Arbeit macht frei: - Fredrick Töben

Once I was found guilty of contempt I could expect to be given a custodial
sentence and so I prepared a clip for YouTube, and the following is part of
what I said. I did not have to wait until 13 May 2009 when Justice Lander
imposed the prison sentence of 3 months. It was stayed for 3 months so that
Barrister David Perkins could mount an appeal against both the finding and
the sentence, something that Lander did not welcome and he was visibly
shaken by Perkins daring to challenge his judgment.
On 13 May 2009 the national broadcaster, ABC-TV News scored a world
first in its news item:
Holocaust Questioner
An Adelaide Holocaust questioner has won another reprieve from jail
after he was granted leave to appeal against a contempt ruling. Fredrick
Töben has been ordered to serve three months in jail for breaching
Federal Court orders 24 times by publishing material vilifying Jewish
people on his website. Töben’s arrest was put off while the court decided
whether he would be allowed to appeal. It was put off again today when
the court ruled that an appeal will be heard in August. Töben has
promised not to leave the state except to see his Melbourne-based lawyer.
* * * * *
And so the massive task of preparing the appeal began. Again, had it not been
for a couple of individuals who provided the financial resources for this task,
then there would have been no appeal. The beautiful lounge table became a
repository for over 2000 pages of what was to become the two volume Appeal
Book. As this appeal was actually two actions – against conviction and against
penalty – the Federal Court of Australia Registry required a set of books for
each of the three judges hearing the case, and two sets for the registry. Then a
set went to the Respondents and, of course, one set to my barrister. I retained
the original bundle of papers that were used in making the copies.
I had the choice of purchasing cheap paper binders or expensive plastic
covers. From past experience I knew Appeal Books, no matter how lovingly
presented, serve a very brief purpose only, and so it was simply a decision
that as a teacher I had made countless times when correcting essays: balance
the matter within the ideals of form and content where neither one nor the
other predominates.
Why is it that in legal matters, and perhaps in other things as well, there is
always the time factor pushing you along. The Federal Court of Australia
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