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The Latest Breaking News from Nicholas Owens SC

Lawyer who took down Ben Roberts-Smith made a judge

A lawyer who proved Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith committed war crimes is one of eight new appointments to the Federal Court.

AAP

State challenges compo for Sydney light rail disruption

Findings that businesses affected by extended construction of the Sydney light rail should be compensated were wrong, lawyers for the NSW government have said.

AAP

Higgins raises question about 'info' she was drugged before alleged rape

Police officer raised issue during investigation, court told.

The Canberra Times

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Plenty of proof for two Roberts-Smith murders: lawyers

Clear evidence showed Ben Roberts-Smith executed a prisoner with a prosthetic leg and kicked a handcuffed man off a cliff before he was shot, a court has heard.

AAP

Roberts-Smith appeal has 'fundamental flaw', court told

News companies fighting a war crimes defamation appeal by Ben Roberts-Smith say his legal team has made "no serious attempt" to place evidence in context.

AAP

Ben Roberts-Smith: the explosive allegations of war crimes at the heart of defamation case

The Victoria Cross recipient claims a series of news stories defamed him but the newspapers defended their reporting as true. As a verdict looms, we look at the key details of the case

The Guardian - AU

'Stakes high for both sides' as Ben Roberts-Smith marathon trial comes to an end

After 110 days of hearings and more than 40 witnesses, a judge has retired to consider his findings in the marathon defamation case, with high stakes for both public interest journalism and a highly decorated war veteran.

ABC News

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Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation trial laid bare the brutal reality of Australia’s decades-long war in Afghanistan – now the ex-soldier awaits judgment

While costs of about $25m and possibly millions in damages are at stake, the trial also has existential implications for Australian journalism

The Guardian - AU

Roberts-Smith's defamation trial concludes

The defamation trial launched by war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith has concluded more than a year after it began with the judge reserving his decision.

AAP

Ben Roberts-Smith’s year-long defamation trial against three newspapers concludes

Ex-soldier’s barrister tells court that reporters ‘jumped on rumours’, while newspapers’ counsel alleges Roberts-Smith ‘prepared to lie under oath’

The Guardian - AU

Defence force documents disprove allegation Ben Roberts-Smith killed teenager in Afghanistan, defamation trial hears

Former soldier’s lawyer says defence documents show teenager was released unharmed but newspapers say they are not accurate

The Guardian - AU

Evidence of Afghan witnesses against Ben Roberts-Smith ‘hardly neutral’, lawyer tells court

Lawyers for Ben Roberts-Smith urge Justice Besanko to disregard evidence of Afghan witnesses, saying the men were prejudiced against Australian soldiers

The Guardian - AU

Ben Roberts-Smith allegedly attempted to ‘intimidate’ witnesses, lawyers for newspapers tell defamation trial

In closing submissions newspapers’ counsel claims alleged actions are forceful indicators of Roberts-Smith’s ‘consciousness of guilt’

The Guardian - AU

Roberts-Smith's victim 'most impressive'

A serving SAS soldier savagely bullied by Ben Roberts-Smith is one of the most impressive witnesses to be called at the defamation trial, a judge has heard.

AAP

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The Guardian - AU

Ben Roberts-Smith ‘prepared to lie under oath’, newspapers’ lawyer tells defamation trial

Barrister for newspapers tells court former soldier was either an ‘architect or knowing beneficiary of … dishonest collusion’, in closing submissions

ABC News

Ben Roberts-Smith prepared to 'lie under oath', judge told in defamation trial

Ben Roberts-Smith and four of his witnesses gave "wholly implausible" evidence about one alleged war crime and "seriously damaged" his credibility, a judge hears.

The Guardian - AU

Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation trial hears Australian SAS soldiers ‘turned a blind eye’ to alleged war crimes

In closing submissions, newspapers’ lawyer accuses several of Roberts-Smith’s witnesses of ‘outright dishonesty’

AAP

SAS soldiers ignored 'despicable crimes'

SAS soldiers who eventually testified against Ben Roberts-Smith were willing to turn a blind eye to alleged crimes due to a code of silence, a judge has heard.

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The Guardian - AU

Ben Roberts-Smith was targeted after being awarded Victoria Cross, his barrister tells court

Closing submissions begin in the former SAS soldier’s long-running defamation trial against three newspapers

The Guardian - AU

Senior SAS officer tells defamation trial he ‘couldn’t speculate’ if Ben Roberts-Smith complicit in alleged Afghan murders

Person 81 tells court he did not observe any conduct by Roberts-Smith and two other soldiers that caused him suspicion they had murdered anyone

ABC News

Final witness in Ben-Roberts-Smith trial says he has no knowledge of how two Afghan men died

The final witness in the long-running Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case, a senior SAS member, says he never had any personal knowledge of how two Afghan men were killed in a Taliban compound.

The Guardian - AU

Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation trial hears conflicting evidence over Afghan deaths

Troops who were present at Whiskey 108 compound split over whether two men shot dead were murdered or were insurgents killed lawfully

The Guardian - AU

Ben Roberts-Smith: SAS soldier tells defamation trial he refused to be interviewed by AFP about Afghanistan

Witness denies assertions from newspapers that he was motivated to lie to derail an investigation into possible war crimes

ABC News

Former soldier denies 'concocting false story' to support Ben Roberts-Smith in court

A former elite soldier rejects accusations in court that he and war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith have "concocted a false story" to cover up the death of a detained Afghan man during a 2012 mission.

ABC News

Four elite soldiers complained Ben Roberts-Smith was not fit to receive Victoria Cross, court hears

A group of four sergeants raised allegations against the former elite soldier and called for his Victoria Cross award to be rescinded, a Sydney court hears.

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