Police Blitz Targets over 100 Alleged Shoplifters in Sydney
When December rolls around each year, the stores are filled with people frantically trying to cross everything off their shopping lists before Christmas hits. But it’s also the time that, for whatever reason, shoplifters hit the shops in record numbers,...
Can Employers Discriminate on the Basis of your Criminal Record?
Your criminal record will hang around long after you have done the time, paid the fine or completed any punishment a court may hand down to you. Even minor offences like being caught in possession of one ecstasy pill or...
Intellectual Disability and Mental Health Orders
In the NSW court system, people with an intellectual disability or mental illness can sometimes be given special provisions, including mental health orders, to allow them to bypass the usual legal system and instead be diverted into treatment programs. Although...
Drafting Section 14 Mental Health Applications – A Guide for Criminal Lawyers
Applications under section 14 of the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020 are a handy tool for diverting clients who suffer from ‘mental conditions’ towards getting the help they need. The section allows a court to dismiss...
How Much Does a Lawyer Cost?
Lawyers have a reputation for being expensive, but getting legal help for a criminal matter may not be as costly as you think, and it can make a big difference to the outcome of your case. While it is possible...
Bipolar and Driving Offences
Mental illness has always been a defence to crimes if the person did not know what they were doing. Our criminal justice system has always included the concept that people who are not responsible for their actions such as children...
The Magistrate Refused My Section 14 Mental Health Application – What Now?
If you are charged with a criminal offence and suffer from a mental health impairment or a cognitive impairment, and your case is being dealt with in the Local Court, you may be able to make an application for the...
Getting a DUI Dismissed if Diagnosed with Depression
If you have been diagnosed with a mental condition like depression, you may be able to have criminal charges against you dismissed under a Section 32 order. Section 32 is a provision of the Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act which allows...
How Does A Section 14 Mental Health Order Work?
Section 14 of the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020 is commonly used to divert those who suffer from mental conditions away from criminal penalisation and towards getting help and treatment they need. A section 14 can...
Sydney Criminal Lawyers® in Mental Health Cases
The criminal justice system is mainly designed to cater for participants who do not suffer from mental illnesses. This one-size-fits-all approach often means that support systems are not properly implemented to ensure that a person’s mental condition does not lead...
