The Wigs

Royal commissions are on the increase and never far from the news. Post the Bondi terrorist attack one or course was established and its operation and findings will be of great national interest. In this episode the Wigs draw on numerous examples and look at the history, purpose and effect of the institution of the Royal commission. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode the Wigs dig into some of the legal and factual issues surrounding the extraordinary US military operation that captured sitting Venezuelan President Maduro in the early hours of 3 January 2026 and transferred him to New York to face an indictment alleging drug trafficking. Was the operation legal? What are the charges and what are the prospects of a successful defence? The episode...

In this episode, Stephen and Felicity are joined by the Hon. Steven Warmsley, former District Court judge, Senior Counsel, and author. The trio explores the arc of Warmsley's legal career, from solicitor to silk to judge, and unpacks the practicalities and philosophies of fearless advocacy.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, two Members of the Legislative council, our own Stephen Lawrence and the Honourable Jeremy Buckingham MLC, Legalise Cannabis Party, sit down for a long chat. Felicity is present for the beginning of the chat, but had to depart, leaving the two MLC's to do what MLC's do best, talk a lot. The conversation begins with some law reform legislation that Jeremy is advocating for, but the...

In this episode, the Wigs discuss the decision in Mokbel v The King [2024] VSC 725, in which questions relating to an appeal by Antonious Mokbel arising out of the Gobbo saga in Victoria were determined by Justice Fullerton.  Shortly after the Wigs recorded this episode, the Victorian Court of Appeal granted Mokbel bail pending determination of his appeal, citing the findings made in the refe...

In this episode the Wigs discuss a trio of recent high court decisions that deal with a pretty new question, when can a civil claim for sexual abuse said to have occured many decades ago be fairly tried, even when the alleged assailant has died and much related evidence lost. This question has emerged following the abolition by state parliaments of statutes of limitation, that previously prevented...

In this episode - Wigs Felicity and Emmanuel speak with journalist Paul Farrell about proactive policing particularly stop and search practices within the NSW Police Force.  Paul is an investigative reporter who has worked at the ABC, the Guardian and Buzzfeed News, breaking major national and international stories. He led the Guardian's Nauru files reporting team, which published thousands o...

Our final episode for 2024! This is part 2 of our speed round - answering your questions! If you have a question for the Wigs, feel free to shout out to us on Facebook. And don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast.  Have a happy and safe holiday break and new year to all our lovely, loyal listeners. We love you! Jim, Flic, Manny and Steve. See omnystudio.com/listener fo...

As a finale for 2024, the Wigs took listener questions and answered them in a speed round. This is Part 1 of the speed round covering a range of topics from the right to disconnect as an employee, to the Disability Royal Commission recommendations, the age of criminal responsibility and the use of good character evidence in sentence proceedings. If you have a question for the Wigs, feel free to sh...

In this episode Stephen sits down for a wide ranging chat with Barrister Ghassan Kassisieh. The discussion is lengthy and covers lgbt rights, international politics, refugees, the politicisation of gay rights in the Israeli / Palestinian conflict and comparative law, among other things. Ghassan is a Barrister at 12 Wentworth Selbourne chambers in Sydney after being called to the Bar in September 2...

It’s not every day of the week that a law is struck down as unconstitutional but that’s exactly what happened in the case of the Knitting Nanas against the State of NSW. Two Knitting Nanas Helen Kvelde and Dominique Jacobs with the help of the Environmental Defenders Office launched a constitutional challenge to s 214A of the Crimes Act 1900 that criminalised certain conduct such as remaining  “ne...

In this episode the wigs analyse the latest judgment in the federal prosecution of donald trump, in which the trial judge soundly rejected his application to terminate the prosecution on the basis that the biden administration is targeting him in a selective and vindictive manner. Judge Chutkan in rejecting the application also refused the former president discovery of documents in support of his...

In this episode the wigs discuss a new police powers decision, Julie Bugmy v NSW Director of Public Prosecutions 2024 NSWCA 70, a recent decision of the NSW Court of Appeal. It concerns the law applicable when police arrest a person believed to have breached a condition of a grant of bail. Wig Stephen Lawrence actually appeared in the matter, instructed by his old employer the Aboriginal Legal Ser...

