High Court grants leave for George Pell appeal

Posted on November 13, 2019 by andrew

The High Court today (Wednesday, November 13, 2019) has granted leave for George Pell to appeal the decision of the Court of Appeal which upheld his conviction in December last year on one charge of sexual penetration with a child under 16 and four counts of indecent act with, or in the presence of, a child under 16, relating to two separate incidents at the cathedral in 1996 and 1997.

The appeal will be held in early 2010.

See our previous reports for more on this case:
Onus of proof reversed
Dissenting voices
Conviction upheld

Posted in Case 07 George Pell | 12 Comments

Sue Neill-Fraser appeal set for March 2020

Posted on November 13, 2019 by andrew

Justice Helen Wood has set the date for appeal against Sue Neill-Fraser’s murder conviction, for March 2 – 13, 2020, after DPP Darryl Coates estimated it would take two weeks; Neill-Fraser’s lawyer, Chris Carr, had estimated just 3 – 4 days. Continue reading →

Posted in Case 01 Sue Neill-Fraser | 5 Comments

Mystery woman with my email at Tamworth Court

Posted on November 12, 2019 by andrew

Would the woman dressed in black at Tamworth court on Wednesday, November 6, out on bail apparently, who gave my email address to the distraught mother of a man in police custody please make contact with me when she can. She is not in trouble for doing so, indeed, it seems to have been an act of support.

I can’t go into further details except to say the mother (let’s call her Jill), and her husband, hold grave fears for their son’s treatment within our legal system. They are certain of their son’s innocence and worry for his three young children.

I will follow this case as best I can. Anyone with further information is invited to contact me by email to andrew.urban@wrongfulconvictionsreport.org

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Shaken Baby Syndrome convictions rely on junk science and tunnel vision

Posted on October 23, 2019 by andrew

As we have reported, the reliability of forensic evidence is increasingly questioned; and Shaken Baby Syndrome convictions rely on junk science and tunnel vision, writes Chris Brook* in this extract from his latest blog. Continue reading →

Posted in General articles | 10 Comments

Forensic evidence under the microscope – looks sick

Posted on October 18, 2019 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban.

Within a single week in October this year (2019), the quality of forensic evidence tendered in criminal trials across Australia came under the microscope of public attention – and was found to be infected with the disease of unreliability.  Continue reading →

Posted in General articles | 6 Comments

Pell appeal judges reversed onus of proof

Posted on September 18, 2019 by andrew

In seeking leave to appeal to the High Court, George Pell’s lawyers argue that the approach taken by the majority judges at his appeal ­required Pell to “establish actual innocence”, rather than “merely pointing to doubt”, which was a reversal of the onus and standard of proof, adding, “Rigid application of the onus and stand­ard of proof in 21st-century sexual assault trials in Australia is of particula­r importance.” Continue reading →

Posted in Case 07 George Pell | 6 Comments

Steve Fennell not a murderer – jury got it wrong

Posted on September 16, 2019 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban.

The High Court in Canberra adjourned for just four minutes before resuming at 2.45pm on Wednesday, September 11, 2019, with a unanimous decision that Steven Fennell’s appeal against his murder conviction should be allowed. A verdict of acquittal was entered. “I was in my cell about to eat my yoghurt when prison officers came to the door and said, `you’re going’,” he told The Courier-Mail. Continue reading →

Posted in Case 10 Steven Fennell | 2 Comments

Is there evidentiary basis for shaken baby syndrome? The conviction of Joby Rowe

Posted on September 10, 2019 by andrew

Chris Brook.

Joby Rowe’s 2018 conviction for child homicide was based solely on forensic evidence that openly and overtly lacked any scientific basis, with expert opinions based instead on confession studies. This case raises fundamental questions for forensic science in Australia, primarily: should forensic evidence be scientific? Or should it appeal to authority? Continue reading →

Posted in Case 09 Joby Rowe | 4 Comments

Sarah Ward – the dead of night

Posted on September 9, 2019 by andrew

It happened around 4am on June 7, 2008. Sarah Ward had been drinking and smoking dope. She took a friend’s car and went out for cigarettes with another friend. The young musicians they came across that dark night in Christie Lane, St Leonards, Sydney, had also been drinking. The altercation that ensued left one of the young men dead and Ward convicted of his murder. A man and his sister have a history with the dead man and believe this is a wrongful conviction. They tell a story which challenges the one that convicted her. Anthony Nikolich & Helen Keys put the case for Sarah Ward. Continue reading →

Posted in Case 08 Sarah May Ward | 3 Comments

Qld & Vic prosecutors set example for Tas prosecutor

Posted on September 4, 2019 by andrew

Dr Bob Moles & Andrew L. Urban. 

It was made clear last night on the SBS program Insight – Wrongfully Convicted Part 2 (September 3, 2019), that the prosecutor in the Queensland case of Frank Button recognised that a significant error had occurred in relation to the DNA evidence in the case. As a consequence, the prosecutor ensured that the case was before the Court of Appeal within 24 hours. Continue reading →

Posted in Case 01 Sue Neill-Fraser | 20 Comments