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The contrast is stark. In its first decade Victoria’s Court of Appeal came under scrutiny by the High Court on 17 occasions involving criminal matters, far less often than its NSW counterpart, and its decisions were reversed only twice. Since 2005, when Chris Maxwell was sworn in as its second president, Victoria’s appellate court underwent review by our highest court 37 times and had to be corrected in 16 criminal cases, according to analysis by the state’s former chief crown prosecutor, Gavin Silbert. And this predated the High Court’s devastating 7-0 reversal of the Maxwell court’s decision to uphold Cardinal George Pell’s conviction, as Victorian editor Damon Johnston reported.