The Offence of Choking, Suffocation and Strangulation in New South Wales
In December 2018, the NSW Parliament passed the Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill which inserted a new section 37(1A) into the Crimes Act 1900. Unlike the existing section 37, subsection (1A) does not require the prosecution to prove that the defendant’s...
What is Extortion?
The Federal Court’s judgment in 2020 had found Centrelink’s ‘robodebt system’ to be unlawful, and ordered the federal government to pay the legal costs of a social security recipient who challenged a debt notice that was issued to her in...
The Law and Penalties for Leaving Children Unattended in Vehicles
A woman has been charged with murder after her one and two-year old daughters were found dead in a car, allegedly as a result of being exposed to extreme heat. It has been reported that police and paramedics responded to...
Man Bashes Heavily Pregnant Muslim Woman
Many of us have now seen the horrific footage of a Sydney man assaulting a heavily pregnant woman in a Parramatta café. The man, Stipe Lozina, allegedly punched Ms Rana Elasmar repeatedly in an unprovoked attack - then stomped on...
Another NSW Police Officer Faces Court Over Assault Charges
Another senior NSW police officer is facing court accused of multiple assault offences while on duty. He has been charged with two counts of common assault and one of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, in relation to an incident which...
The Offence of Stalking or Intimidation in NSW
It has been reported that 30-year old, retiring South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL star Sam Burgess has been charged with stalking or intimidation with intent to cause fear of physical or mental harm over an incident at around 4pm on Saturday,...
What is the Meaning of ‘Intimidate’ in the Criminal Law?
The act of intimidation forms part of many criminal offences in NSW, and indeed across Australia. Some of the many offences containing the word intimidation, intimidatory, intimidates or intimidate appear are: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) Section 12 - Compassing deposition...
When Can Police Arrest a Person, and How Much Force Can be Applied?
Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) is investigating an incident during which police officers broke a man’s neck when they came to his house to tell him to turn his stereo down. The story of 47-year old Chris Karadaglis is...
Assaulting a Police Officer in Potts Point Case Study
Two men and two women are facing court charged with assaulting police, after fight in Potts Point led to five police officers being injured. The brawl started after a man and a woman allegedly refused to leave the Flamingo Lounge...
‘Any Extent’ of Injury Can Amount to Female Genital Mutilation, High Court finds
In a majority decision released today, the High Court of Australia found that a female’s genitals do not need to be ‘render[ed] imperfect or irreparably damaged in some fashion’ for the offence of female genital mutilation to be established. The...
