Media/News

Melbourne’s high-flying lawyers: powerful figures on Victoria’s legal scene

Melbourne's courtrooms have hosted some of Australia’s most prominent figures, often as lawyers rather than defendants.

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Podcast: Rob Stary joins a panel of guests to discuss Australia and the rise of terrorism

The September 11 attacks in the United States by Al Qaeda changed the way western countries perceived the threat of terrorism. Before the events of 2001, Australia had no national terrorism laws. But by the end of 2020, it would have more terror-related laws in place than any other comparable nation.

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Jason Roberts has conviction for Silk-Miller murders quashed; retrial ordered.

Mr Roberts’ solicitor, Simon Moodie, says that his client welcomes the decision of the Court, and looks forward to a fair trial. Given that there will be a re-trial he makes no further comment at this time.

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Rian Farrell pleads not guilty over stabbing death of 'best mate' Liam Cahill in Melbourne apartment

Rian Farrell, 23, has pleaded not guilty to murdering his best friend, Liam Cahill, during a brawl in a Melbourne apartment, claiming he acted in self-defence. The court heard that the two had been drinking and that an argument escalated into a physical fight, with witnesses stating that Cahill threw the first punch.

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Cardinal George Pell May Never Face Trial in Australia

Victorian police have received advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions regarding historic allegations of child sexual assault against former-Sydney Archbishop George Pell, though no formal charges have been announced yet.

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Victoria weighs judge-only trials as courts grind to a halt

Victoria is considering the introduction of judge-only trials to keep the wheels of justice turning through the COVID-19 crisis and avoid a massive backlog of cases that threatens to clog the courts for years after the pandemic has passed.

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Yang Hengjun: Fears increase for Australian writer isolated and shackled in Chinese jail

The detained Australian writer Dr Yang Hengjun is being subjected to daily interrogations with his arms and legs shackled, as Chinese security officials try to “break” him, his lawyers say, pushing for him to confess to unspecified allegations of espionage that potentially carry the death penalty.

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High Court to decide Akon Guode infanticide, murder sentence anomaly

How do you punish someone who has committed two very different crimes at the same time? That's the dilemma before the High Court”. Simon Moodie of Stary Norton Halphen discusses the murder sentence anomaly on ABC Radio.

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Police target suspected whistleblowers in Helloworld Travel scandal

The Sydney Morning Herald, October 2019Victoria Police have initiated a criminal investigation into two people suspected of being whistleblowers who exposed how ‘Helloworld Travel’ gave free international flights to the family of Finance Minister, Mathias Cormann.

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Families of Australian women and children detained in al-Hawl camp threaten court battle to be repatriated

The families of women and children detained in Syria are threatening to take the Federal Government to court, claiming it is legally obliged to repatriate Australian citizens since the fall of the Islamic State group.Eighteen women and children, including two newborn babies who are the youngest Australians detained in Syria, are involved in the proposed legal action.

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Borce Ristevski back in court charged with wife Karen’s murder

Borce Ristevski's court case has been adjourned to allow his lawyers more time to review 22,000 pages of evidence related to the murder charges against him. Ristevski, who appeared via video link, is set to return to court on May 16 for a second committal mention.

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Killer's mum who tried to hire hitman deserves a 'measure of mercy', judge says

The elderly woman who helped her son try to cover up a murder by conspiring to kill a witness has walked free from custody, after a judge ruled she was just another victim of his manipulation.Maria Cardamone, 78, was sentenced to the 141 days already served in jail since her arrest in May for attempting to pervert the course of justice.

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