IANAL - Internet Message Boards prove useful. It had to happen.

[don_t_ask]

This story tells how an Internet chatroom helped win a legal battle.

JOCKEY Allan Robinson escaped a two-month suspension for improper conduct yesterday after stewards charged him under the wrong rule.

The jockey’s legal counsel Chris Murphy levelled stewards when pointing out the rule in which Robinson was charged - 175 (q) - didn’t exist on 20 October 2002 when he allegedly made lewd comments during the filming of an SBS documentary “A Girl, A Horse, A Dream”.

Murphy was made aware of the legal loophole after falling across a discussion in an internet chatroom linked to AAP Racing And Sports.

Writing under the moniker “Vivarchi”, the unidentified racing enthusiast suggested stewards made an error by charging Robinson under a rule that was yet to come into effect.

Vivarchi correctly pointed out Robinson should have been charged under its more general predecessor 8 (d).

[Otto]

Shouldn’t the lawyer have known already that the rule wasn’t in effect? Hell, I ain’t no lawyer but even I know that it’s kind of important to know the state of the law (or the rule in this case) on the date of the conduct.

[don_t_ask]

It was all historical information. The documentary was filmed in 2002 but shown this year. Robinson was charged under the current rules. The lawyer concerned hasn’t said whether he actively dug up the information or came across it on the internet by chance.