We are starting judgment proceedings now. Please follow here for live tweeting and let us pray for Justice for #McBride ⁦@AlboMP⁩ ⁦@MarkDreyfusKCMP⁩ ⁦@RichardMarlesMP⁩ #auspol Judge Mossop is reading out the charges. In short, #McBride has been charged with stealing documents, and then 'communicating' aka providing those documents to journalists.

His Honour has noted the maximum penalty for stealing the documents carries 10 years and/or a monetary fine of up to $66,000. His Honour has noted that the maximum penalty for providing the documents to journalists Chris Masters, Dan Oakes and Andrew Clarke is an unlimited term of imprisonment and/or an unlimited monetary fine.

So how did we get here. It’s a long story and you should probably buy David’s book but I’ll do my best to bring you up to speed as the day progresses!

David McBride studied law, became a lawyer & then went to the bar and became a barrister. When you become a lawyer you are formally admitted to practice in the Supreme Court. As part of your admission you must comply with certain legislated duties because as a lawyer you are an officer of the court.

Your paramount duty is to the court, the public and the administration of justice. This trumps any other duty. So, for example, if you were a soldier and a lawyer, the law says that your duty to the court & the public trumps your duty to obey your boss in the ADF.

As Voltaire said:

The Law is not a profession. It is a priesthood.

But what we witnessed in the McBride case was the rejection of this ancient legal duty.

But more on that later. Doors open shortly. Follow this thread for live updates. Update! There is another matter on at the moment but it is finishing shortly. Not long!

Mossop just gave a helpful hypothetical, applying David's position on duty - "If a commander told an army private - 'Don’t hand those secret documents over...But if I (a Private in the army, not Judge Mossop) handed them over because I say it is in the public interest. If the jury agree then that's it?"

Odgers responded "Yes, if the jury are satisfied the documents were handed over, then he is not in breach of his duty for the purpose of these criminal offences but yes, he may be liable to punishment and imprisonment under s 29 of the Defence Discipline Act for not obeying an order" (My reading of this section is that the Cth are out of time to lay this charge – now we are years and years since). See Odgers is now referring to a document that covers what students of the ADF academy are taught. Earlier today we heard that, in addition to providing legal advice to the ADF, David McBride was also responsible for teaching members of the ADF what their duties are.

1/17 This is a lengthy thread, but it’s important. The mood at court today was sombre. One of my Aboriginal clients was to be sentenced. He was born on a mission & grew up witnessing drug & alcohol fuelled violence within his family, community & inflicted upon himself 😢 2/17 As a young teen, he ran away from the mish to the streets where he slept rough & began injecting speed & heroin. He said he shot up anything, just to take the pain of living away.