LAW IN CONTEXT PODCast
WELCOME TO THE LAW IN CONTEXT PODCAST
LAW IN CONTEXT began as a book in 1991 and is now also a podcast series designed to introduce law in a critical way to the general public, current students and those thinking of taking up the subject.
Season 1 in 2024 contained 15 episodes designed as a primer for those interested in the fundamentals of common law systems and how they differ from other legal systems.
Season 2 in 2025 takes a deeper dive into the fascinations of Law in Context.
latest episodes
episode 19 – IT’S A CRIME! CRIMINAL LAW IN CONTEXT
Most people are fascinated by crime, at least if they are at a safe distance from it. It is the stuff of popular culture and serious scholarship. Theories abound. Might a certain amount of it be good for society if it reminds everyone of how they should behave? Or is criminalising certain behaviour a way of oppressive governments maintaining control?
In this episode we discuss how criminal law differs from other branches of law. It is public. It leads to punishment. It has separate procedures and a higher standard of proof.
We take two crimes – murder and theft – and discuss each of their elements, as examples of how the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the actus reus – the guilty act(s) – and the men rea – the guilty mind.
We look at defences, such as insanity, duress, necessity and automatism.
If you read, watch or listen to crime dramas, this episode gives you the foundations of the law that applies to them.
episode 21 – VICTIMS
Being the victim of a crime can be highly traumatic. Some argue that the criminal justice system can make the victim re-live that trauma all over again.
In this episode we look at how, historically, victims have moved away from being parties in a criminal case, to mere witnesses. This process of sidelining victim may be a necessary consequence of giving the State a monopoly over legitimate punishment but there may still be ways of making the victim’s voice heard.
The Victim Impact Statement is one such device. Perhaps restorative justice procedures also help reintegrate the victim as well as the offender back into the community. Perhaps not.
episode 22 – MISCARRIAGES OF JUSTICE
No criminal justice system is perfect. Sometimes it “miscarries” and innocent people are convicted. The consequences can be devastating for those involved, and sometimes for society, leading to unrest or political tensions.
In this episode we look at some selected miscarriages of justice from the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. We discuss a very controversial and live issue at the moment, the Lucy Letby convictions in the United Kingdom, involving the deaths of seven babies, which relied on expert evidence which is now being challenged by other experts.
We also look at a new phenomenon; “mass” miscarriages of justice, where governments or government agencies wrongly prosecute people and then go into denial, as happened in the UK’s Post Office scandal, and in Australia with the Robodebt scandal.
Some common themes in these terrible events are discussed. At the end of the day, there is no substitute for vigilance and remaining sceptical about everything that is given in evidence.