Justice William Charles Crockett AO - Victorian Bar

sentence would not be written today, andwould be understood properly by only afew readers.In Modern English Usage, Fowlerprotested that the construction “to issuea person with a thing” was not to be recommended.He gives the example “Thecompany was issued with two gas masksper man” and observed that the constructionwas “not to be recommended”.Presumably, although Fowler does notenlarge on the point, his objection wasthat, where issue is used as a transitiveverb, the direct object of the verb shouldbe the thing which is issued, not theperson to whom it is issued. Little did heknow how trivial his complaint would lookto later readers. Despite that small quibble,issue as a verb has remained true toits origins. Perhaps we can look forwardto the time when to say “Don’t issue that”will mean “Don’t make that into a problem”.I hope not: I really would have anissue with that.Julian BurnsideVIP Breakfast with MajorMoriLaura MacIntyreOVER 200 legal VIPs includingjudges, senior members of the Barand heads of legal sector agencieswere in attendance at the State Libraryof Victoria on Friday 2 March for breakfastwith Major Mori. Appointed by theUnited States Department of Defence inNovember 2003, Mori has since becomea prominent critic of the military commissionsset up to try Guantanamo Baydetainees.Alexandra Richards QC, Victoria LawFoundation Board Member, chaired theevent with The Honourable Rob Hulls MP,Attorney-General of Victoria, introducingMajor Mori, and describing him as a manof “guts, imagination, supreme energy andoptimism … in pursuit of a just cause, notonly in the interest of a client, but of justiceitself”.“Major Mori embodies the finest ofthe legal profession, and reminds us thatit is both a privilege and a vocation,” theAttorney-General said.The morning of the breakfast was ahectic one for Mori, as it coincided withthe announcement of revised chargeagainst his client, Australian GuantanamoBay detainee David Hicks. Hicks, who hasalready served five years in detention, hasnow been charged with material supportof terrorism. A prior charge for attemptedmurder was dropped by the military commission.Major Mori stressed that he could notcomment on the import of the new chargewithout first speaking to his client, but didoffer his own opinion about the impact ofthe decision, “Today could be one stepLex Lasry, Rob Hulls, AlexandraRichards and Major Mori.closer to another unfair trial for DavidHicks. Hopefully Australia will stop relyingon assurances from the US government,and start to make decisions on itsown,” he said.The session, presented by VictoriaLaw Foundation in partnership withVictorian Equal Opportunity and HumanRights Commission, offered a uniqueprofessional development opportunity tomembers of the judiciary and senior legalprofessionals. The presentation gave afirst hand insight into the Hicks case andits wider legal, social and political ramifications.The Major began with an overviewof conditions faced by David Hicksin detention, and went on to describe thelegal and political obstacles he has facedthus far in his campaign to secure a fairtrial for his client.The level of interest amongst theattendees was high, and a sea of handswent up during the brief question andanswer session. Former Chief JusticeProfessor John Phillips AC opened,enquiring about the reaction of theAmerican legal profession to the case.Mori reported that despite vocal opposition,input from senior members of theAmerican legal profession had been largelyexcluded by the operation of the MilitaryCommission Act 2006. In response to afollow-up question regarding wider publicopinion, Mori stressed that since the Actaffords American citizens immunity fromcharges of the kind laid against Hicks, thecase had a relatively low public profile inthe United States.Major Mori was quick to respond toqueries about a possible plea bargain:“Well, first we need a real offence. Hecan’t plead guilty to something that is nota crime. David Hicks has already pleadednot guilty — he was never offered theGodfather deal.” Mori also expressedconcern for his client’s mental andphysical health if he remains in solitarydetention: “He [Hicks] needs to get out ofGuantanamo.”The breakfast was one of only two publicappearances by Major Mori in Victoria.It followed on from a public lecture at theUniversity of Ballarat, held as part of theFoundations’ firm commitment to promotingregional access to legal information.More than 700 members of the local communityattended the lecture. Ballarat haspreviously taken centre stage in the ongoingcampaign to raise awareness about thecase. In 2004, the Eureka Dawn LanternWalk was dedicated to remembrance ofDavid Hicks in its 152nd Anniversaryyear.69