The Rule of Law has recently been raised by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the Attorney-General Christian Porter in defence of historic sexual assault allegations levelled at the latter. The term rule of law has been raised so many times in the past few days that it has almost become part of the general vernacular.
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Criminal Cases
Brereton Report Into War Crimes
The findings of the Brereton Report into war crimes allegedly committed by Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016 are contemptible. The findings are that 39 Afghanis were allegedly murdered by some 25 ADF and Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) soldiers. However, soldiers in war zones are permitted to use deadly
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Character Evidence In Court
Clients who for the first time in their life find themselves accused of a serious crime often ask whether their good character can be used in court to show that they are good people and couldn’t have done the crime. The short answer is yes. The short answer is yes. The fact that they have
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Cardinal George Pell’s Convictions Quashed By The High Court
Cardinal George Pell will be freed from Barwon Prison today after the High Court quashed his convictions finding that: “a significant possibility that an innocent person has been convicted because the evidence did not establish guilt to the requisite standard of proof”. The High Court also took aim at the Victoria Court of Appeal which
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Harvey Weinstein Convicted With Appeal Pending
Harvey Weinstein was convicted by a jury of two counts and acquitted on the more serious charge involving predatory behaviour. As to be expected his trial lawyers have announced that they will mount an appeal in the hope that an appeal court will agree with the defence that the evidence upon which he was convicted
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Historical Sex Abuse Cases
Historical Sexual Abuse Radio 6PR Interview On the 7th July 2019, I was asked by the producer for Karl O’Callaghan the former Commissioner of Police to appear on his Sunday morning talk show to speak about Historical Sexual Abuse cases and the potential for miscarriages of justice. Here is what I had to say. Main
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Pell’s Unsuccessful Appeal Against Guilty Verdict
In the case of Cardinal George Pell, the Victorian Court of Appeal (VCA) comprising chief justice, Anne Ferguson president of the court of appeal, justice Chris Maxwell, and justice Mark Weinberg were unanimous in upholding Cardinal Pell’s conviction on counts 2 & 3 with justice Mark Weinberg dissenting on count 1 namely: “that the jury
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