by Chris Merritt | Apr 17, 2026 | Chris Merritt, Commentary, Defamation, Media Article
Now that Ben Roberts-Smith has been arrested, it’s too late to eliminate the main threat to the fairness of his war crimes trial – the prospect of a biased jury. But it’s not too late for dozens of other veterans of the Afghanistan war who risk facing exactly the same...
by Chris Merritt | Feb 26, 2026 | Chris Merritt, Commentary, Defamation, Media Article
When it comes to legal ethics Shane Drumgold SC refuses to accept the reality of his position. And so, it seems, does the Press Council. It might seem surprising that a well known silk like Drumgold would choose the Press Council and not the justice system to settle...
by Chris Merritt | Aug 29, 2025 | Chris Merritt, Commentary, Defamation, Media Article, Rule of Law Issue
Thanks to her own intransigence, Brittany Higgins now faces a world of difficulties. Instead of apologising to her former boss, Linda Reynolds, and settling their defamation dispute out of court, Higgins held on to the end, blind to the warnings of what awaited her....
by Chris Merritt | Dec 13, 2024 | Chris Merritt, Commentary, Defamation, Media Article
Long after John Pesutto pays Moira Deeming damages of $300,000 and her legal costs, this defamation case will hang around his neck like a rotting albatross. He will forever be known as the politician who was panicked by a tweet, responded carelessly by accusing one of...
by Chris Merritt | Jul 19, 2024 | Chris Merritt, Defamation, Media Article
This month was supposed to mark the restoration of legal certainty after one of the most unfortunate decisions ever handed down by the High Court. The nation’s governments had agreed that something had to be done about the court’s 2021 decision in defamation...
by Chris Merritt | Apr 15, 2024 | Chris Merritt, Defamation, Media Article
There is now a real danger society will learn the wrong lessons from Network Ten’s resounding defamation win against Bruce Lehrmann – a man who stands condemned as a rapist.Mr Lehrmann is the author of his own ruin.He launched this civil case knowing there was a risk...
