Robert Stary is an Australian criminal defence lawyer, best known for defending Jack Thomas

Jack Thomas

Jack Thomas may refer to:* Jack Thomas, President of Western Illinois University * Joseph Terrence Thomas, known as Jack, Australian citizen whose conviction for receiving funds from Al-Qaeda was overturned on appeal...

, the first Australian to be convicted under anti-terrorism laws introduced in Australia after the 11 September 2001 terror attacks in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Stary has been a vocal critic of the legislation and speaks out regularly against the issue.
Stary has also appeared on an advertisement authorised by the ACTU calling for employees in the construction industry to be governed by the same laws as other workers. More recently, he has appeared in court on behalf of those charged as a result of certain incidents during the West Gate Bridge

West Gate Bridge

The West Gate Bridge is a steel box girder cable-stayed bridge in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It spans the Yarra River, just north of its mouth into Port Phillip, and is a vital link between the inner city and Melbourne's western suburbs with the industrial suburbs in the west and with the city...

 industrial dispute http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25594857-601,00.html. In those proceedings, he urged that Industrial Relations Minister

Minister (government)

A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....

 Julia Gillard

Julia Gillard

Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...

 be charged with contempt of court

Contempt of court

Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...

 over "inflammatory" and "calculated" remarks she made at an ACTU Congress in Brisbane. Victorian magistrate Mr Muling found that he was not persuaded to charge Ms Gillard with contempt, nor refer her to the DPP.

Stary also represented crime underworld figure Carl Williams

Carl Williams

Carl Anthony Williams was a convicted murderer and drug trafficker from the Australian state of Victoria. He was the central figure in the Melbourne gangland killings....

 before Williams's bashing death in Barwon Prison on 19 April 2010. Stary heavily criticised Premier

Premier

Premier is a title for the head of government in some countries and states.-Examples by country:In many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister"...

 John Brumby

John Brumby

John Mansfield Brumby , is an Australian Labor Party politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2007 to 2010. He became Premier after the resignation of Steve Bracks. He also served as the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and the Minister for Multicultural Affairs. He contested his first election...

's refusal to call a Royal Commission

Royal Commission

In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...

inquiry into the death.http://www.theage.com.au/national/fury-over-brumbys-comment-on-williams-20100421-szz7.html

External links

• Robert Stary Lawyers