Ben Roberts-Smith is back in court, now as a defendant. His case reminds us that there are laws even amid war

‘On Wednesday, Roberts-Smith will appear for the first time as the defendant in a criminal court, a court that ultimately has the power, should he be found guilty, to send him to prison for life.’ Composite: Victoria Hart/AAP

For almost every day of his marathon defamation trial, Ben Roberts-Smith VC sat in the same spot in the federal court. A chair by the window, bathed in sunshine, from where he could glare at witnesses giving evidence.

He sits now in a very different position.