Corruption in High Places by Clarrie Briese $26.25 RRP $34.95 (25% off)

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. About the Author Clarrie Briese was appointed Chairman of the Bench of Stipendiary Magistrates of NSW in 1979, then with the commencement of the Local Courts Act 1982 (NSW) on 1 January 1985 he became Chief Magistrate. Upon retiring from this position in 1990, he was appointed Commissioner of the NSW Crime Commission, where he remained for six years. Apart from his nationally prominent role in the Murphy affair in the 1980s, Briese is best known for his tireless work in achieving judicial independence for magistrates through the passing of the Local Courts Act. In 2002, in recognition of his reforming work, in particular the matter of judicial independence, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia.