
Show Notes
Can you be charged with assault for punching an opponent on the sports field? A violent on-field incident in the Australian Football League (AFL) has led to calls for police to bring criminal charges against one of the league's best players.
West Coast player Andrew Gaff has been suspended for eight matches for punching 18-year-old Fremantle player Andrew Brayshaw behind play.
Brayshaw has undergone surgery on a broken jaw and will require further treatment for three broken teeth. The teenager's first season in the game has come to an abrupt and violent end.
The hit has prompted calls for all sorts of things; from a red card system in the AFL, to criminal charges and even jail time.
On this episode of Just Cases we explore a similarly notorious incident in 1985. It led to the criminal prosecution of Leigh Matthews - a giant of Australian rules football held by many to be the greatest footballer to have ever played the game.
Music in this episode Parallel Park 'Counterattack' Silicon Transmitter 'Sphere' Soularflair 'Cue 2 -Sad-HipHop-Backmasked piano cello Fortitude'
Read the transcript. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Just Cases
Outrage over a federal government decision to put religious chaplains in government schools made headlines at the time for being a fight over the separation of church and state. But the real High Court case was about much more - and it has the potential to upend the way the entire federal government functions.
1968 seems a lifetime ago. It was a defining year of the 20th century. 1968 is also the year that a Japanese professional boxer was sentenced to death for murder. Remarkably, he remains on death row to this day. The case of Iwao Hakamada has exposed questionable police practices, a forced confession and a bombshell claim from one of the judges who sentenced him.
A newly-elected Australian government is concerned about a growing Communist influence in Australia. The scene is set for a major High Court case.
What is the rule of law? What is executive power? How do we hold power to account? Are our legal institutions and protections still relevant these days?
How does Australian law protect the beliefs and religious practices of witches, conjurers and fortune-tellers? A High Court case from the 1930s could provide the answers.