(Cardinal) George Pell's new best friend – dissenting judge Mark Weinberg

Australian Financial Review ^ | 23rd August 2019 | Michael Pelly

[naturalman1975]

Mark Weinberg is now the most important person in George Pell’s life.

.....

A leading criminal barrister speaking on background describes its reasoning as impeccable. “You would be on pretty safe ground following Weinberg,” says another.

In fact, the most common observation by those concerned about the verdict – and its sole reliance on testimony by a victim 20 years after the event – is that Weinberg got it right because he had the most experience in criminal law.

It’s unfair on his fellow judges – Chief Justice Anne Ferguson and Court of Appeal president Chris Maxwell – but it’s also true.

Weinberg did a lot of criminal law in private practice before he was appointed the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions in 1988. He joined the Federal Court in 1998 but after a change in pension arrangement moved to Victoria’s Court of Appeal in 2008.

The following year he was invited to sit as acting judge of the NSW Supreme Court on a criminal law appeal. He has also written extensively on sexual assault cases and – most relevantly – the burden of proof in cases of historic sexual abuse involving a single complainant.

Weinberg retired in 2018, but has been an acting judge of appeal since then. There were some murmurs of discontent from inside the court that a full-time judge should have been selected, but no one questioned his credentials for the case. He was the "crim law" judge.

Ferguson and Maxwell, who wrote a joint judgment, both have a background that is almost exclusively commercial law. Ferguson was partner at top law firm Allens when she was appointed to court in 2010. She was made chief justice in 2017. Maxwell spent two decades at the Bar until he was appointed in 2005.

[Gay State Conservative]

One routinely sees evidence in the US that prosecutors and judges read the newspapers. If,by chance,that’s also true in Australia it seems unlikely that Cardinal Pell will be exonerated (assuming he deserves to be). The fact that the Cardinal is widely hated by his countrymen could be enough to see him die in prison...even if he doesn’t deserve to.

[Gay State Conservative]

He has also written extensively on sexual assault cases and – most relevantly – the burden of proof in cases of historic sexual abuse involving a single complainant.

Just as an aside I wonder if you heard about a law that recently went into effect in the State of New York.Governor Andrew "The Lesser" Cuomo just signed into law a bill that allows those alleging sexual abuse to file civil suits against their abusers regardless of when it's alleged to to have happened.

So a person can file against the Catholic Church (the real target...a hated institution with deep pockets) for something that is said to have happened 50 years ago.

Given that it's New York it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how this will turn out.

[WellyP]

My guess is Trump won’t do anything until Saudi oil production is back to normal. At that point he will do a deal with the Saudi’s, they agree to increase and maintain output of oil and together they take out Iran’s military. Oil output would continue at the increased level until Iran changes government. (Something like that or let Israel enjoy flying the missions)

[Mr. Lucky]

Hello?