Category Archives: General articles

Articles relevant to the subject of wrongful convictions

Justice may depend on where you live

Posted on August 4, 2021 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban. If you’ve been wrongfully convicted, just hope you’re living in a jurisdiction with well developed correcting functions in the legal system. Differing legal mechanisms in different places produce uneven outcomes. And while Australia has yet to even … Continue reading →

Posted in CCRC, General articles | 6 Comments

Bromberg v Bolt: who was right v left?

Posted on August 1, 2021 by andrew

Controversial, lamentable, anti free speech – or perfectly justified? In the wake of the Menzies Research Centre’s Judicial Impartiality Report (see our story on July 22, 2021) and its findings regarding Justice Bromberg’s judgements, we review some responses to his … Continue reading →

Posted in General articles | 1 Comment

Compensation – the higgledy-piggledy method

Posted on July 29, 2021 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban.  Consistency in the administration of the law is absolutely paramount – yet compensation for mistakes (or malpractice) that convict the innocent is applied higgledy-piggledy by politicians throughout Australia. 

Posted in General articles | 15 Comments

Talking to Strangers – why we (and police and judges) mostly get it wrong

Posted on July 26, 2021 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban. The full title of Malcolm Gladwell’s book is Talking to Strangers: what we should know about the people we don’t know. For someone who did in fact talk to many, many strangers on the streets of Australia … Continue reading →

Posted in General articles | 16 Comments

Fool proofing the Attorney General

Posted on July 23, 2021 by andrew

The Attorney General’s Transparency Branch has a fool proof tactic, straight out of Yes, Minister, to shut down anything it doesn’t want to address. 

Posted in CCRC, General articles | 14 Comments

Judicial Impartiality – needs work; report

Posted on July 22, 2021 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban. The majority of Australians (82%) don’t trust judges’ impartiality, according to the Menzies Research Centre’s (MRC) submission on Judicial Impartiality to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), which was tasked with examining the subject by former Attorney … Continue reading →

Posted in General articles | 11 Comments

Can justice be seen to be done in the Territory?

Posted on July 18, 2021 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban A young white policeman in the Northern Territory, Zachary Rolfe, is facing trial this week (July 19, 2021) charged with the murder of a young Aboriginal man, Kumanjayi Walker. These words alone trigger preconceptions that will cloud … Continue reading →

Posted in General articles | 9 Comments

A sealed envelope, a secret instruction? Or just indifference?

Posted on July 7, 2021 by andrew

A sealed envelope on the desk of every incoming Federal Attorney-General contains a short, unsigned, cryptic instruction: “Avoid CCRC”. How do we know this? It’s elementary, my dear Whatsyourname; it’s like this … ANDREW L. URBAN tells a tale you … Continue reading →

Posted in CCRC, General articles | 11 Comments

Sara Jane Parkinson’s crooked cop husband evades justice again

Posted on July 4, 2021 by andrew

BETTINA ARNDT’s update on the infamous Sarah Jane Parkinson case of false rape accusations, and its ongoing damage. 

Posted in General articles | 94 Comments

Miscarriages of justice in Australia: unfinished business

Posted on June 30, 2021 by andrew

Former High Court judge THE HON. MICHAEL KIRBY AC CMG argues that there is a need in Australia for greater concern and vigilance about the risk of miscarriages of justice – and that the Criminal Cases Review Commission model is … Continue reading →

Posted in General articles | 18 Comments