Category Archives: CCRC

NEW CANADA COMMISSION TO REVIEW MoJs

Posted on December 20, 2024 by andrew

England, Wales, Scotland, New Zealand and Norway have one, and now Canada will have one too. Stubbornly rebuffing the many calls for a body like the Criminal Cases Review Commission (England), Australia remains without an independent body to review potential … Continue reading →

Posted in CCRC | 1 Comment

CCRC – how NOT to do it

Posted on January 31, 2024 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban.  The worst possible failure of a Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is to TWICE refuse to review a case on the request of the accused before DNA proves the accused was wrongfully convicted in the first place … Continue reading →

Posted in CCRC | 3 Comments

Wanted: Attorneys-General to help right wrongful convictions

Posted on January 20, 2024 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban. If you could do one thing as an Attorney-General that would profoundly improve the criminal appeal system and reinforce the separation of powers … why not do it? Why haven’t they done it? Will they do it?

Posted in CCRC, General articles | 14 Comments

Will the legal system learn from Folbigg, have the guts for reform?

Posted on December 21, 2023 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban. The question of the title is posed without optimism. The legal system has no proud history of reform. All three past Attorneys-General have ignored or rebuffed calls for a Criminal Cases Review Commission network in Australia. Kathleen … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 17 Kathleen Folbigg, CCRC, Forensic evidence | 5 Comments

Call to hold off on Criminal Cases Review Commission “baffling” – Dr Bob Moles

Posted on September 8, 2023 by andrew

The call by The Bridge of Hope Innocence Initiative (BOHII) to hold off on the development of a Criminal Cases Review Commission “is quite frankly baffling,” comments Dr Bob Moles, “and can, in my opinion, only serve to alienate them from their main client group – … Continue reading →

Posted in CCRC, General articles | 13 Comments

CCRC would relieve politicians of impossible choice

Posted on August 13, 2023 by andrew

As things stand, politicians burdened with the responsibilities of Attorney-General often face the impossible choice of advising the relevant Governor on petitions from innocents convicted of sexual abuse. It should not be their choice; legal matters should stay within the … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 06 'Paul', Case 22 Noel Greenaway, CCRC, General articles | 26 Comments

A key piece of criminal justice infrastructure is missing

Posted on June 21, 2023 by andrew

Professor David Hamer and Dr Andrew Dyer from Sydney Law School explain why Kathleen Folbigg’s pardon points to the need for a Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in Australia. 

Posted in Case 17 Kathleen Folbigg, CCRC, General articles | 25 Comments

Folbigg freed, not guilty beyond reasonable doubt, Academy of Science calls for CCRC

Posted on June 5, 2023 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban A decision by the NSW Attorney-General that should have been made four years ago by his predecessor has seen Kathleen Folbigg freed this morning on being granted a pardon by the Governor, on the recommendation of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 17 Kathleen Folbigg, CCRC | 15 Comments

Stonewalling 101: the legal system’s dirty little secret

Posted on March 29, 2023 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban Under the constitutional doctrine of the separation of powers, parliaments make laws, the executive administers and enforces laws, and the judiciary adjudicates disputes about the law. The judiciary is thus insulated from outside oversight; that’s a good … Continue reading →

Posted in CCRC, General articles | 4 Comments

Sue Neill-Fraser case for CCRC

Posted on December 16, 2022 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban. Following two unsuccessful appeals against her conviction for the 2009 murder of her partner Bob Chappell and twice refused leave to appeal to the High Court, Sue Neill-Fraser’s controversial 12 year old conviction is an ideal matter … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 01 Sue Neill-Fraser, CCRC, General articles | 21 Comments