Case In Point

A social media app built exclusively for women uses facial recognition to screen its users. When a transgender woman is kicked off, she takes the company to federal court. In this episode, we unpack the case that's forcing Australia to answer a contentious question: who counts as a woman under the law? Case: Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd v Tickle [2026] FCAFC 64 Guest: Paula Gerber , Professor of Law,...

The award-winning journalist behind the podcast S-Town, Brian Reed, says a civil-rights era US Supreme Court decision that protects journalists is under threat. Brian tells the story of the landmark press freedom case of New York Times v. Sullivan (1964). What it made possible? And what happens to journalism in the US if it falls now? Guest:  Brian Reed, host of Question Everything and S-Town Case...

You've probably seen sovereign citizen videos on social media. People reciting weird incantations to get out of traffic stops and court appearances, spouting words that sound like legalese but are actually nonsense.  This stuff is darkly funny. But it's having real consequences for our legal system and for social cohesion. In Western Australia in 2022 a suburban Magistrate asked a simple question...

With Artemis II safely back on Earth, we turn our eyes to the skies above. What is the Moon Agreement? Did Sandra Bullock breach the law in the movie 'Gravity'? Who is legally responsible when someone is injured by a falling satellite? Guest: Professor Melissa de Zwart, Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources, University of Adelaide. Hosts: Professor Melissa Castan, Monash University & James Pa...

In 2023, the High Court told the Australian government it couldn't lock people up forever in immigration detention. This was a constitutional bombshell that led to political panic, and the fallout is ongoing. Guest: Professor Luke Beck, Monash University. Cases NZYQ v. Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs & Anor [2023] HCA 37 Al-Kateb v Godwin [2004] HCA 37 YBFZ v Mi...

When English lawyer Richard Meeran uncovered mining company Cape PLC's internal documents in the 1990s, he found damning evidence of one of the biggest international corporate cover-ups in history. His friend, lawyer David Kinley, tells the story in "In a Rain of Dust" , a real-life legal thriller. In this episode: How Meeran exposed the cover-up How Cape PLC was prepared to fight dirty to keep it...

Every week, professional athletes break their bodies for our entertainment. So it will come as a huge shock to sports fans how poorly the law protects our sporting heroes. In this episode: How our sporting codes lobbied to carve athletes out of injury protection in the 1970s How a Carlton player briefly cracked that system open in the 2000s before it slammed shut again, and Why the concussion cris...

Who is to blame when one of Elon or Jeff's suspiciously shaped rockets crashes to Earth from space? What is pseudo-law, and where did all these goddam sovereign citizens come from? Why was the government forced to release over 100 serious criminals into the community? These cases and plenty more coming in this new (and 99.9% improved™) season of Case In Point. 🎙️ Case In Point is produced by MINIA...

When the US Supreme Court ruled in favour of a company called Hobby Lobby in 2014, it was hailed by conservatives as a win for the religious freedom of business owners. Critics of the decision said it dealt a major blow to the rights of employees to access reproductive healthcare. But there's more to this case than meets the eye.  Has the Hobby Lobby case rewritten the rules about what a corporati...

This 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. Today we ask: is it legally possible to murder a dead body? 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 mu...

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 athletes face under cur...

This is the story of how the Cold War turned an island paradise into one of the most strategically important US military bases in the world—and the people left behind. In the 1960s and 70s, Britain forcibly removed an entire population from the Indian Ocean to make way for the Diego Garcia US military base—then spent decades denying it had happened. This decades-long legal battle has pitted Maurit...

The arrival of two men in the frontier town of Melbourne sparks a chain of events that ends with a brutal execution witnessed by thousands. Were these men criminals or resistance fighters? Guest: Professor Lynette Russell AM , Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor and Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow, Monash University Case: The trial and execution of Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenn...

A series of strange events kicking off in 1868 has massive implications for ownership of human body parts. This curious court case has overthrown our legal understanding of who owns our bodies (living or dead), and could lead to a RoboCop style distopian nightmare.  Guest: Dr Marc Trabsky, Associate Professor of Law, La Trobe University. www.lifedeathandlaw.com Case: Doodeward v Spence [1908] HCA...

Would you take a friend to court to settle a dispute? Could this be 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 th...

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. Guest: Professor Jeannie Paterson , University of Melbourne (Co-Director, Centre for AI and D...

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 government has revo...

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 Law at Monash U...