GUILTY BY SAY SO As did my earlier book about Noel Greenaway (Presumption of Evil, 2024), challenging such a conviction flies in the face of popular public and media opinion, especially in the wake of peak #MeToo and the confronting mid-2025 revelations of extensive sexual abuse in some Australian child care facilities. But …  Continue reading →

Posted in Case 26 Frank Valentine | 2 Comments

Mitch and Zisi – tragedy in Tamarama, but details lacking

Posted on February 5, 2026 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban

In the dead of night, shortly after 4am on Sunday March 17, 2024, 28 year old lawyer Mitch East is found dead, with critical head and chest injuries, lying in the middle of Fletcher St in the Sydney suburb of Tamarama. Zisi Kokotatsios, 63, is Uber-driving his ex-girlfriend’s car on the same street around the same time.  Continue reading →

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Morrison’s men threw me under the Brittany bus – Brown

Posted on February 4, 2026 by andrew

In an extraordinary legal pleading, former Liberal staffer Fiona Brown has accused then-prime minister Scott Morrison and his most senior advisers of muzzling her and preventing her from responding to false allegations by Brittany Higgins that destroyed her life, according to an exclusive report by Janet Albrechtsen and Stephen Rise in The Australian (Feb. 4, 2026). The following are extracts from their report, republished here in the public interest. Continue reading →

Posted in Case 18 Bruce Lehrmann | 3 Comments

Big win for some victims of crime

Posted on February 2, 2026 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban

 First and only-time child sex abuse offenders who are wrongfully convicted will lose the minor mitigating factor at sentencing if good character references are no longer accepted in the wake of the NSW government’s move to introduce new laws on Wednesday, Feb 4, 2026 to scrap the “good character” provision for all offences.  Continue reading →

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The Mean Girls – a reincarnation of Macbeth’s witches?

Posted on February 1, 2026 by andrew

Prompted by Janet Albrechtsen’s column in The Australian chastising Kristina Keneally and the other two Mean Girls, we might fantasise that perhaps the Mean Girls once lived in William Shakespeare’s mind…. in the personas of the three witches. The similarity is striking…  Continue reading →

Posted in Case 18 Bruce Lehrmann | 3 Comments

‘Rotten to its core’: No saying sorry in Tasmanian justice

Posted on January 30, 2026 by andrew

“A woman was convicted of murder on false evidence. She spent 13 years in prison. Her family has suffered. Both trial and appellate courts have been duped.” HUGH SELBY looks for contrition in the Tasmanian judicial system and finds none. (from CBR City News, Jan. 29, 2026) Continue reading →

Posted in Case 01 Sue Neill-Fraser | 7 Comments