Category Archives: Democracy and Justice

Public register would expose wrongfully convicted

As controversial as this view may be, I urge great caution in lobbying for the currently proposed national public – public! – register of convicted child sex offenders – whom I abhor as much as everyone. We should be deeply … Continue reading

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Not all abortions are equal

Andrew L. Urban Legal, safe and rare … or never, never, never? Abortion is and always has been a divisive issue largely because it is posited in absolutist terms. The subject – ever current – is always over-heated and always … Continue reading

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Peter Ridd defeats the climate inquisition dragon

Andrew L. Urban. Universities going rogue on freedom of speech are on notice, in the wake of the April 17, 2019 judgement by Salvatore Vasta in favour of Professor Peter Ridd, who urged greater scrutiny of scientific reporting on the … Continue reading

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Justice Party’s public register “would be outrageous”

Andrew L. Urban. In the wake of the Victorian State election on November 24, 2018, Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party (probably with four shiny Upper House seats) will seek to make public on a website the register of sexual offenders currently … Continue reading

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Lloyd Rayney & how tunnel vision blinds police

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

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Bare faced lawyers: confessions of the legal profession

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

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Securing murder convictions without evidence

By Andrew L. Urban. As Gordon Wood, acquitted in 2014 of murdering his girlfriend Caroline Byrne in 1995, awaits the decision (expected by end of 2017) on his recently concluded malicious prosecution case against the State of NSW, at least … Continue reading

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The wrong arm of the law

By Andrew L. Urban A man convicted of murder is still in jail after 33 years, 11 years after he was eligible for parole, because he will not relent on his claim of innocence. He has always maintained that he … Continue reading

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Sue Neill-Fraser’s final appeal – Part 1

By Andrew L. Urban. Shortly after 10 am on Monday October 30, 2017, a slight young woman with blonde hair up in a bun and breathing nervously, took the witness stand in the packed Court 1 of Hobart’s Supreme Court. … Continue reading

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Not Guilty Exoneration Project launched in Sydney

By Andrew L. Urban. Not Guilty: The Sydney Exoneration Project is a new psychology and law research program at The University of Sydney that reviews cases of possible wrongful convictions, founded by Dr Celine Van Golde in the Faculty of … Continue reading

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