Introducing CASE IN POINT, a new podcast from the hosts of JUST CASES: Melissa Castan (Professor of Law at Monash University) and James Pattison (the guy who's not a Professor of Law at Monash University).CASE IN POINT tells the stories...

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 ...

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 ex...

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 cas...

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...

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 af...

“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 uncovere...

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. ...

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? 

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...

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 th...

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...

Issues affecting transgender people are much more prominent in the public consciousness than they’ve ever been. This episode of JUST CASES explores one important legal issue: can children access hormone therapy or surgery in Australia? 

The corruption case against former South African president Jacob Zuma has begun. Zuma’s case lifts the lid on the influence of weapons companies on governments worldwide. “It’s not a story of a corrupt guy, Jacob Zuma,” says Hennie...

The corruption trial of former President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, exposes the influence of weapons companies on governments worldwide. (UPCOMING EPISODE)Music: 'Alum Drum Solo' by Blue Dot Sessions

JUST CASES is back for another season. This season we’re looking ahead to some major court cases you need to know about, which will have an impact on our lives in the future. Can you create a valid will using emojis? I...

It's just before midnight on 10 July 1985. The Port of Auckland, New Zealand. The Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace anti-nuclear protest ship, is sitting at its dock when two massive explosions tear through its hull. A man is killed on...

A series of factory fires in Sydney in 1916 leads to a full-blown treason trial. The case of the ‘IWW Twelve’ sees a dozen local members of a radical worldwide movement caught in a perfect political storm.Storyteller: Dr St...

It’s the night of 2 August 1926. Five nautical miles off the coast of Lesbos. A French ship, the SS Lotus, is cruising towards its destination of Constantinople. The ship’s first officer is keeping watch, but he doesn’t know that there’s a Turk...

In 1886 a sensational banking scandal hit the headlines in Great Britain. It involved the world's richest man, John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, the 3rd Marquess of Bute, and it led to an absurd decision. More than a century later, the...

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 o...

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.&nb...

Just Cases is back! Delivered every fortnight, Season 2 explores some of the weirdest court cases the experts are able to dig up, all for your listening pleasure. Can athletes be charged with assault for something that happens on-f...

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 wa...

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 -...