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Malka Leifer with head bowed having handcuffs removed at the Jerusalem District Court, February 27, 2018

Law and order

Peace in the home

The trial of former school principal Malka Leifer for sexual abuse highlighted how shame and trauma are treated in the justice system, and why some institutions and communities are resistant to scrutiny

View of the High Court of Australia. Image © Mick Tsikas / AAP Images

Law and order

Guarding the power of the court in our democracy

The hidden forces agitating at highest levels to undermine judicial independence

Supporters of lawyer Bernard Collaery and “Witness K” protest outside the Supreme Court in Canberra, with placards including ‘Charge the real criminals’

Law and order

Whistle while we work

Exposing criminality at work is a moral act, but with whistleblower laws failing to protect those who speak up, lawyers are seeking novel solutions

Blue-and-white police tape is seen against a blurry and indistinct background.

Law and order

To serve and protect?

The appalling treatment of Clare Nowland is but one example of the way in which Australia’s police forces wield power

Stacey and Gareth Train talk to camera in a grainy black-and-white video posted on YouTube

The Train family murders

Were last year’s killings in remote Wieambilla, Queensland, the result of a new age of radicalisation?

Rosita Montoya leans against her front doorframe

Manila’s countless dead

New president Ferdinand Marcos Jr promised a more compassionate approach to the Philippines’ war on drugs, but the shadow of Rodrigo Duterte remains

Brian Houston arrives at court, surrounded by TV news cameras

Hillsong and the life of Brian

The Hillsong founder lost control, first of his judgement, then of his authority and finally of his church itself – now, on criminal trial, he’s desperate to control his story

Illustration of small figures on grey land below large night sky

Care and control in the Kimberley

Could on-Country communities help address soaring juvenile crime rates in remote Western Australia?

Image of former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann leaves the ACT Supreme Court in Canberra, October 27, 2022. Image © Mick Tsikas / AAP Images

The twin spectacles in the trial of Bruce Lehrmann

Neither trial by jury nor trial by media are effective paths to a true, restorative justice

Image of Queensland police commissioner Katarina Carroll leaving a Brisbane hearing of the inquiry into Queensland Police responses to domestic and family violence, August 18, 2022. Image © Darren England / AAP Images

Criminalising coercive control isn’t the answer to DV

Police inaction on domestic violence won’t be solved by creating a new criminal offence