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Warning over George Pell ‘show trial’

The Australian
June 25, 2017

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/royal-commission/warning-over-george-pell-show-trial/news-story/5b246cb577168e375c9cc690d5f1fce3

Cardinal George Pell.

Victoria Police has been warned not to charge Cardinal George Pell over alleged child sexual abuse to clear the air, or to stage a show trial in response to intense public interest and anger over clerical sex abuse in general.

Lawyer Robin Speed, president of the Rule of Law Institute of Australia said prosecutors should act against Cardinal Pell only if they were fully satisfied about the quality of the evidence. “They should not act in response to the baying of a section of the mob,’’ he said.

Retired High Court judge Ian Callinan QC said he was “always concerned about the impact of pre-trial publicity to contaminate a trial’’ in high-profile cases and about the capacity of judges to dispel the prejudices it caused in the minds of potential jurors.

Mr Callinan said widespread media emphasis on investigative agencies “getting scalps’’ did not help the legal process. “Pre-trial by media is a serious problem,’’ he said.

Mr Speed said that if the cardinal was charged and found innocent the drawn out conduct of the investigation over two years could warrant a judicial inquiry.

“Relying on memories from 30 or 40 years ago can make for a very, very weak case and a flimsy basis on which to proceed,’’ he said.

Widespread coverage of allegations against Cardinal Pell on ABC television and in Louise Milligan’s book, Cardinal, the Rise and Fall of George Pell, shows some of the ­allegations date back almost 40 years.

Cardinal Pell has strenuously denied all child abuse allegations.




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