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16 November 2017

When parliamentarians’ views are at odds with those of their constituents.

Reading Time: 2 minutesToday, views expressed online have been sharply divided on the issue of whether parliamentarians should represent the predominant views of their constituents, or put forward their own views on the issue of same sex...

AUSTRALIAN POLITICS

16 November 2017

by Daniel Stepniak

Penalty for sitting in parliament while disqualified

Reading Time: 3 minutesImposing financial penalties on parliamentarians who sit in parliament whilst disqualified appeals to many of us, but I suspect that few are aware that it is a viable option. COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA CONSTITUTION ACT...

AUSTRALIAN POLITICS

11 November 2017

by Daniel Stepniak

The latest batch of politicians to finally admit that they may be dual-citizens

Reading Time: 8 minutesIn the hope of providing some clarity to an issue that is becoming increasingly murky, politicised and more than likely to decide the fate of the Prime Minister if not the government, I set...

US POLITICS

12 October 2017

by Daniel Stepniak

Making Sense of the Second Amendment Right to Bear Arms Through a Comparison Between the United States of America and Australia

Reading Time: 13 minutesMost Australians struggle to understand American’s seeming obsession with guns, linked to their near worship of, and reliance on, their Constitution as the source and protector of rights and freedoms. Through a comparative overview of...

US POLITICS

4 October 2017

by Daniel Stepniak

The Second Amendment , Brief Reflection – 4 October 2017

Reading Time: 3 minutesMany, if not most Americans treat their constitutional ‘right to bear arms’ as a fundamental aspect of their identity. This right is to be found in the second amendment of the US Constitution, which...

OPINION

20 September 2017

by Daniel Stepniak

Domestic Violence or Simply Violence?

Reading Time: 10 minutesThanks in large measure to Rosie Batty, Australian of the Year for 2015, domestic violence has gained more prominence, and prompted increased government action. Nevertheless, those seeking to identify the nature, prevalence, causes and...

MARRIAGE EQUALITY

11 September 2017

by Daniel Stepniak

Who Should Determine the Human Rights of Australians

Reading Time: 7 minutesThe Majority, and Human Rights in our Democracy The postal survey of public views on same-sex marriage has revealed a widely held view that it is up to the Australian people to indicate if...

OPINION

30 August 2017

by Daniel Stepniak

Is Psychological Distress Inevitable in the Study and Practice of Law (Part 2)

Reading Time: 18 minutesIntroduction In the first part of my paper (see the preceding post) I outlined the findings of studies of the incidence of psychological distress and mental illness among law students and legal practitioners. I...

OPINION

26 August 2017

by Daniel Stepniak

Is psychological distress inherent in the study and practice of law (Part 1)

Reading Time: 4 minutesHighest Level of Psychological Distress The incidence of psychological distress and mental illness among Australian lawyers and law students is significantly higher than that affecting the general population and those in other professions or...

AUSTRALIAN POLITICS

16 August 2017

by Daniel Stepniak

Split Allegiance or Mere Oversight?

Reading Time: 6 minutesAn interesting (if not altogether important) Australian political/legal issue will play out over the next few days. It concerns several federal parliamentarians, who in the past month discovered that they may hold dual citizenship,...

