Crime

The ACT Bar Council has dismissed misconduct claims against former director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC over his handling of the rape case against Bruce Lehrmann.

A judge has allowed a tweak to a class action against the state of NSW on behalf of inmates of the Dillwynia Women’s Correctional Centre who were sexually assaulted by former correctional officer Wayne Astill.

The top prosecutor in Victoria who made complaints about two judges, prompting one to resign, has been elevated to the state’s Supreme Court.

Almost 7,000 taxi drivers who did not sign up to two class actions against Uber by the deadline are asking the court for a cut of a $272 million settlement, with a judge questioning what she “unleashed” when sending out the notice of settlement. 

A judge has thrown out a defamation case by John Peros, the former boyfriend of Shandee Blackburn, over a podcast by The Australian dealing with her murder, finding he did not suffer serious harm from the publication.

The lead plaintiff in a class action alleging NSW Police conducted illegal strip searches at music festivals has argued the state cannot rely on a defence that the searches were a reasonable exercise of power, after a recent judgment found the defence does not apply to unlawful arrests.

A former debt collector who accused the ATO of using heavy handed debt collection tactics against taxpayers has asked the High Court to overrule a decision that found he was not immune from prosecution. In a decision handed down in June, the South Australia Court of Appeal dismissed Richard Boyle’s second bid for immunity from…

Senator Linda Reynolds has admitted she gave incorrect evidence at Bruce Lehrmann’s criminal trial concerning the day he allegedly raped Brittany Higgins, saying it was her “best recollection” at the time. 

Senator Linda Reynolds has admitted that she leaked a confidential letter from the Commonwealth’s solicitors to a reporter at The Australian concerning Brittany Higgins’ claims about the handling of her rape allegations, calling the letter’s confidentiality a “legal nicety” that she didn’t understand.

A former employee of the Australian Taxation Office who faced murder charges over a cold case from 1984, which have since been dropped, has lost his unfair dismissal case after the FWC found he was not forced to resign.