In March this year, the Wigs were back to record a live show at the Reasonable Cause Continuing Professional Development Conference.  The topic was Ethics for Defence Lawyers and the panel discussion you are about to hear examined the basis of ethical obligations, the nature of the fiduciary obligations lawyers have, common ethical breaches, some of the reasons why they occur, and how lawyers shou...

In this episode, the wigs tackle a bill that passed the federal parliament recently and very substantially amended the part of the Criminal Code 1995 that creates crimes related to engaging in bribery in foreign countries. The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Foreign Bribery) Bill 2023 passed the Senate on 29 February 2024. These laws implement Australia's international commitments to comb...

In this episode recorded on 19 December 2023, the wigs analyse the decision of the High Court in NZYQ v Minister for Immigration 2023 HCA 37, one of the most important public law decisions in recent decades which was handed down on 28 November 2023. In the decision, the court unanimously overturned an earlier decision in Al-Kateb. It held that long-standing constitutional principles forbid indefin...

In this Wigs Extra Episode we present something a little unusual: a speech that Wig Emmanuel Kerkyasharian gave to the Legal Studies Association.  Asked to speak about basic legal concepts in the context of the Legal Studies Syllabus, Emmanuel couldn’t resist the temptation to go philosophical, and presented a speech about what law is, and how it can be conceptualised as a meme.  Many thanks to th...

Welcome back to the Wigs for a brand new year! We have been on an extended summer break and hope you have enjoyed a great break too. In this episode, recorded at the end of last year, The Wigs examine a recent decision of NSW District Court Judge Newlinds in R v Martinez. The judgment has already been the subject of much media attention and concerns a successful costs application made by Martinez...

This week we are delighted to have as a guest of the Wigs, David Buchanan SC. David is a quiet and unassuming legend of the criminal law in NSW.  Admitted to legal practice in 1975 and then called to the Bar in 1977, in the decades between then and now he has not wearied nor lost his zeal and professional dedication. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 1997 and has almost retired after a long caree...

In this episode the wigs discuss Vanderstock and Victoria a very fiscally important recent decision of the High Court of Australia. The constitution reserves to the federal government the power to levy excises, essentially taxes on goods. The issue in Vanderstock was whether the Victorian government's electric vehicle levy, charged to owners per km of use was in fact an excise and therefore consti...

This week Stephen sits down for a long-form chat with Bri Lee, author of the best selling memoir Eggshell Skull which details Bri's work as an associate in the Queensland District Court and her experience as a complainant survivor in the criminal justice system. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week the panel look at a truly unusual and interesting decision from Justice Wigney of the Federal Court which involved a serving federal judge being ordered to pay damages for wrongfully imprisoning a man he jailed for contempt of court.  Stradford (a pseudonym) v Judge Vasta 2023 FCA 1020 has already had massive ramifications.  Some judges have reportedly refused to sit since it was handed...

It is sometimes said in the law that nothing generates hard work and legal ingenuity more than a costs application.  This week the wigs examine a recent decision that was keenly awaited by the criminal law community in NSW. Rodden v R 2023 a decision of the nsw court of criminal appeal. Mr. Rodden was acquitted of murder and his lawyers sought a certificate under the costs in criminal cases act th...

This week the wigs examine the federal government’s proposed Communications Legislation Amendment (Combating Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill.  The draft Bill released by the Albanese government proposes a method to combat the phenomenon of Misinformation and Disinformation, said to be a growing and pressing problem accompanying the explosion in social media and the internet more broadly. T...

Welcome to a special "recorded live" episode of the wigs!  The Wigs were invited to attend and live record an episode at the Australian Criminal Law Congress 2023 in Byron Bay. Emmanuel and Jim were unfortunately unavailable, so Felicity and Stephen teamed up with guest wig NSW Public Defender Paul Coady to live record the episode before an audience of lawyers from across Australia. The topic for...