The scandal and its aftermath point to a systemic failure of police accountability. Such failure is fertile soil for police corruption and makes a repeat of the scandal entirely possible.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
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The system for investigating police misconduct, corruption and criminality in Victoria is hopelessly flawed. A culture of integrity within police will take time to build.
A barrister may report confidential client communications to police where their client has threatened the safety of another person, but going beyond such discrete instances is ethically fraught.
Unless Lawyer X had next to no role in the defence of her clients, all the results of any trial where she represented them could be overturned. And this could mean release from prison with no retrial.
The royal commission will examine the conduct of a defence barrister who became an informant to the police - supplying information on her own clients that had been given to her in strict confidence.
Top contributors
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Honorary Professor Practice, George Mitchell Institute for Global Peace and Security, Queen's University Belfast
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Emeritus Professor Monash University, Monash University
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Associate professor, Deakin University
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Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne
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Lecturer in Law, University of Technology Sydney
