Old Law, New Law - a podcast by the VLRC

Some 5,000 – 6,000 people serve on juries in Victoria every year. In this episode we talk to Victorian Juries Commissioner Paul Dore about his role in bringing jurors into the courtroom and what happen when they get there. This wide-ranging conversation covers the role of law reform, the impact of traumatic trials on jurors, the problem of jurors doing their own research on Google, and what can be done to improve the juror experience.

You may be surprised to learn that people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or have low vision are unable to serve on juries in Victoria. In May 2023 the VLRC published recommendations for reform that would enable more people to serve using reasonable adjustments. Nick talks to Emma Cashen and Phoebe Lindner about how Victorian juries can be made more inclusive and representative. Transcript Link to the Inclusive Juries report

If someone kicks a person in the head and they are badly hurt, the perpetrator might be charged with recklessly causing serious injury. But what does 'reckless' mean in a legal sense?  The meaning in the law is not the same as in everyday speech, and differs between jurisdictions. Law courts have to work out what was going on in someone's mind at the exact moment of an action to decide if they are guilty of reckless behaviour. Nick and Gemma talk to Tony North KC, Chair of the Victorian Law Reform Commission, and members of the VLRC team that is considering recklessness in Victoria.

A conversation between Tony North QC, Chair of the VLRC, and Fiona Patten MP, leader of the Reason Party and Chair of the Victorian Parliament’s legal and social issues committee, on why law reform matters and the different ways that the VLRC and the parliamentary committee approach law reform. Interviewer: Lynne Haultain, Executive Director of the Victoria Law Foundation. Recorded for Law Week, May 2022.