While retired from full time work, I'm not yet willing to give up occasionally conducting hearings in the human rights stream of an Australian State TribunaI.
I have worked as a human rights researcher, secondary college teacher of legal studies and politics, a Legal Aid lawyer, state public prosecutions lawyer, a presenter/producer of a medico legal program for a subscription TV network, and as a legal academic at the law schools of the University of Melbourne, Griffith University, University of Western Australia and Idaho University. For the past 21 years I have also conducted hearings in mental health and human rights streams of four Australian State Tribunals. Along the way I have gained a BA/LLB from ANU, a Grad Dip from CCAE (now Canberra University), a Master of Laws from the UNSW and a PhD (law) from Melbourne. University.
My interests reflect the diversity of my work, study, and personal interests and values. This accounts for the eclectic mix of: music, legal education, public understanding and access to law, constitutional law, politics/current affairs, the interaction of law and religion, various sports, the rights of minorities, history, literature, domestic violence, gender issues, mental health law, academia, human rights, and both large and small screen cinema
I tend to blog in bursts, whenever carer and work commitments permit. I have endeavoured to write on a wide range of contemporary issues and personal interests, including books, contemporary music and cinema. I have also been dusting off, completing and updating some of my academic writing.
SELECTION OF MY ACADEMIC WRITING
BOOKS
Daniel Stepniak, Audio-Visual Coverage of Courts: A Comparative Analysis Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2008, (ISBN: 9780521875271) First chapter, Index of contents etc
PUBLISHED REPORTS
Electronic Media Coverage of Courts: A Report Prepared for The Federal Court of Australia by Daniel Stepniak (Federal Court of Australia, 1998)(ISBN 0 86422 893 7) (Further Information to Come)
LAW JOURNAL ARTICLES
Court TV: Coming to an Internet Browser Near You (Update, Developments and Current Issues)’ (2006) 15 (4) Journal of Judicial Administration 218. (ISSN 1036-7918) Court TV
‘Cultural Difference: the Case of Stack v WA’, Down Under All Over (2005) 30(2) Alternative Law Journal 96 (ISSN 1037-969X) Stack v WA Paper
‘The Broadcast of Court Proceedings in the Internet Age’ (2004-5) 85 Reform(A Journal of National and International Law Reform) 33-7, 60.(ISSN 1313-153X) Broadcast Paper
‘Technology and Public Access to Audio Visual Coverage and Recordings of Court Proceedings: Implications for Common Law Jurisdictions’, (2004) 12 William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal 791- 823 (ISSN 1065-8254) Technology Paper
‘The Context and Questions of Legal Education Reform’ (2004) 29(6) Alternative Law Journal 265 (ISSN 1037-969X) (Editorial) Legal Education Reform
‘Court in the Web’ (2000) 25 (2) Alternative Law Journal 72-75 (ISSN 1037-969X) (coauthored with Southampton Institute Criminologist, Dr Paul Mason) Full Text
‘Forum: Televising of Court Proceedings’ (1995) (1) University of New South Wales Law Journal Newsletter 4-6. Republished as, ‘Televising of Court Proceedings’ (1995) 18 (2) University of New South Wales Law Journal 489-92 (ISSN 0313-0096) Forum Paper
Why shouldn’t Australian Courtroom Proceedings be Televised?’ (1994) 17 University of New South Wales Law Journal 345-382 (ISSN 0313-0096). Why Shouldn’t Paper
A Comparative Analysis of First Amendment Rights and the Televising of Court proceedings’ (2004) 40 Idaho Law Review 315 – 349. (To come)
BOOK CHAPTERS
‘Cameras in Court: Reluctant Admission to Proactive Collaboration’ in Patrick Keyzer, Jane Johnston and Mark Pearson (eds) The Courts and the Media: Challenges in the Era of Digital and Social Media (Halstead Press, ACT, 2012) ( ISBN 978-1-920831-93-6) Reluctant Admission Chapter
A Comparative Analysis of First Amendment Rights and the Televising of Court Proceedings’ in Eric Barendt (ed) Media Freedom and Contempt of Court (Ashgate, Farnham, UK, 2009) (ISBN: 978 0 7546 2785 2) (Access to further information coming soon)
Cameras in Courts: For Whose Benefit?” in, Kam Fan Sin (ed) Legal Explorations: Essays in Celebration of Professor Michael Chesterman, pp. 238-265 (Lawbook Company, Sydney 2003) (ISBN 0 455 21918 4). (Further information soon)
“Broadcasting British Courts: Not Suitable for Viewing by the General Public” in Paul Mason (ed) Criminal Visions: Media Representations of Crime and Justice. (Willan Publishing, Devon, UK, 2003) (ISBN-1-84392-013-1) (Additional information soon.)
