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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
One of the two most recent “convictions” that have changed our world by triggering violent responses was that Israel had targeted a Gaza hospital as part of its response to the Hamas atrocities of October 7, 2023. The other was the 2021 trial and conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. His appeal failed two years ago this week. But the documentary The Fall of Minneapolis presents evidence to support the claim that it was a wrongful conviction. And a tragedy for Minneapolis. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban
There is a new sheriff in Hobart town: Attorney-General Guy Barnett was appointed (in turbulent circumstances) to succeed Elise Archer in October 2023. But after years of stonewalling on calls for an inquiry into the murder conviction of Sue Neill-Fraser by lawyers, barristers, media and the public,* it’s the same old cover up. Continue reading