Category Archives: General articles

By Andrew L. Urban On a sunny winter Saturday afternoon in Sydney, I started watching The Staircase, thinking I’d spend a couple of hours on it. It was Sunday afternoon, before I finished my binge, only breaking for dinner and … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban. Small time crim John Thompson was nearly executed for a murder he didn’t commit. At his trial in 1985, the New Orleans prosecutors had withheld exculpatory evidence. Then District Attorney – Harry Connick Snr (now retired) … Continue reading →

Bill Rowlings* questions how ‘professional’ is the Legal Profession Board of Tasmania. It’s a quango that only recently worked out it needs to abide by model litigant principles, a decade after it was created. And it seems to particularly dislike … Continue reading →

By Frederick Block * JABBAR COLLINS languished in jail for over 16 years for a murder he apparently never committed. He was only freed a few years ago when it was revealed at a post-conviction hearing that the main witness at … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban In the context of the immigration debate Australia’s Prime Minister (and lawyer of renown), recently extolled the virtues of Australian democracy and its adherence to the ‘rule of law principles’, yet “the criminal appeal system in … Continue reading →

Andrew L. Urban What went wrong? That’s the question that the criminal justice system does not often ask and therefore doesn’t answer when wrongful convictions are revealed.   Prevention is so much better than cure, especially in a legal system … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban She is wheeled into the clinical surrounds of the Supreme Court in Hobart in a wheelchair and positioned in front of the empty jury benches, facing the witness box. Sue Neill-Fraser’s demeanour is low key, her … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban The WA police defamed an innocent man by publicly naming him soon after starting their investigation as the only suspect in his wife’s murder. He was eventually (three years later) charged, tried and acquitted. Twice. He … Continue reading →

Innocent people – at least 71 known*, the total unknowable – have been held or are stuck in Australian jails on lengthy sentences for murders or rapes they did not commit. This comes as no surprise to those who, like … Continue reading →