‘Sexsomnia’ and the Legal Defence of Automatism in New South Wales
A Sydney man has been found not guilty of a string of sexual offences against children after raising evidence that he was asleep and suffering from ‘sexsomnia’ during the incidents, and that he was therefore acting involuntarily – a requirement...
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Should Social Media Companies Be Responsible for Spreading Lies?
Technology companies such as Alphabet, the owner of Google, and Meta, the owner of Facebook, have had a good run in Australia in recent years, with the Supreme Court reversing a previous decision which meant these social media giants could...
Appeals to the District Court Against Local Court Convictions in NSW
A former NRL player who went on to become a professional boxer has successfully appealed his conviction over allegations of breaking and entering, with the appeal court finding ‘suspicion is no substitute for proof’. In the Local Court A magistrate...
The Legal Defence of Mental Health or Cognitive Impairment in NSW
The tragic deaths of two young boys in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales has raised more questions than answers, as their mother remains under police guard in hospital suffering from self-inflicted stab wounds. Those questions include: is...
Should the Age for Creating a Social Media Account be Lowered?
Australia plans to establish a minimum age limit for children to use social media, citing mental health and physical inactivity concerns. Personal rights advocates and those who favour the use of legal technology in today’s society are up in arms...
Operation ‘Remove All Impaired Drivers’ (RAID) Aims to Reduce Road Fatalities
Police in New South Wales have conducted several high visibility operations in recent years aimed at reducing the road toll by targeting dangerous driving behaviour. Operation RAID, or Remove All Impaired Drivers, is the latest of these operations. It is...
Life Imprisonment Without Parole: Is It Ever in the Interests of the Community?
The sentencing of 33-year old Justin Laurens Stein to life in prison without parole for the January 2022 murder of 9-year old schoolgirl Charlise Mutton at Stein’s family home at Mount Wilson in the New South Wales Blue Mountains has...
Parole in New South Wales: What Are the Benefits and Risks of Granting Parole?
A recent decision to grant parole to a murderer who attempted to sexually assault a woman when he was last paroled has many up in arms. But while the decision by the NSW State Parole Authority to release convicted murderer...
The Offence of Sexual Intercourse with a Child Aged Between 10 and 14 Years in NSW
A sitting member of New South Wales parliament has resigned from the Liberal Party after being charged with multiple child sexual offences. Pittwater MP Roderick “Rory” Gilmore Amon was charged on Friday, 30 August 2023 with 10 sexual offences, comprising...
Should Australian Government Departments Pay Barristers More?
Some of the most senior and best barristers in Australia are King’s Counsel, or KC’s (formerly Queen’s Counsel, or QC’s while Queen Elizabeth was the monarch) and Senior Counsel - collectively known as ‘silks’ due to the silk robes they...
