Author Archives: andrew

Sue Neill-Fraser trial flashback – the defence closing submission

Posted on July 25, 2020 by andrew

Marking 11 years since her arrest (August 20, 2009) and while awaiting the oft-delayed start of Sue Neill-Fraser’s further appeal against her conviction for the murder of Bob Chappell (now scheduled for November 2, 2020), we publish the transcript of … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 01 Sue Neill-Fraser | 6 Comments

Expert Witness 101 – inform, not advocate

Posted on July 24, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban. Eve Ash, the Melbourne filmmaker whose documentary, Shadow of Doubt, opened a Pandora’s Box on the Sue Neill-Fraser (many say wrongful) murder conviction, has produced a 4-part eLearning course, Giving Expert Evidence, which has now (July 23, … Continue reading →

Posted in General articles | 3 Comments

Victoria’s Court of Appeal – too many judgements overturned, bring on a CCRC

Posted on July 23, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban. Over the past 14 years under Justice Chris Maxwell’s reign as its president, 18 of the judgements of Victoria’s Court of Appeal have been overturned by the High Court, while in the previous decade, 10 of its … Continue reading →

Posted in CCRC, General articles | 7 Comments

Bradley Murdoch – how DNA may have misled the jury

Posted on July 21, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban. When juries in a circumstantial case are told of DNA, they assume that it’s a solid piece of evidence, unquestionable. The prosecution relies on this assumption and tells its story as if every DNA sample was like … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 12 Bradley Murdoch | 101 Comments

Robert Xie’s alibi – in bed with wife

Posted on July 7, 2020 by andrew

He had an alibi. Why was he charged, tried and convicted? Robert Xie and his wife Kathy have always maintained he was in their bed beside her at the relevant time on the night of the Lin family murders, for … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 11 Robert Xie | 9 Comments

Secret strategies – how they secure murder convictions without evidence

Posted on July 5, 2020 by andrew

In his book, Murder by the Prosecution (Wilkinson Publishing) ANDREW L. URBAN reports on murder trials that relied exclusively on circumstantial evidence and how these resulted in convictions – since overturned or under appeal. Through exploring these cases he came … Continue reading →

Posted in General articles | 23 Comments

Sue Neill-Fraser August appeal date uncertain

Posted on July 4, 2020 by andrew

The directions hearing in the Tasmanian Supreme Court before Justice Wood on Friday, July 3, 2020 was unable to settle on 17 August as the start date for the long awaited appeal against her 2010 murder conviction, reports Rosie Crumpton-Crook, … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 01 Sue Neill-Fraser | 28 Comments

Robert Xie – conflict in the jury room

Posted on July 3, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban. Of the 12 member jury at Robert Xie’s third murder trial in 2015, (the longest in NSW history), most voted NOT GUILTY. Some didn’t, resulting in a hung jury and a fourth trial, in 2016/17. Triggered by … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 11 Robert Xie | Tagged | 15 Comments

The System v Robert Xie

Posted on July 1, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban. As his appeal hearings draw to a close this week, Robert Xie’s fate lies in the hands of the judges. But how the legal system (mis)treated him over several years is also deserving of scrutiny. Convicted in … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 11 Robert Xie | 8 Comments

Robert Xie – exonerated by autopsy evidence

Posted on June 26, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban. 26 June, 2020: With the backdrop of the appeal against his conviction, (started 22 June, 2020), a proposition emerges that it wasn’t Robert Xie who killed five members of the Lin family in 2009, but at least … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 11 Robert Xie, Forensic evidence | Leave a comment