Barrister loses defamation appeal bid

A barrister has lost a bid to appeal against an order to pay $150,000 for defaming a policeman involved in the fatal shooting of Melbourne teenager Tyler Cassidy.

Michael McDonald was found guilty of defaming officer Colin Dods in a website in which he wrote about the plight of the 15-year-old, who was aggravated and carrying a knife when shot dead by police in Northcote during 2008.

McDonald sought leave to appeal on a number of grounds, including that there was insufficient evidence to infer a large number of people saw the website, but the Court of Appeal on Friday dismissed the bid.