A man who spent 22 days behind bars on the back of a police officer’s false statement said he deserved greater compensation because the ordeal prevented his admission to the legal profession.
The NSW Supreme Court awarded Luke Brett Moore $456,160 in damages for his malicious prosecution on charges that arose from a false statement made by Senior Constable Daniel Keneally, including fabricated allegations that he threatened to kill a police officer.
Keneally is no longer a police officer and was convicted of one count of fabricating evidence with intent to mislead a judicial tribunal.
As part of his malicious prosecution proceedings, Moore also made a successful claim against Detective Sergeant Felgate, who delayed his release by failing to take appropriate steps after learning Keneally’s statement was false. A third claim against a prosecutor failed.
In addition to general, aggravated and exemplary damages, the state of NSW was ordered to pay Moore $50,000 for reputational damage.
Moore told the court his longer-term earnings should be assessed on the basis that he “would have worked as a solicitor”, having completed his degree and practical legal training around the February 2021 events.
He claimed this was because he has since suffered from a psychiatric illness that has prevented him from working altogether.
Following two other successful compensation claims against NSW Police relating to strip searches, Moore established a website “to educate people about their legal rights”, expose unlawful police conduct, and refer potential plaintiffs to a law firm.
Moore said his long-term goal was to set up a civil rights law firm.
It was with this in mind that Moore called around to police stations, which led to the conversation with Keneally and the false statement.
In its defence, the state said he would be ineligible for admission in any event, which Justice Richard Cavanagh accepted.
While Moore’s conviction was eventually overturned in the Court of Appeal, Justice Cavanagh noted he spent time behind bars for taking $2 million from his bank account “in circumstances in which he must have known that the money did not belong to him”.
Having regard to requirements to be a fit and proper person under the Legal Profession Uniform Admission Rules 2015, Justice Cavanagh said it would have had a “significant impact” on admission.
Further, Moore’s unwillingness to accept that he made “scandalous” and baseless allegations against police officers on the website he maintained was contradictory to the fundamental obligation of legal practitioners not to make allegations without foundation.
There was also “ample evidence” that Moore remains paranoid and deluded about police prosecution against him, which Justice Cavanagh said makes him “fundamentally unsuited” as a solicitor.
“I thus do not accept that he had any realistic prospect of being admitted as a solicitor. The matters to which I have referred are not short-term or transient issues which might be resolved to the satisfaction of the admitting authority,” Justice Cavanagh said.
The case: Moore v State of New South Wales [2025] NSWSC 1040 (12 September 2025).
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