PUBLISHED AS CONFERENCE PAPERS
‘Interpreting in Tribunal Hearings Involving the Mentally ill, Intellectually Disabled and Cogniively Impaired Parties’ presented at the 2012 Biennial Conference of the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators, at Macquarie University, Sydney, on 1-3 December 2012. Published in, Annamaria Arnall and Adolfo Gentile (Ed’s) AUSIT 2012: Proceedings of the ”JubilaTIon 25” Biennial Conference of the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators, Cambridge Scholars Publishing , Newcastle upon Tyne 2014 pp 86-92. (IBN (10): 1-4438-5670-3, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-5670-6) Interpreting in Tribunals
‘The Implications of Legal Principles and Rationales for Court Interpreting’ presented at 2010 “Synergise” Biennial National Conference of the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators. Published in Annamaria Arnal and Uldis Ozolins (eds) Proceedings of the ‘Synergise!’ Biennial National Conference of the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators AUSIT 2010 at pp 88-92 (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, 2011) (ISBN: 1-4438-3202-2) Legal Principles Paper
D. Stepniak, M. Warner and E. Santhanam ‘Law and Religion: Towards a More Inclusive Legal Education’, Volume 24 Proceedings of the Annual HERDSA Conference 2001, Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia, Inc., ACT, 2001 (ISSN 1441 001X, ISBN 0 908557 49 3) Presented By E.Santhanam at July 2001 Conference of the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia, held at the University of Newcastle. Inclusive Legal Education
’An evaluation of teaching strategies designed to include and accommodate disadvantaged students and those of diverse backgrounds’ 1998 4 (2) Australasian Law Teachers Association Newsletter 5-6.6. Brief version of paper presented to the Legal Education Interest Group at the 1997 ALTA conference. Teaching Strategies
‘‘The implications of the Populist Backlash Against Multiculturalism for the Promotion and Incorporation of Cultural Diversity in Australian Law Schools’, presented at the July 1997 Australian Legal Education Forum, held in Brisbane. An abbreviated and edited version of the paper was published as ‘Multiculturalist Backlash and Cultural Diversity’ 1997 (2) Floodgates 15-19. (The Journal of the Griffith University Law Society) . Multiculturalism Paper
‘The “ordinary person” Test of Provocation in Multicultural Australia: It’s Time to Stop the Tail Wagging the Dog;’, in 1996 Annual Conference of the Australasian Law Teachers’ Association, Flinders University, Adelaide SA, 10-13 July 1996, Interest Group Papers Vol. 1 pp. 47-55 Link to Paper
‘Minority Values and the Reasonable Person of Torts’ in M. Chanock and L. Marks (Eds), Cross Currents: Internationalism, National Identity & Law: 50th Australasian Law Teachers’ Association Conference 1995,(La Trobe University Press, 1995) 405-19.(ISBN 1 86446 402X) To paper
‘Public Scrutiny, Social Justice and Opposition to the Televising of Court Proceedings’ Published in Proceedings of the 49th Annual Conference of the Australasian Law Teachers Association, (University of Tasmania Law Press, 1995) Vol. 2, 1176-88. (To come)
‘Visual recording of court proceedings: The case for courts’ utilising new media to proactively promote access, understanding and informed debate’, Key-note paper at Research Institute for Law, Politics and Justice, Media and Public: Changing Public Perceptions in the New Media Landscape’ conference, held at Keele University UK on 25-26 March 2010. The paper was published online at: http://www.keele.ac.uk/research/lpj/JusticeMediaPublic/papers.htm (password – jmp) (Text soon)
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
‘Religion and Education: Tertiary Level Religion’, Directions in Education, 2000. Religion and Education
‘Law and Religion’, a chapter in a University of Western Australia booklet, ‘Achieving Diversity and Inclusivity in Teaching and Learning at the University of Western Australia’ (1999) 60-66, published as a monograph and on the Internet, see – http://www.csd.uwa.edu.au/adi/report/. This chapter was co-written with Megan Warner (Project Officer of my Incorporating Issues of Law and Religious Diversity into Legal Education project) Law and Religion.
‘Placements: Much more than an alternative form of assessment”, presented to Practical Legal Training Interest Group at the 2007 ALTA Conference Law and Public Policy at the University of Western Australia, 23-26 September 2007. Link
