Episodes
Episode 20: Could "billions of dollars" of government spending be unconstitutional?
December 14, 2020 05:57 - 23 minutes - 16.1 MBOutrage over a federal government decision to put religious chaplains in government schools made headlines at the time for being a fight over the separation of church and state. But the real High Court case was about much more - and it has the potential to upend the way the entire federal government functions. Court cases: - Williams v Commonwealth of Australia [2012] HCA 23 (20 June 2012) http://www6.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/HCA/2012/23.html - Williams v Commonwealth ...
Episode 19: Guinness World Record for... Death row
November 13, 2020 06:10 - 22 minutes - 15.3 MB1968 seems a lifetime ago. It was a defining year of the 20th century. 1968 is also the year that a Japanese professional boxer was sentenced to death for murder. Remarkably, he remains on death row to this day. The case of Iwao Hakamada has exposed questionable police practices, a forced confession and a bombshell claim from one of the judges who sentenced him.
Episode 18: A country divided
October 30, 2020 05:15 - 24 minutes - 16.8 MBA newly-elected Australian government is concerned about a growing Communist influence in Australia. The scene is set for a major High Court case. Court case: Australian Communist Party v Commonwealth ("Communist Party case") [1951] HCA 5; (1951) 83 CLR 1 (9 March 1951) Read judgment: http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/HCA/1951/5.html
New episodes!
October 30, 2020 03:19 - 56 seconds - 701 KBWhat is the rule of law? What is executive power? How do we hold power to account? Are our legal institutions and protections still relevant these days? The pandemic has upended a lot of things we take for granted. Is it time we rethink how our society organises itself? We’re bringing you some of the best court cases that have shaped society - and that could provide a way forward for the future.
Episode 17: Do witchcraft laws breach freedom of religion?
September 17, 2019 20:30 - 32 minutes - 22.4 MBHow does Australian law protect the beliefs and religious practices of witches, conjurers and fortune-tellers? A High Court case from the 1930s could provide the answers. There’s a big debate about religious freedom in Australia after the federal government announced plans to introduce new federal religious discrimination laws. Most of the coverage of the religious freedom debate focuses on protecting the major religions, most notably Christianity. But there’s some religious groups that...
Episode 16: Hard cases make bad law
August 22, 2019 04:23 - 33 minutes - 23 MB“There’s a saying in law that hard cases make bad law,” says Dr Colin Campbell. “Judges will sometimes do what they think is right in a particular case, but in doing that they will muck up the law." Numerous inquiries have uncovered widespread discrimination and exclusion against children at government schools around Australia. While state-run education departments are tasked with the responsibility of fixing this problem, there’s another institution in our society that has a major role to...
BACK CATALOGUE: "They Don't Teach You This At Law School."
August 06, 2019 21:00 - 27 minutes - 19.1 MBThis is the most-downloaded episode of JUST CASES and one of the most controversial. June 1996. Late at night, two young men cross paths on a Sydney street. When the sun rises the following morning, one of them will be found dead. The events of that evening are murky, but the resulting court case sent shockwaves through the community - and we still feel its effects today. Melissa & James: "While we're working on a brand new episode for you, we want to share one from the JUST CASES back-c...
Episode 15: Rolls-Royce's worldwide network of corruption
July 24, 2019 06:47 - 32 minutes - 22.4 MBEarlier this year the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced it had shut down a long-running investigation into corruption at Rolls-Royce. What did the UK authorities have to trade in exchange for Rolls-Royce’s money and cooperation? Between 1999 to 2013, the SFO and a joint BBC/The Guardian investigation revealed that Rolls-Royce - which manufactures aircraft engines and defence systems, as well as their famed luxury cars - engaged in systemic criminal activity on a global scale. In ...
Rolls-Royce's "sophisticated criminal enterprise" (COMING SOON)
July 22, 2019 02:11 - 22 seconds - 304 KBThe name Rolls-Royce is synonymous with luxury. But in recent years, whistleblowers have revealed the prestige brand has been exporting corruption worldwide. How does the criminal justice system respond? (RELEASE DATE: Wednesday 24 July 2019)LEARN MORE www.justcasespodcast.com/episode/episode-15-rolls-royces-worldwide-network-of-corruptionMUSICLee Rosevere - 'Snakes'
Episode 14: "Now free speech has been killed as well"
July 12, 2019 06:39 - 28 minutes - 19.7 MBHow does the law balance the rights of women to access safe and legal abortions with the right to free speech and protest? For over twenty years anti-abortion protesters have picketed abortion clinics around Australia. To combat this targeted harassment of women seeking safe and legal abortions, state governments have passed ‘safe access zone’ laws which create an exclusion zone around abortion clinics which protestors cannot enter. Anti-abortionists argue these laws limit their free spe...
