It’s 1839, and Melbourne is a fledgling frontier, rife with tension between British invaders and First Australians.

The arrival of two Palawa men, Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheener, sparks a chain of events leading to a brutal execution witnessed by thousands in the heart of the city.

Were they criminals, or resistance fighters opposing colonial invasion? This is the untold story of rebellion, violence, and injustice that shaped the early days of Melbourne — and it’s a story that most Australians have never heard.

Guest: Professor Lynette Russell AM, Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor and Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow, Monash University

Case: The trial and execution of Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner (Melbourne, 1842)

Further Reading:  Auty, K., & Russell, L. (2016). Hunt Them, Hang Them: 'The Tasmanians' in Port Phillip 1841-42. (1 ed.) Justice Press.

Can you own a dead body?

A strange story from 1868 holds the key to ownership of the human body and body parts.

This curious court case continues to impact us in the 21st century... and beyond.

Show Notes

Guest:  Dr Marc Trabsky, Associate Professor of Law, La Trobe University

Case: Doodeward v Spence [1908] HCA 45; (1908) 6 CLR 406 (31 July 1908)

www.lifedeathandlaw.com

Would you take a friend to court to settle a dispute? Awkward?

This is what Australia did with Japan, a key friend and ally, in 2014 over Japan's refusal to stop killing whales in the Southern Ocean.

Special guest Mark Dreyfus is Attorney-General of Australia.

Mark represented Australia in the culmination of a 40-year diplomatic stoush between Australia and Japan which went all the way to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Case: Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan) (2014)

Guest: Mark Dreyfus KC MP

In 2017 a little-known Australian technologist develops a revolutionary form of facial recognition technology. 

Clearview AI is being used by law enforcement agencies to hunt down criminals. But is there a catch?

A series of legal disputes around the world are among the most stark and alarming of our time.

Show Notes

Guest: Professor Jeannie Paterson, University of Melbourne (Co-Director, Centre for AI and Digital Ethics)

Update: Since recording, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner released this Statement on Clearview AI (21 August 2024).

The Secretive Company That Might End Privacy as We Know It by Kashmir Hill (The New York Times, 18 January 2020)

Clearview AI breached Australians’ privacy: Statement by Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (3 November 2021)

ACLU v. Clearview AI case summary (American Civil Liberties Union, 11 May 2022)

Facial recognition startup Clearview AI settles privacy suit (AP News, 22 June 2024)

It's 2003. An Australian man is captured by US forces in Afghanistan and imprisoned at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on terrorism charges.

The prisoner's defence lawyer is a United States Marine Corps lawyer named Dan Mori.

He's about to be thrust onto the world stage in a fight against his own country's military and political establishment.

(Update: The US government has revoked a plea deal with the men accused of plotting the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi.)

Show Notes

Guest: Dan Mori, Legal Consultant, Shine Lawyers; LtCol, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)

Case: David M. Hicks v United States of America, CMCR 13-004 (2015) (PDF)

Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 548 U.S. 557 (2006) (PDF)

Sworn charges: Providing Material Support for Terrorism; and Attempted Murder in Violation of the Law of War" , Military Commissions: David M. Hicks. US Department of Defense (1 March 2007) (PDF)

Grave robbers, AI law enforcement, international diplomatic beefs!

Introducing Case In Point, the stories behind some of the most amazing court cases you need to know about.

Each episode a special guest picks a weird and wonderful court case with an epic backstory. 

Hosted by Melissa Castan (Professor of Law at Monash University) and James Pattison (the guy who's not a Professor of Law at Monash University).