The Conviction of the Innocent: How the Law Can Let Us Down

The Smiling Funnel web is one of Australia's most illustrious advocates. Chester Porter QC clocked up countless courtroom triumphs during his long career and has been involved in changes to our legal system. Chester has long been passionate about notable cases of wrongful conviction - from the Dreyfus Affair to Lindy Chamberlain and the innocents on death row. As a senior member of the National Institute of Forensic Science, Chester is regularly invited to speak on the subject of wrongful convictions. As counsel assisting the Chamberlain Royal Commission, he was successful in exposing an extraordinary list of forensic blunders. He continues to advocate expenditure of government money on well equipped fully integrated laboratories to deal with forensic evidence ''open to the defence as well as the Crown so the aim should be to get the right result, not to get convictions''.