Case In Point

Mar 18 2025 9 ep. 35 mins 3
Case In Point Podcast artwork

The backstory to amazing court cases you need to know about. Lawyers and legal scholars become storytellers and give you the inside scoop on what makes these cases so extraordinary.

  History  Education  Society & Culture
RSS feed Share
Copy RSS


Subscribe on Podcast Addict


Is it a crime to attempt to murder a corpse?

Mar 18 2025 30 mins  
Today’s case has been described as one of the most bizarre cases in recent Australian legal history, with a climax mirroring one of Agatha Christie’s most famous novels. Guest: Dr Natalia Antolak-Saper, criminal law scholar, Monash University Case: R v Darrington [2016] VSC 60 Further Reading: Man jailed for eight years for attempting to murder a corpse (The Age, 29 February 20

Doping in Sport: The Shayna Jack case

Mar 04 2025 39 mins  
What happens when an athlete is punished for doping, but the athlete has no idea how the drugs entered their system? In 2019 the Australian swimming world was rocked by news that champion swimmer Shayna Jack had returned a positive test for a banned performance enhancing drug. The ensuing legal battle, including the penalties awarded against Jack, has exposed the challenges athlete

Exile & Empire in Paradise: The UK's Chagos scandal

Feb 18 2025 49 mins  
Our case today takes us to the Indian Ocean, to a remote and breathtaking group of islands at the centre of a high-stakes legal battle. The Chagos Archipelago is the focus of a decades-long dispute between Mauritius and the United Kingdom — one that involves international courts, the shadow of the Cold War, and a powerful U.S. military base. This legal battle continues to the pre

Frontier Justice: An execution in Melbourne CBD

Dec 10 2024 37 mins  
It’s 1839, and Melbourne is a fledgling frontier, rife with tension between British invaders and First Australians. The arrival of two Palawa men, Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheener, sparks a chain of events leading to a brutal execution witnessed by thousands in the heart of the city. Were they criminals, or resistance fighters opposing colonial invasion? This is the untold stor

Grave-robbers, mummies, cyborgs!

Nov 26 2024 42 mins  
Can you own a dead body? A strange story from 1868 holds the key to ownership of the human body and body parts. This curious court case continues to impact us in the 21st century... and beyond. Show Notes Guest: Dr Marc Trabsky, Associate Professor of Law, La Trobe University Case: Doodeward v Spence [1908] HCA 45; (1908) 6 CLR 406 (31 July 1908) www.lifedeathandlaw.com Thinking of

Australia v Japan: Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus

Nov 12 2024 35 mins  
Would you take a friend to court to settle a dispute? Awkward? This is what Australia did with Japan, a key friend and ally, in 2014 over Japan's refusal to stop killing whales in the Southern Ocean. Special guest Mark Dreyfus is Attorney-General of Australia. Mark represented Australia in the culmination of a 40-year diplomatic stoush between Australia and Japan which went all the

Face Off: Clearview AI v The World

Oct 29 2024 36 mins  
In 2017 a little-known Australian technologist develops a revolutionary form of facial recognition technology. Clearview AI is being used by law enforcement agencies to hunt down criminals. But is there a catch? A series of legal disputes around the world are among the most stark and alarming of our time. Show Notes Guest: Professor Jeannie Paterson, University of Melbourne (Co-Dir

USA v David Hicks: Dan Mori

Oct 16 2024 43 mins  
It's 2003. An Australian man is captured by US forces in Afghanistan and imprisoned at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on terrorism charges. The prisoner's defence lawyer is a United States Marine Corps lawyer named Dan Mori. He's about to be thrust onto the world stage in a fight against his own country's military and political establishment. (Update: The US govern

COMING SOON - Grave robbers! AI law enforcement!

Oct 15 2024 1 mins  
Grave robbers, AI law enforcement, international diplomatic beefs! Introducing Case In Point, the stories behind some of the most amazing court cases you need to know about. Each episode a special guest picks a weird and wonderful court case with an epic backstory. Hosted by Melissa Castan (Professor of Law at Monash University) and James Pattison (the guy who's not a Professor of