‘Hot Topic: A Window on the Legal World’ 2014 Law Society of NSW Journal. Hot Topic
‘Value of Research and Postgraduate Study’ 2000 25(3) The Georgian 1 Value of Research
UNPUBLISHED CONFERENCE PAPERS
Broadcasting Of Court Proceedings – A Comparative Perspective’ Presented at The Judges and Media Pillars of Democracy Seminar held on 24 – 25 October 2008, Johannesburg, South Africa. Comparative
‘Considering Broadcasting QueenslandCourts in the Light of Other Courts’ Experiences, Perceived Risks and Claimed Benefits’ presented at the 2015 Annual Conference of the Bar Association of Queensland. Broadcasting Queensland Courts
‘Implementing Policies of Multiculturalism in Australia’ Edited paper presented at Centre for Integrated Human Studies Multiculturalism Seminar. Policies of Multiculturalism
‘Relationship Between Personal and Professional Ethics’ presented at a Continuing Professional Development Seminar in Perth WA on 26 October 2012. Personal and Professional Ethics
A revised version of a seminar paper “Religious freedom, tolerance and diversity in Australian democratic society: The ideal, the reality, and the future” presented at the History Teachers Association (WA) “Visions And Values In A Democratic Society: Teaching for Responsible Citizenship” seminar held at the AFSSSE Constitutional Centre of WA. (To come)
‘Religion and Domestic Violence’ Presented at 4th June 2008 Law and Religion Workshop at the Legal Intersections Research Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Wollongong. (Edited version of paper to come)
‘Seeing Justice Done: A Matter for the Courts Rather Than the Media’ at International Conference on Law and Society in the 21st Century: Joint Annual Meetings of LSA and the Research Committee on Sociology of Law (RCSL), July 25, 2007 Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. (More to come)
“Promoting Public Understanding of Court Proceedings: From Reliance on Media Reporting to Courts’ Proactive Harnessing of Technology” Canadian Law and Society Association conference ‘Law: Power and Communities’ conference, the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada on 31 May 2007. (More to come)
On 10 January 2005 I presented a paper titled ‘Overseas Themes and Lessons’ via video link to the Department for Constitutional Affairs Broadcasting Courts Seminar, London. The paper is published online at: http://www.dca.gov.uk/consult/courts/speeches/stepniak.htm. (More information to come)
The Complementary/Adversarial Roles of Courts and the Media in Audio-Visual Court Reporting: An Australian Perspective” presented at the International Communication Association conference in Seoul, July 15-19, 2002. (To come)
OTHER UNPUBLISHED
‘Diversity and the Search for an Equitable Allocation of Tortious Liability and Damages for Personal Injury’ (1997). Diversity and Tortious Liability
‘Teaching Leaders – Perspective of a UWA Lecturer’ (2004) 10(1) Issues of Teaching and Learning, 4 (ISSN 1329-2277) (To come)
‘Promoting Public debate’ The Last Word, 23 (3) UWAnews 5 April 2004, 12 See: http://www.publishing.uwa.edu.au/uwanews/2004/uwanews20040405.pdf (To come)
‘Tackling Legal Issues: Topical but Taboo Religion’ 2004 Peppercorn 4, 24-25. (To come)
‘Cameras in Court’ Peppercorn 3, July 2003, 15 – 17 (To come)
Review of G. Lindell & R. Bennett (eds) Parliament: The Vision in Hindsight (Federation Press, 2001) in (2002) 10 (1) Australian Law Librarian 84 – 90. (ISSN: 1039-6616) (To come)
‘Religion & Education: Tertiary Level Religion’ Vol. 9: 9, 21 July 2000, Directions in Education (ISSN NO. 1038-1368). (To come)
A Legal Obsession’ (1999) 8 (1) Onyx 11-13 (The Journal of the University of Western Australia Blackstone Society). (To come)

Perspectives

Latest Perspectives

When parliamentarians’ views are at odds with those of their constituents.

Penalty for sitting in parliament while disqualified

The latest batch of politicians to finally admit that they may be dual-citizens

Making Sense of the Second Amendment Right to Bear Arms Through a Comparison Between the United States of America and Australia

The Second Amendment , Brief Reflection – 4 October 2017

Domestic Violence or Simply Violence?

Who Should Determine the Human Rights of Australians

Is Psychological Distress Inevitable in the Study and Practice of Law (Part 2)

Is psychological distress inherent in the study and practice of law (Part 1)

Split Allegiance or Mere Oversight?

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