Disability and Jury Service in NSW
The ACT Legislative Assembly has passed laws which broaden the range of people who can serve on a jury. People with disabilities will be no longer be automatically exempt from jury duty in the nation’s capital. Rather, courts will decide...
Courts Struggle to Interpret Emojis
Legal researchers at Melbourne and Deakin Universities have looked into the problems that arise when emojis are used in the courtroom as evidence. The study by Professors Elizabeth Kirley and Marilyn McMahon, entitled ‘The EmojiFactor: Humanizing the Emerging Law of...
Calls for New Offence of ‘Industrial Manslaughter’
Families of deceased Victorian workers are leading the campaign for a new offence of industrial manslaughter to make corporate bosses responsible for deaths resulting from workplace negligence. 21-year old Jack Brownlee and 34-year old Charlie Howkins were laying pipes at...
AMP May Face Criminal Charges
Senior Council Rowena Orr QC says financial services provider AMP could face criminal charges for making misleading statements to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Misconduct findings The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry...
Government Wants Crime Commission to Lose Its Ability to Investigate
The New South Wales Crime Commission is a statutory body established by the state government in 1986 to, as its motto says, ‘Analyse. Investigate. Confiscate’; that is, to analyse and investigate serious criminal activity, and confiscate proceeds of crime. The...
Client Legal Privilege in New South Wales
Donald Trump is fighting attempts by US prosecutors to obtain approval to review communications seized from the home and offices of his lawyer, Michael Cohen. It is reported that Trump is concerned, among other things, about the exposure of his...
Greens Push to Legalise Cannabis
The Greens have highlight the fact that drug prohibition has proven to be a “dismal failure” and are pushing to legalise marijuana across Australia. It is the first party with seats in parliament to call for the legalisation of recreational...
When is a Defendant Unfit for Trial?
Fitness for trial relates to the defendant’s ability to comprehend and fairly participate in the trial process. It is a procedural question which is reserved for the higher courts, such as the District or Supreme Court, and is separate from...
Push for Wage Theft to Be Made a Criminal Offence
A group of Victorian Unions is leading a campaign to make ‘wage theft’ a criminal offence ahead of the upcoming state election. The Victorian Trades Hall Council and its Young Workers Centre are pushing the government to enact legislation which...
Watchdog Will Refer Finding of Serious Police Misconduct to Parliament
An independent commission has been shown footage of several Byron Bay police officers pinning down a naked, 16-year old boy and repeatedly hitting him with a baton. The Chief Commissioner of the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) said one of...
