G20 trial begins - solidarity at the County Court, Melbourne

Update - 4.10pm.

This from someone who was in court today:

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The morning was legal arguments over the admissability of certain evidence. Court was adjourned until 2.15pm tomorrow when a photographer will be questioned and the judge will rule on those issues.

Jury selection will probably happen on Thursday morning and then the trial will begin.

The defence lawyer said it will probably last less than the two weeks allocated.

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-pc

Update - Wednesday 5pm.

This from someone who was in court today:

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Resumed at 2.15 pm with the judge ruling on admissibility of certain evidence, essentially giving the go-ahead for everything, with the proviso that the 'highlight DVD' could only be used as a convenience in the courtroom; for the jury room only the 'plain' video would be allowed. In the event it seems some of the evidence now ruled admissible, the part tending to identification, will not actually be presented, as the defence now does not intend to challenge identification.

The photographer who took some key photos was questioned about his methods and the procedures followed at the Herald Sun at the time with regard to the handling of images, and the hearing ended with the crown indicating how many witnesses it now expects to call - probably 8 over about 2-3 days. The defence indicated there would likely not be much in the way of cross-examination, so that the judge proposed to tell the jury panel to allow for a trial of probably 5 days. Jury selection is due to begin at 11am tomorrow, Thursday, followed presumably by the opening of the trial proper.

Needless to say, there is a need for people who can to be there.

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-pc

Update. Monday 6 July

From someone who was there:

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Proceedings began with a brief discussion between the prosecution and the judge regarding a summary of legal material the Crown has prepared "to assist" the judge - presumably the same material that has been referred to in the earlier hearings - previous judgements, sentencing guidelines and so on. The hearing proper continued with police witnesses, five today plus Hill, with a sixth, the informant Topham, held over till tomorrow "for administrative reasons". People planning to come tomorrow morning should note, btw, that the judge is otherwise occupied for the first part of the morning, so the hearing will start at 11am, not 10.30. The judge has told the jury he should be able to give them a clearer idea of the likely duration of the rest of the trial after the final witness has been heard, but at this stage it still looks as if the starting estimate of five days will hold, which makes Wednesday the final day. [That is a hint ...]

The police witnesses apart from Hill, who was there only really to vouch for the authenticity of the compilation discs and photos, including enlarged crops, which had been prepared from originals either by him or by the team he headed, were in the first instance members of the brawler van crew and the traffic police on the scene during the brawler van incident, then Inspector Duthie, who had been the forward commander on the day, and incidently gave the order for the baton charge into Exhibition Street. He also agreed that he had instructed police at the Russell Street barricade and at Collins East to "tap" the fingers of protesters who touched the barriers... But then, he also talked about bags of urine ... In his repeated view the Collins Street East confrontation lasted at least 30-40 minutes, and he could not be budged from this; other witnesses, as well as the Crown summary, estimate 20. There were also varying accounts of the numbers of protesters involved: 200 at the brawler van, 3-400 at the brawler van, maybe 500, 600 at the Russell Street barricade. The driver of the van was forced to concede that his version of the sequence of events might have been incorrect: he was initially quite clear that the front window of the van was smashed, with a sound "like a shotgun blast", just as he was exiting the van after parking it: the video evidence was also quite clear - but to the contrary. Sergeant Jackson, who was in charge of brawler van crew, volunteered the information that he heard someone in the crowd asking if anyone had a cigarette lighter - the implication being obvious - but was unable to explain why he had never mentioned this before, including his sworn statement given only a few months after the event. He rejected the suggestion he might have intended to affect the jury.

A lot more could be said, but this is probably more than enough to give the idea.

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-pc

Update. Tuesday 7 July

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The main business today was the Crown's closing address to the jury, which after the late start and the examination of Topham, the Informant, this morning, took up nearly the whole of the day, so that the defence preferred to hold over to the morning for a fresh start. The judge indicated to the jury that his 'charge' to them might take things beyond lunchtime tomorrow, but the general agreement still seems to be that the trial will end tomorrow, Wednesday. But the jury might decide they need more time?

The Crown's business today was naturally to marshall as much evidence as possible to show that the various conditions for making a charge of riot stick were met, and this entailed amongst other things a lot of slow-motion viewing of footage already seen many times, this time to establish the recurring presence of distinctive individuals at different stages of the day's events, thereby demonstrating the bit about three or more persons acting together etc. As a fall-back position if the jury decides against convicting for riot the Crown is calling for a conviction for affray, where only the 'use of violence' and 'terrifying' elements need to be established. In both cases, the Crown will argue that it will be sufficient to show 'aiding and abetting' and not necessarily any identifiable act. In the case also of failure to convict for riot, the Crown will call for conviction on charges of Criminal Damage, again with the option of relying on 'aiding and abetting' if the jury does not accept that there is proof of actually, in this case, throwing bottles.

Tomorrow, then, the defence will have its turn. Be there. 10.30am

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-pc

Update. Wednesday 8 july

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The trial did not end today, far from it. The first part of the morning was taken up with the judge going through aspects of the Crown case that he felt he needed to clarify in preparing his charge to the jury. The jury were only brought in at 12, to hear the beginning of the Defence address. Up to the lunch break this focussed on showing weaknesses in the Crown case as regards the "common purpose" element in the riot charge - the prosecution had lingered on events and actions from earlier in the day, but the accused although certainly present and taking part in the overall protest could not be seen as part of any group, rather the contrary. She was clearly making an individual protest.
After lunch we moved on to the brawler van incident, beginning with illustrations of how relying on still photos could lead to misinterpretation or false inferences, for example a still frame from video footage suggesting someone threw a bin when in the event the footage went on to show he did not. There were further arguments against the allegation of common purpose before moving on to the charge of criminal damage, where again the Crown case rested on 'aiding and abetting' rather than personal acts. Counsel concluded with a warning against prejudice.
The judge then began his charge to the jury, enumerating the elements of the various charges and what the jury must consider. He intends to conclude tomorrow morning starting at 10.30 with a summary of the evidence and counsels/ addresses. He said he expected the jury would retire about 12.

People arriving at or passing the court from about 9.30 onwards were met by a sizeable demonstration of support for Sina organised by Students of Sustainability. Hopefully photos of this action will appear soon - there were other actions planned for today, so people are probably still working on them?

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-pc

Final Update (for now). Thursday 9 July.

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Sina was found not guilty on the charge of riot, but guilty of affray and criminal damage. There will be a plea hearing on Friday 31 July.

The judge began the day by concluding his charge to the jury with a survey of the question of aiding and abetting, followed by summaries of the evidence and the counsels' addresses. The jury retired at 11.45am. A little later they requested a printed list of the elements of the charges of affray and criminal damage with reference to aiding and abetting. They returned at 3.15pm with their verdicts.

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-pc