Royal Commissions: The Rules Regarding Evidence and How Can It Be Used
The final report of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme made 57 recommendations to the Federal Government and included a secret sealed section which holds the names of several individuals to be considered for further investigation and potential prosecution...
Sydney Criminal Lawyers® Weekly Rundown – Articles from 31 July to 6 August 2023
In case you’ve missed any of them, here’s a rundown of the past week’s articles: Criminal Offences Relating to Female Genital Mutilation in NSW A person may be found guilty for arranging or performing the procedure, including where the female...
Shane Drumgold Engaged in “Serious Misconduct”, But Will He Face Disciplinary Action?
The inquiry into the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann – which was requested by the ACT’s Chief Prosecutor, Shane Drumgold – has ended as sensationally as it began, with findings that Drumgold engaged in “serious misconduct” by, among other things, lying...
Working With Children: Should Better Checks Be Undertaken?
Parents around Australia are reeling from the news that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has charged a former childcare worker from the Gold Coast in Queensland with more than 1600 child sexual offences against 91 children both in Australia and...
Laws Relating to Driving Conduct that Causes Grievous Bodily Harm in NSW
The driver accused of being responsible for causing the deaths of 10 wedding attendees and the hospitalisation of 20 more by losing control of a bus in the Hunter Valley is facing dozens of additional charges for major traffic offences....
What is the Early Appropriate Guilty Plea (EAGP) Scheme in New South Wales?
On 30 April 2018, a legislative scheme was introduced with statutory caps on discounts that can be given for the utilitarian benefit (the saving of court time and public resources) of a guilty plea in cases that proceed, or are...
Albanese Complicit in United States’ Use of Australian Citizen as Political Pawn
An Australian citizen since 2012, former US marine fighter pilot Daniel Duggan returned to his family home in the NSW town of Orange last October, after ASIO had indicated that he’d been cleared for an ASIC card, which permitted him...
Which Criminal Offences Could Apply to a ‘Peeping Tom’ in NSW?
A Queensland man was convicted last month for watching and filming several women through the windows of their homes for sexual gratification. 51-year old John William Goodwin pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court to over 20 criminal charges relating to...
The Use of Force by NSW Police Against First Nations Peoples Is Stark and Disproportionate
While it’s certainly not the first time the NSW Police Force has been pulled up in regard to the way it uses force on the beat by legal and civil society groups, new statistics put on the table by the Redfern...
Misplaced and Inappropriate – Magistrate Roger Prowse Slammed by Supreme Court (again)
Magistrate Roger Prowse was severely criticised by the Supreme Court last week in the case of Elwood v Director of Public Prosecutions [2023] NSWSC 772. Reading the excerpts of the transcripts from the Local Court is wincingly painful. At one...
