Moral crusade claims another victim

Posted on January 6, 2024 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban.

Coinciding with the trial of Lisa Wilkinson and Network TEN for defamation, brought by Bruce Lehrmann who Brittany Higgins had accused of rape, I was putting the finishing touches to my manuscript, Presumption of Evil, in the final months of 2023. Topically enough, my book will reveal how Noel Greenaway was wrongfully convicted in 2019 of several historical sexual assaults from half a century ago, of then teenage girls at the Parramatta Training School for Girls – a place for troublesome teenagers.  Continue reading →

Posted in Case 22 Noel Greenaway | 14 Comments

What is it with prosecutors?

Posted on December 26, 2023 by andrew

A man in Oklahoma who spent 48 years in prison for a murder he did not commit has been exonerated. Oklahoma county district attorney, Vicki Behenna, said prosecutors had failed to turn over new evidence in the case. That included a police report showing that a witness may have identified other suspects.  Continue reading →

Posted in General articles | 7 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 Folbigg’s 20 wrongful years in prison is just one of many compelling reasons for the legal system to “heal thyself”. We are not the only ones calling for reform, as we report here.  Continue reading →

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

Genuine rape victims betrayed by unsubstantiated claims

Posted on December 17, 2023 by andrew

As Bruce Lehrmann’s contentious rape defamation trial of TEN and The Project’s Lisa Wilkinson enters its final week, the whole subject of sexual assault allegations and the law are in the spotlight. Continue reading →

Posted in Case 18 Bruce Lehrmann, General articles | 4 Comments

Neither High Court nor juries guarantee fair trials

Posted on December 17, 2023 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban.

On reading the story of the High Court’s refusal to grant leave to Derek Bromley’s appeal, reader Peter Gill writes: “Reminds me of this article about the High Court’s disgraceful 3-2 stuff-up in the Lindy Chamberlain High Court appeal.” He references an article about that case by Crispin Hill of the Canberra Times from 2017, leading Hill to question jury trials.  Continue reading →

Posted in General articles | 3 Comments

Bromley – “extraordinary judgement” but still a way forward

Posted on December 15, 2023 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban.

The High Court’s unexpected decision to refuse Derek Bromley leave to appeal his murder conviction yesterday drew a considered response from Flinders University legal academic Dr Bob Moles … and perhaps a way forward to another appeal. Continue reading →

Posted in Case 05 Derek Bromley | 9 Comments

Folbigg’s four baby deaths convictions quashed on Appeal

Posted on December 14, 2023 by andrew

After a month of deliberation the NSW Appeal court has quashed Kathleen Folbigg’s convictions for three counts of murder, one count of manslaughter, and one count of maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. She has spent 20 years in jail and has been released after a pardon in the wake of the second inquiry into her case.  Continue reading →

Posted in Case 17 Kathleen Folbigg | 3 Comments

High Court split decision against Bromley appeal

Posted on December 14, 2023 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban.

In a cruel blow that is bound to raise legal eyebrows, Derek Bromley’s appeal against his conviction for the 1984 murder of Stephen Docoza has failed in a 3:2 decision by the High Court yesterday, rejecting submissions for Bromley that the Court of Criminal Appeal had erred by the way it had assessed inaccuracies in the evidence of the key witness in the case, Gary Carter.  Continue reading →

Posted in Case 05 Derek Bromley | 1 Comment

Will High Court grant Derek Bromley special leave to appeal?

Posted on December 10, 2023 by andrew

The decision on Derek Bromley’s application seeking leave to appeal to the High Court will be announced on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, seven months after it was put before the court.  Continue reading →

Posted in Case 05 Derek Bromley | 3 Comments

Lehrmann v TEN & Wilkinson – a most consequential trial

Posted on December 3, 2023 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban.

It began on November 22, 2023 and will continue for another fortnight from December 5, 2023: the defamation trial in which the respondents (TEN & Lisa Wilkinson) are trying to prove to the court that Bruce Lehrmann really did rape Brittany Higgins. They claim they did not defame him when publishing rape allegations against a legally innocent man. And justified under qualified privilege because it was a matter in the public interest. The mix of politics, the media and the law – not least the controversy around the ACT’s DPP and the Sofronoff inquiry – makes it a most consequential trial. Continue reading →

Posted in Case 18 Bruce Lehrmann | 6 Comments