The Wigs

Celebrating a return to the studio, in this episode The Wigs delve into three diverse topics. First up, the limits of academic freedom as revealed in a recent High Court of Australia decision of Ridd v James Cook University [2021] HCA 32. Should academic freedom be qualified by a requirement to “afford respect and courtesy to others in one’s field of competence”? Should academics...

In this extras episode of The Wigs Emmanuel Kerkyasharian has a fascinating discussion with Edward Santow about Human rights, technology and artificial intelligence. The wide-ranging discussion touches on the robodebt saga, responsibility for algorithmic decision making, algorithmic deference & the need for the legal profession to understand more about statistics and computers as we progress i...

In this episode, the Wigs are joined by solicitors Peter O’Brien and Stewart O’Connell to discuss the recent High Court decision about the liability of media outlets for things posted by other users in the comments on the media outlets’ Facebook pages. Peter and Stewart act for the plaintiff in the defamation proceedings, Dylan Voller. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...

In this extra content interview, Wig Stephen Lawrence sits down with Alison Battison the founder of Human Rights for All, a unique Australian pro bono law firm having a major impact on Australian migration and human rights law. Human Rights for All specialise in obtaining liberty for detained asylum seekers, refugees and stateless persons. They represented AJL20 (a Syrian man whose legal travails...

On this episode, the Wigs discuss the recent High Court decision Commonwealth of Australia v. AJL20 [2021] HCA 21, A narrow win for the Commonwealth against a refugee whose visa was canceled on character grounds, and a case that has potentially big implications for the protection of liberty in this country. Secondly, a world-first in enforcement against big tech - the Wigs delve into the Federal C...

This bonus episode of The Wigs is part of our solo Wig interview series. Felicity Graham sat down with special guest Rawan Arraf of the Australian Centre for International Justice to discuss universal jurisdiction, the crime of apartheid, the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction over alleged offences in the occupied Palestinian Territory, the work that can be done domestically to achieve gl...

Kicking off Season 3, The Wigs Felicity Graham, Stephen Lawrence and Emmanuel Kerkyasharian (along with Jim Minns) broadcast live from lockdown with an in-depth look into the NSW public health orders that have hastily been put in place. Issues including the right to silence, the right against self-incrimination, policing in the time of COVID and the rule of law will be interesting to all.   See om...

In this episode, the final for season 2, the wigs tackle the changes the NSW government is proposing to sexual consent laws.  These changes - if passed by parliament - will require participants in sexual acts to seek "active consent" before engaging.  It is a proposal that has divided the legal community and raises profound questions about the role of the criminal law: See omnystudio.com/listener...

The Wigs LIVE! Recorded at the NSW Public Defenders conference on Sunday 14 March, 2021 before approximately 500 conference delegates. The annual PD's conference is NSW premier criminal law conference and The Wigs were certainly happy to accept the invitation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode is devoted to a recent damning report delivered to the NSW Parliament by the NSW Law Enforcement Conduct Commission following a complaint by a criminal defence solicitor in regional NSW that he had been targeted, harassed and intimidated by police officers in Strike Force Raptor - when he was simply doing his job, that is representing a client allegedly involved in an outlaw motorcycl...

In this episode Wig Stephen Lawrence sits down with Barrister Douglas McDonald-Norman to talk about a fascinating figure in Indian legal history, William Broome, the British colonial judge who ‘stayed on’ in 1947 when the new Indian nation was born. Douglas McDonald-Norman practises from Eight Selborne Chambers in Sydney where he has a diverse practise including in administrative and commercial la...

The Wigs are back together live in the studio for the first time in 2021, kicking off the year with three legal controversies. First up, a look at the phenomenon of de-platforming, where social media companies restrict people's access to their platforms on account of things said in the expression of views and beliefs. Secondly, the wigs analyse a new NSW proposal to criminalise so called "coercive...

Wig Emmanuel Kerkyasharian interviews Edward Walker, an expert in medieval law, about the life of a barrister in the 1400s, historical female litigants and the development of the common law.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this Xmas special the wigs, with the aid of a bottle or two of French champagne, bring a close to the legal year with a discussion of three interesting legal controversies. Firstly the wigs discuss the "lawyer x" scandal in Victoria. A tale of what happened when a famous criminal defence barrister turned rogue and began secretly working for the police against her clients. Second, the wigs discu...

In this episode the wigs are back into some complex black letter law. First up is an examination of the details of a new bill currently before the NSW state parliament which is proposed to give police sweeping new investigative powers in respect of people with drug supply convictions. A legitimate response to a social problem or another incursion into fundamental human rights? Next up is a discuss...

The Wigs sat down with Geoffrey Robinson QC to talk about international law in the context of a war over Nagorno- Karabakh.    Geoffrey Robertson Q.C. is a human rights barrister, academic, author and broadcaster. He holds dual Australian and British citizenship.  He is a founder and joint head of Doughty Street Chambers in London. He serves as a Master of the Bench at the Middle Temple, a recorde...

In this episode the wigs tackle two topical legal issues. Firstly the controversial failed prosecution of NSW Minister Don Harwin. Secondly the operation of the NSW High Risk Offender scheme, under which people are detained and monitored for being an "unacceptable risk" of further criminal offending.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wigs sit down with author and fellow barrister Andrew Boe to talk about his new book The Truth Hurts - an unflinching exploration of the fault lines in our criminal justice system by an outsider who found his way in. Stick around for a reading by the author himself at the end of the Wigs’ interview with Andrew. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wigs put prosecutorial fairness under the microscope. First up is a discussion of a new decision of the NSW Supreme Court in Bradley v Senior Constable Chilby, where a defendant in local court proceedings demanded disclosure of details of his accuser's history of violence, drug use and dishonesty in a case where self-defence loomed large. Secondly the wigs discuss a recent decision of the High...

The Wigs discuss the recent US Supreme Court case of Bostock v Clayton County where a US man was fired for "conduct unbecoming a county employee". Why? He joined a gay softball team. He took the county on and ended up transforming US discrimination law. To add some Australian context the Wigs also interview Assoc Professor Wayne Morgan who talks about his decades of legal activism. Lastly, we prof...

The Wigs discuss the situation involving former Justice of the High Court of Australia, Dyson Heydon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wigs are back! Kicking off season 2 with the inside story of the NSW Police attempt to ban the recent Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney. The three Wigs represented the protest organiser in the 24 hours leading up to the event and eventually secured a last minute appeal ruling that allowed a peaceful protest to go ahead. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wigs recap some of the major cases highlighting in season 1 of the chart-topping podcast, including Pell v R and Annika Smethurst v AFP, (both discussed in detail). The Wigs discuss the cases from their practical perspectives as practising criminal law barristers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The wigs chat with employment law expert and Barrister at State Chambers, Anton Duc. This episode was recorded on April 3rd, 2020 via zoom and, as such, the employment law landscape has changed since then. Stay tuned at the end of the episode as Anton provides a post script update.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wigs continue with our special Covid-19 episodes - This time we’re focusing on the restraints on movement and assembly imposed via public health powers in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.