Episode 13: Why is our secular government allowed to fund religious schools?
June 25, 2019 22:00 - 33 minutes - 22.8 MBA fight over a new toilet block at a Catholic school in 1962 turns into a major constitutional and ideological war, the effects of which last until today. Australians traditionally sees themselves as pretty secular compared to the rest of the world. But how Australians choose to fund their children’s education paints a very different picture. For every dollar the Federal Government spends per student in a private or independent school, public schools receive only around 75 cents per stu...
Episode 12: Can a child decide to have gender-reassignment surgery?
June 12, 2019 07:33 - 28 minutes - 19.9 MBIssues affecting transgender people are much more prominent in the public consciousness than they’ve ever been. This episode of JUST CASES explores one important legal issue: can children access hormone therapy or surgery in Australia? We speak to the judge who decided this important case and learn what it’s like to make such life-changing decisions. WARNING: This episode contains some difficult subject matter. There’s mentions of suicide, gender-identity issues, family violence and grap...
Episode 11: "He knows how to operate in the shadows"
May 29, 2019 07:00 - 35 minutes - 24.3 MBThe corruption case against former South African president Jacob Zuma has begun. Zuma’s case lifts the lid on the influence of weapons companies on governments worldwide. “It’s not a story of a corrupt guy, Jacob Zuma,” says Hennie van Vuuren, the director of Open Secrets, a South African organisation that investigates economic crimes and abuses of power. “[Instead] it’s a story of a network of players around the globe - in corporations, arms companies, intelligence agencies - who have b...
Episode 11 Trailer
May 28, 2019 06:41 - 49 seconds - 621 KBThe corruption trial of former President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, exposes the influence of weapons companies on governments worldwide. (UPCOMING EPISODE) Music: 'Alum Drum Solo' by Blue Dot Sessions
Just Cases: Season 3 coming soon
May 10, 2019 06:33 - 59 seconds - 736 KBJUST CASES is back for another season. This season we’re looking ahead to some major court cases you need to know about, which will have an impact on our lives in the future. Can you create a valid will using emojis? Is the game over for the big end of town? Can the banks and financial sector finally be hit with some hardcore criminal law? In the age of political fracturing worldwide, how far does your right to protest extend? New episodes landing in your podcast app very soon. Musi...
Episode 10: Bombing of the Rainbow Warrior
November 23, 2018 06:42 - 36 minutes - 24.9 MBIt's just before midnight on 10 July 1985. The Port of Auckland, New Zealand. The Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace anti-nuclear protest ship, is sitting at its dock when two massive explosions tear through its hull. A man is killed onboard. What follows is one of the most bizarre and sinister of diplomatic incidents. The hunt for his killers uncovers an international network of spies, and exposes a highly-coordinated attack planned from the highest echelons of world power. Music in this...
Episode 9: Treachery and Treason
November 02, 2018 05:37 - 34 minutes - 24 MBA series of factory fires in Sydney in 1916 leads to a full-blown treason trial. The case of the ‘IWW Twelve’ sees a dozen local members of a radical worldwide movement caught in a perfect political storm. Storyteller: Dr Stephen Gray, Monash Law School Hosts: Dr Melissa Castan & James Pattison Further reading: - ‘Death Cults, Murdering a Police Officer, and the First World War' by Dr Stephen Gray (Alternative Law Journal) - 'Enemy Within? The Wobblies' by Nerida Campbell (Sydney Livin...
Episode 8: Death at Sea
October 19, 2018 06:08 - 22 minutes - 15.7 MBIt’s the night of 2 August 1926. Five nautical miles off the coast of Lesbos. A French ship, the SS Lotus, is cruising towards its destination of Constantinople. The ship’s first officer is keeping watch, but he doesn’t know that there’s a Turkish ship dead ahead. What lies ahead is not only a naval disaster, but a diplomatic dispute that throws a massive colonial power on a collision course with a young nation on the rise. Music: - ‘This tuning is so dramatic’ by Monplaisir - ‘35’C’ by ...
Episode 7: Why the world's wealthiest baby shouldn't be a company director
September 05, 2018 05:10 - 22 minutes - 15.8 MBIn 1886 a sensational banking scandal hit the headlines in Great Britain. It involved the world's richest man, John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, the 3rd Marquess of Bute, and it led to an absurd decision. More than a century later, the current Banking Royal Commission in Australia continues to expose stories of banks behaving badly. But it remains rare for the people at the helm of banks and other major corporations - the company directors - to be held legally responsible for what goes on at...
