While the two judges who sent George Pell back to jail claimed that they had magic powers that made them certain Pell's supposed victim was not a liar, the dissenting judge dealt with the evidence to say that he would have acquitted.

Justice Weinberg wrote that the possibility that Pell did not commit the crime could not be ruled out - that much of the evidence was concocted - and that it was impossible to accept the 'victim's' account.

If a 78 year old man can be brought down as Cardinal George Pell has, because a couple of mere mortal judges think that they are lie detectors, Australian courts are very unsafe places for all of us.

Did I hear correctly that the dissenting judge Mark Weinberg was willing to acquit Pell basically because he thought Pell could not have had sex with the victim because Pell WAS NOT DRESSED FOR THE OCCASION.

Dear Mr Opinion,

Until I am convinced otherwise I have no issue with the Justice taking a contrary view. His main concern was around the second incident but on the first;

“Justice Weinberg stated that in relation to the first incident, if the complainant’s evidence was the only evidence, he might well have found it difficult to say that the jury, acting reasonably, were ‘bound’ to have a reasonable doubt about the Cardinal’s guilt.”

As to his stance on uncorroborated evidence he has been on the record in the past flagging concerns particularly in relation to granting immunity to witnesses;

Quote

Mr Weinberg said he was not comfortable with the level at which immunities were granted in Australia.
"I don't think you're ever comfortable handing out an immunity to any witness." he said.

"It's a course that 1 find distasteful and it's a matter of last resort. We try very hard to avoid complete immunity... We're very conscious of the dangers of relying on the uncorroborated testimony of indemnified witnesses or accomplices.”

"I've taken a pretty strong stance against using that kind of testimony unless I'm satisfied its corroborated or confirmed strongly by independent evidence."

End quote.

Of course this was a different kind of testimony.

Those with an appreciation of the legal system will know how much it benefits from dissenting views being aired. One thing his dissension also addresses is the absurd notion that the 'establishment' was out to get Pell. It is pretty hard to get more establishment than Justice Weinberg.

Dear SteeleRedux,

I appreciate the legalistic underpinnings you are proffering but is it true that Weinberg said he thought that Pell was inappropriately dressed to have committed the offense?

Oen thing is for certain if you want to get somebody in the future, such as a political rival, then an unsubstantiated allegation of sexual assault is the way to go.

I have just ordered the book -
"New Revelations
Cardinal: The Rise and
Fall of George Pell" by Louise Milligan.
The updated version with a foreword by
Thomas Keneally.

The author is the only Australian author who's
had access to all the victims involving Pell
over decades. It should give a greater insight.

This entire Pell case should show us that we should
as former Labor leader has stated that -

"We can never underestimate the courage and
resilience it takes for a survivor of child abuse to
seek justice. One of the cold hard truths revealed by
Prime Minister Gillard's royal commission into
institutional responses to child sexual abuse was that
survivors and victims who sought help were seldom believed."

"Instead against the weight and power of both church and
state they were marginalised, shamed, and re-abused.
For decades institutions chose to cover for offenders and
conceal their crimes because they valued their reputations
more that the lives of children in their care."

"Last year as a parliament and a nation we apologised for the
abuse, the neglect, the wilful blindness, the cries for help
that were heard and ignored. But saying sorry wasn't the
end of the road. The test is action not words. That is why
we need faster programs on national redress for survivors
and why every institution needs to sign up immediately."