Last year, New South Wales woman Kathleen Folbigg was pardoned and her convictions were later quashed after a public inquiry found that the science used to convict her of murdering three of her four infants was deeply flawed.
However, Folbigg's release followed a number of failed attempts at freedom including multiple appeals as well as a separate judicial inquiry in 2019.
Judicial inquiries are a unique avenue to have cases reviewed in NSW, providing a separate means of getting court scrutiny over a potential miscarriage of justice.
The following outlines the circumstances in which a judicial inquiry can be raised, the powers of courts when conducting an inquiry and why the 2019 inquiry in Folbigg concluded that her conviction should stand.
