Old Law, New Law - a podcast by the VLRC

Integrated legal assistance services can provide great support to people experiencing complex disadvantage, distress or trauma, but keeping legal information private in these circumstances can be complicated. In this episode of ‘Old Law, New Law’, Eve Gallagher, Team Leader of our Legal privilege and integrated legal assistance services inquiry, talks with VLRC Chair, Tony North and senior staff from three integrated legal assistance services in Victoria about ways of addressing these problems.

How can courts and the justice system use AI safely? The VLRC team discuss whether AI can help courts become more efficient and accessible, without losing the human element, and bearing in mind the dangers of deepfakes, hallucinations and bias.

Some 5,000 – 6,000 people serve on juries in Victoria every year. In this episode we talk to Victorian Juries Commissioner Paul Dore about his role in bringing jurors into the courtroom and what happen when they get there. This wide-ranging conversation covers the role of law reform, the impact of traumatic trials on jurors, the problem of jurors doing their own research on Google, and what can be done to improve the juror experience.

You may be surprised to learn that people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or have low vision are unable to serve on juries in Victoria. In May 2023 the VLRC published recommendations for reform that would enable more people to serve using reasonable adjustments. Nick talks to Emma Cashen and Phoebe Lindner about how Victorian juries can be made more inclusive and representative.

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Link to the Inclusive Juries report

If someone kicks a person in the head and they are badly hurt, the perpetrator might be charged with recklessly causing serious injury. But what does 'reckless' mean in a legal sense?  The meaning in the law is not the same as in everyday speech, and differs between jurisdictions. Law courts have to work out what was going on in someone's mind at the exact moment of an action to decide if they are guilty of reckless behaviour. Nick and Gemma talk to Tony North KC, Chair of the Victorian Law Reform Commission, and members of the VLRC team that is considering recklessness in Victoria.

A conversation between Tony North QC, Chair of the VLRC, and Fiona Patten MP, leader of the Reason Party and Chair of the Victorian Parliament’s legal and social issues committee, on why law reform matters and the different ways that the VLRC and the parliamentary committee approach law reform. Interviewer: Lynne Haultain, Executive Director of the Victoria Law Foundation. Recorded for Law Week, May 2022.

In November the VLRC published an eagerly awaited report with 91 recommendations to reform how the justice system responds to sexual offences in Victoria. Gemma and Nick talk to the Chair of the VLRC, Tony North QC and team leader Jacinth Pathmanathan about reforms to criminal trials, restorative justice, affirmative consent, and how to make reporting easier. 

Transcript of this episode

Most of us have a rough idea of what stalking involves - the stereotype of a creepy guy following you around - but in the era of social media and lockdowns, cyberstalking is also a growing problem. Some 14,000 cases of stalking occurred in Victoria last year, and that is only the tip of the iceberg. Gemma and Nick talk to Tony North, Marie Barnard and Michelle McDonnell of the VLRC's inquiry into stalking laws. How does the law currently deal with stalking, and what can you do if you are being stalked? To find out more, visit Stalking - Victorian Law Reform Commission. 

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Nick and Gemma talk to Professor Ron McCallum AO, Professor of Law at Sydney Law School and the first totally blind person appointed to a university Chair in Australia, about the VLRC's inquiry into how to assist people who are blind, have low vision, deaf or hard of hearing to serve on juries in Victoria. They are joined by Chair of the VLRC the Hon. Tony North and team leader Emma Cashen.

Transcript of this episode

In this episode we talk to the team working on the VLRC's current inquiry, Improving the Response of the Justice System to Sexual Offences. The topics covered include: barriers to reporting sexual offences, alternative ways of reporting, specialist courts, and restorative justice. To find out more, including how to make a submission by 23 December 2020, visit our website. 

If you have experienced sexual assault, or helped someone who has, please let us know what you think by responding to the online form at Engage Victoria.

Presenter: Gemma Walsh. Guests: the Hon. Tony North QC, Chair of the VLRC; Jacinth Pathmanathan (team leader of the sexual offences inquiry); Emma Larking (senior research and policy officer).

Transcript of this episode