29 episodes

The biggest court cases you've never heard of.

Just Cases Monash Law

    • Education

The biggest court cases you've never heard of.

    Episode 20: Could "billions of dollars" of government spending be unconstitutional?

    Episode 20: Could "billions of dollars" of government spending be unconstitutional?

    Outrage 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 of Australia [2014] HCA 23 (19 June 2014) http://www6.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/HCA/2014/23.html

    • 23 min
    Episode 19: Guinness World Record for... Death row

    Episode 19: Guinness World Record for... Death row

    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.

    • 22 min
    Episode 18: A country divided

    Episode 18: A country divided

    A 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

    • 24 min
    New episodes!

    New episodes!

    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? 

    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.

    • 56 sec
    Episode 17: Do witchcraft laws breach freedom of religion?

    Episode 17: Do witchcraft laws breach freedom of religion?

    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 protect your beliefs and religious practices? How has the law treated you over the years if you’re a conjurer or a psychic? 

    Today JUST CASES rewinds to a 1930 case which went all the way to the High Court of Australia. 

    Music- Lee Rosevere 'Last Call'- Lee Rosevere 'Introducing the Pre-Roll'

    Court case- Hansen v Archdall and Smith [1930] HCA 16 44 CLR 265
    http://eresources.hcourt.gov.au/showbyHandle/1/13142

    • 32 min
    Episode 16: Hard cases make bad law

    Episode 16: Hard cases make bad law

    “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 around Australia are obliged to follow - is seriously flawed.

    SHOW NOTES

    All music by Lee Rosevere
    - 'Introducing the Pre-roll'
    - '17 - Awkward Silences version b' 
    http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/

    Storyteller
     - Dr Colin Campbell, Faculty of Law, Monash University

    Hosts
     - Dr Melissa Castan & James Pattison

    Further reading
    - Purvis v New South Wales (Department of Education and Training) [2003] HCA 62: http://eresources.hcourt.gov.au/showCase/2003/HCA/62- 

    'Improving Educational Outcomes for Children with Disability in Victoria: Final Report' (June 2018), E Jenkin, C Spivakovsky, S Joseph, M Smith, Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Monash University: https://www.justcasespodcast.com/s/Castan-Centre-Improving-Educational-Outcomes-for-Students-with-Disability.pdf

    Victorian students with disabilities turned away from schools, report finds (ABC News, 29 June 2018): https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-29/students-with-disabilities-victorian-government-schools-report/9923274

    - Campbell, Colin D, "A Hard Case Making Bad Law: Purvis v New South Wales and the Role of the Comparator Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)" [2007] FedLawRw 4; (2007) 35(1) Federal Law Review 111: http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/FedLawRw/2007/4.html

    • 33 min

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