Episode 6: Is S+M sex illegal?
August 24, 2018 00:00 - 29 minutes - 20.1 MBIf you engage in consensual sadomasochistic sex could you actually be found guilty of assault? The case of R v Brown is one of the most hotly debated decisions in legal history. WARNING: This episode contains descriptions of acts of a sexual nature, a violent nature, and a mention of suicide. Listener discretion is advised.
Episode 5: Assault on the sports field
August 10, 2018 00:00 - 23 minutes - 16.3 MBCan you be charged with assault for punching an opponent on the sports field? A violent on-field incident in the Australian Football League (AFL) has led to calls for police to bring criminal charges against one of the league's best players. West Coast player Andrew Gaff has been suspended for eight matches for punching 18-year-old Fremantle player Andrew Brayshaw behind play. Brayshaw has undergone surgery on a broken jaw and will require further treatment for three broken teeth. The te...
Welcome to Season 2 of Just Cases
August 09, 2018 00:00 - 59 seconds - 745 KBJust Cases is back! Delivered every fortnight, Season 2 explores some of the weirdest court cases the experts are able to dig up, all for your listening pleasure. Can athletes be charged with assault for something that happens on-field? Can a baby be the director of a company? Can some consensual sex acts be criminal? If you’re into S&M can you be prosecuted? Music: 'Waxing waning' by Ketsa
BONUS EPISODE: How can safe injecting rooms be legal?
October 31, 2017 00:00 - 9 minutes - 6.9 MBThe Victorian State Government has announced it will set up a safe injecting room, located in the inner Melbourne suburb of Richmond. It's a first for the state, and only the second in Australia. A safe injecting room in Sydney's Kings Cross was established in 2001. The announcement comes in response to a growing heroin problem in Victoria. The number of Victorians dying from overdoses has doubled in the last five years, and in the Richmond area alone 34 people died from heroin overdoses i...
Episode 4: They don't teach you this at law school
October 30, 2017 00:00 - 26 minutes - 18.6 MBJune 1996. Late at night, two young men cross paths on a Sydney street. When the sun rises the following morning, one of them will be found dead. The events of that evening are murky, but the resulting court case is unprecedented - and we still feel its effects. Music in this episode: - 'Made Men' by Audiobinger (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license) - 'You Cant Love Me' by Audiobinger (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license)
Episode 3: How you can be detained for life without trial
September 25, 2017 00:00 - 30 minutes - 20.8 MBThe story of Ahmed Al-Kateb has far-reaching consequences for individual liberty. Mr Al-Kateb wanted to go home to Palestine, but the High Court decided he could be held indefinitely in Australia despite committing no crime. One constitutional law expert describes this "shocking case" as one which "shows us how even very clever judges sitting on the High Court can sometimes make terrible mistakes". Music in this episode: - 'China Town' by Audiobinger (CC BY-NC 4.0 license) - 'Dream Big' ...
Episode 2: Help! I crashed my Uber
September 11, 2017 00:00 - 18 minutes - 12.6 MBIn the gig economy our cars, spare rooms and spare time have become handy money-earners. But sometimes things don't go as planned. If you're an Uber driver or Deliveroo cyclist and you injure someone else on the job, who has to cough up the money? Music in this episode: - 'A Lil Somethin' Somethin'' by The Good Lawdz (CC BY-SA 3.0 license) - 'Beach Aldente' by KieLoBot (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license)
BONUS EPISODE: Chief Justice, is the same-sex marriage postal vote doomed?
September 01, 2017 00:00 - 17 minutes - 11.8 MBWhat's the High Court challenge to the marriage equality postal vote all about? In this bonus episode Robert French, former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, drops by to explore two very similar cases he decided that provide the basis for the current legal challenge. Music: 'Has Pluck' by Podington Bear (CC BY-NC 3.0 license)
Episode 1: A dagger at the heart of society
August 29, 2017 00:00 - 34 minutes - 23.6 MBIn the middle of WW1, the Australian government launches a stinging attack on an international 'extremist' network of German sympathisers. When a policeman is murdered in a small country town, the stage is set for a showdown between his killers and a political system with everything to lose. Music in this episode: - 'Felt Lining' by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0 license) - 'Attempt 1' by Jared C. Balogh (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license) - 'Tracers' by Podington Bear (CC BY-NC 3.0 license)
Welcome to Just Cases
August 28, 2017 00:00 - 1 minute - 1010 KBThis new podcast from Monash Law School takes you behind the judgments and tells the backstory to some of the biggest legal cases that impact on our daily lives. (MUSIC: 'Albatross v2' by Computer Music All-Stars / CC BY 4.0 license)