High Court Hears Don Dale CS Gas Case

0:00Reporting from the Daily News Now, I'm Cory with the latest in Sydney. Today, the High Court in Canberra hears a challenge from four former inmates of Don Dale Youth Detention Center over reduced compensation for being sprayed with CS gas back in 2014. The incident happened in the behavioral management unit when one boy escaped his cell and caused a disturbance. Officers from a nearby prison used the tear gas, which affected the four boys who stayed in their cells. In 2020, the High Court ruled the gas use broke the Weapons Control Act and cleared the way for damages. The Northern Territories Supreme Court then awarded each boy $200,000 in exemplary damages plus other amounts to deter such actions. But the Northern Territory government appealed successfully and those exemplary awards got thrown out. Lawyers for the boys argue the appeal court ignored the High Court's earlier ruling on when exemplary damages apply against the state. They say the officers knew they were wrong or the Territory bear's direct blame.

1:03Meanwhile, the government calls the original awards way too high and defends the appeal decision. This hearing could set rules on exemplary damages for government cases like this. The Territory filed across appeal too, pushing back on the amount across the board. This DNA story is thanks to our sponsor details in the description. No earbuds, no headbands, no awkward sleeping positions, just a pillow that plays your sound. S-O-L-I, solelypillow.com