Just Cases

If 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.

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Can 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 teenager's first season in the game has come to an abrupt and violent end. 

The hit has prompted calls for all sorts of things; from a red card system in the AFL, to criminal charges and even jail time. 

On this episode of Just Cases we explore a similarly notorious incident in 1985. It led to the criminal prosecution of Leigh Matthews - a giant of Australian rules football held by many to be the greatest footballer to have ever played the game.

Music in this episode

Parallel Park 'Counterattack'

Silicon Transmitter 'Sphere'

Soularflair 'Cue 2 -Sad-HipHop-Backmasked piano cello Fortitude'

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 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 in a single year, all within a four-block radius from where the new service will be established. 

In this bonus episode, Melissa talks with Dr Kate Seear, about how safe injecting rooms and needle exchanges work. 

How can they be legal while drugs are illegal? 

This extra audio was recorded just before the Victorian Government's announcement. 

If you haven't listened to Episode 4 of Just Cases there's a few things about the case that are mentioned so it might be worth going back and having a listen to Episode 4: They Don't Teach You This At Law School.

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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 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)

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The 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' by Audiobinger (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license)

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In 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)

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What'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)

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In 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)

Read the transcript.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.