STORY: "Eastman prosecutors bid to block new inquiry," by reporter Elizabeth Byrne, published by ABC News on November 20, 2013.
SUBTITLE: "The ACT Supreme Court is due to consider an attempt to block a new inquiry into the murder of Assistant AFP Commissioner for which David Eastman has served 18 years in custody."
GIST: "There's another twist in the 18-year battle by Canberra man David Harold Eastman to clear his name over the murder of one of Australia's top police officers, Assistant Australian Federal Police Commissioner Colin Winchester. Eastman was hoping a new inquiry would prove his innocence and secure his freedom, but there's a spanner in the works with the ACT Supreme Court set to consider a bid by prosecutors to have the inquiry thrown out. It's the fourth attempt by the prosecution to end the inquiry......Elizabeth Byrne: Prosecutors want the Full Bench of the Supreme Court to reconsider the validity of the inquiry and to review a decision not to restrict the terms of reference. The bid is the latest in a series of tactics which included a challenge to Eastman's legal team over perceived conflicts of interest. At one stage, Terry O'Donnell was disqualified from Eastman's team because he's due to be called as a witness. O'Donnell has always seen the inquiry as a path to righting a deep injustice. Terry O'Donnell, lawyer: This is a more broadly based miscarriage of justice than occurred in Chamberlain. There was much more wrong with the investigation, much more wrong with the trial and the appeal process was deeply flawed."
The entire story can be found at:
SUBTITLE: "The ACT Supreme Court is due to consider an attempt to block a new inquiry into the murder of Assistant AFP Commissioner for which David Eastman has served 18 years in custody."
GIST: "There's another twist in the 18-year battle by Canberra man David Harold Eastman to clear his name over the murder of one of Australia's top police officers, Assistant Australian Federal Police Commissioner Colin Winchester. Eastman was hoping a new inquiry would prove his innocence and secure his freedom, but there's a spanner in the works with the ACT Supreme Court set to consider a bid by prosecutors to have the inquiry thrown out. It's the fourth attempt by the prosecution to end the inquiry......Elizabeth Byrne: Prosecutors want the Full Bench of the Supreme Court to reconsider the validity of the inquiry and to review a decision not to restrict the terms of reference. The bid is the latest in a series of tactics which included a challenge to Eastman's legal team over perceived conflicts of interest. At one stage, Terry O'Donnell was disqualified from Eastman's team because he's due to be called as a witness. O'Donnell has always seen the inquiry as a path to righting a deep injustice. Terry O'Donnell, lawyer: This is a more broadly based miscarriage of justice than occurred in Chamberlain. There was much more wrong with the investigation, much more wrong with the trial and the appeal process was deeply flawed."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-19/eastman-prosecutors-bid-to-block-new-inquiry/5103824?section=act
See also ACA NEWS: "The ACT Director of Public Prosecutions has begun a Supreme Court action designed to stop the inquiry into the 1995 conviction of David Eastman of murdering Australian Federal Police assistant commissioner Colin Winchester in 1989. Documents filed in the Supreme Court on Friday seek, in effect, to appeal out of time the decision last year of Justice Shayne Marshall to order an inquiry on 19 specified grounds of doubt about the safety of the conviction, and to appeal a decision last week by the inquiry head, acting Justice Brian Martin, about how those terms will be interpreted. The terms of reference include questions about Eastman's fitness to plead, alleged doubts about scientific evidence, and criticism of both the prosecution and investigating police for an alleged failure to disclose to Eastman some of the evidence that had been gathered."
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/dpp-moves-to-stop-eastman-inquiry-20131115-2xmqi.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com
