1968 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.----------------------------------------Want to Master your career?Stand out from the pack with a Masters from Monash Law.If you have a law degree already, you could be graduating with a Master of Laws within 12 months.If you don’t have ..read more

A newly-elected Australian government is concerned about a growing Communist influence in Australia. The scene is set for a major High Court case.----------------------------------------Want to Master your career? Stand out from the pack with a Masters from Monash Law. If you have a law degree already, you could be graduating with a Master of Laws within 12 months. If you don’t have a law degree, there’s also a brand new Masters designed for you too - it’s called the Master of Legal Studies. Applications are now open! Learn more:Master of Lawswww.monash.edu/law/future-students/master-of-lawsMa ..read more

What 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?2020 has upended a lot of things we take for granted. Is it time we rethink how our society organises itself?This season we’re bringing you some of the best court cases that have shaped society - and that could provide a way forward for the future.www.justcasespodcast.com ..read more

How 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 don’t get any coverage at all. What if you’re a witch or a Wiccan? A Druid or Shaman? How does Australian law ..read more

“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 play: our courts.But the leading court case that dictates how the courts play this role - and which judges ..read more

This 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-catalogue. This is one of the first JUST CASES episodes we recorded, and it's one of our favourites. A hot t ..read more

Earlier 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 2017, Rolls-Royce came to an agreement with the SFO, in which the company agreed to pay £671 million in retur ..read more

The 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 ..read more

How 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 speech. Supporters of safe access zones argue these laws are vital to ensure the safety of women seeking health ..read more

A 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 student. In 2017, Catholic schools received $8.4 billion in government funding, despite also being funded by fee ..read more