Author(s): Clarrie Briese

Australian

This is a remarkable account of corruption in the courts in the 1980s and how it was thwarted and finally exposed by the testimony of Clarrie Briese, NSW Chief Magistrate, supported by that of District Court Judge Paul Flannery. Briese provides a detailed analysis of how High Court Justice Lionel Murphy and District Court Judge John Foord approached him and Flannery with a view to perverting the course of justice in relation to criminal charges against Murphy's friend, solicitor Morgan Ryan. His stance has never wavered, despite vigorous attacks by people in their public defence of Murphy, such as NSW Premier Wran and Malcolm Turnbull. This account reveals fresh evidence which shows that the tentacles of corruption extended to the very top, reaching Wran himself.