law reform

A statement praising ‘conscientious honest lawyers’ was published in a Brisbane newspaper in 1874. At that time, the public image of lawyers—barristers, as well as solicitors—was poor. For decades Queensland Parliaments were inclined to agree. The creation of the incorporated Queensland Law Society was seen as an important step in improving the reputation of lawyers.

In this lecture, historian Helen Gregory presents the challenges which needed to be addressed, and how government was persuaded to pass the necessary legislation, taking into account the expectations of solicitors, Parliament and the public.

The lecture is opened by the Hon Justice Williams (Supreme Court of Queensland). The Queensland Law Society Vice President, Rebecca Fogerty, also gave a short speech before the lecture and officially open the new SCLQ and QLS exhibition, A force for good: past, present and future.

Learn more about the exhibition here.

About the speaker
Helen Gregory was born in Brisbane and is a historian specialising in Queensland's history and cultural heritage. She has taught in the Department of History at the University of Queensland, the School of Built Environment at the Queensland University of Technology and was Director of Cultural Heritage at the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency.

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Two years ago, Meagan complained to the ABC that our coverage of sexual assault cases was too negative, and it didn't reflect her personal experience.

Two years ago, Meagan complained to the ABC that our coverage of sexual assault cases was too negative, and it didn't reflect her personal experience.

Welcome to a Cosmos Insights podcast, where we talk to scientists in Australia about the impact of their work.

Kathleen Folbigg has served 20 years of a 30-year sentence for killing her four children. She had exhausted all her avenues for appeal. Only after petitioning from grassroots supporters and legal representatives on the basis of new forensic pathology assessments did the New South Wales’ Governor open an inquiry into her convictions.

That was back in 2019, and despite those new forensic assessments being heard, judicial officer Reginald Blanch was not convinced there was a reasonable doubt cast by that and other evidence.

During the course of that inquiry, a rare gene mutation possessed by the Folbigg children was identified by two teams of researchers. One of those teams pursued research into that gene and concluded it would potentially explain the cause of their deaths. That led to New South Wales Attorney-General Mark Speakman opening a second inquiry into Folbigg’s convictions, which has finished hearing evidence from the geneticists, plus cardiologists, forensic pathologists, paediatricians, and psychology experts.

Quite a lot of science! But science that would not have been heard if not for the state of New South Wales enacting the rare provisions of a Governor’s appeal.

So, what can be done to make sure new science that’s potentially relevant to a case is heard when conventional means of appeal is exhausted.

The Australian Academy of Science was granted leave by the commission to appear as an independent scientific advisor to the inquiry. Today Cosmos journalist Matthew Agius talks to its chief executive is Anna Maria Arabia.

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Many victim survivors of sexual assault say they found giving evidence at trial a harrowing and re-traumatising experience. The Victorian Law Reform Commission is currently conducting an inquiry into ways to improve the responses of the justice system to sexual offences.

Sir Samuel Griffith was undoubtedly the instigator of some of the greatest law reform moments in Queensland history. This lecture attempts to capture the most significant pieces of law reform for which he was singularly responsible for more than a quarter of a century.  

The range of subjects include both civil and criminal law, substantive law and procedural law with a view to identifying what was innovative and, at times, audacious. 

About the speaker:
The Hon Justice David Jackson began his career in law when he was admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1977. In 1990 his Honour was appointed Queen’s Counsel. Justice Jackson previously served as a member of the Supreme Court Library Committee and chaired the Queensland Law Reform Commission between 2014 and 2020. His Honour has been a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland since 2012.

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In this true crime podcast episode, The Family Ties explores the Raylee Jolynn Browning Case. 

In the first part of this episode, Kelley Richey and Julia Avery discuss Raylee Browning's back story of being a victim of sexual abuse, physical abuse, starvation, and subsequent murder. Next, the two sisters discuss who murdered and abused Raylee and the outcome of the murder trial and case. 

Finally, the sisters discuss Raylee's Law, a new homeschool law currently going through the Supreme Court in West Virginia, and why it's important for people to take action and urge policy-makers to pass this law.

This episode discusses racism, colonization and intentional Indigenous exclusion from the Canadian judiciary. 

This week Kelley and Julia share their research into Oregon Child Protective Services after covering the tragic case of the Hart family deaths in last week's episode. They try to get to the bottom of why CPS is failing children in Oregon and what the possible solutions could be to fix their long-standing history of ineptitude to protect, while children have been dying or remain in dangerous home situations. Some of the details the sisters unearth are disturbing, shocking, and reveal a system riddled with problems, so tune in to hear how the one system in place to protect our children is failing our most vulnerable.

This episode delivers a call to action from the courts to find a better way forward, to become trauma informed for the benefit of judges, counsel, court clerks, court officers and victim support staff.