In What Circumstances Can a Judge Direct a Jury to Acquit the Defendant?
A judge who was presiding over the jury trial of a Victorian police officer this week has taken the decision regarding guilt or innocence away from the jurors, directing them to return an acquittal on all assault charges and thereby...
Suspicious Amendment of Criminal Law Judgement Results In Successful Appeal
A recent decision by the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal has raised eyebrows over the finding that official court records relating to a sentencing hearing were amended well after the case had been finalised to suggest the presiding...
What Will a Court Consider When Determining Bail in NSW?
The man accused of causing the deaths of several passengers after the bus he was driving overturned in the Hunter Valley last Sunday night has been granted strict conditional bail. 58-year old Brett Button from Maitland in the Hunter Region...
Footage Released of NSW Police Using Excessive Force Against Elderly Woman
While the outrage that New South Wales police tasered a 95-year old dementia patient in a Cooma nursing home last week continues to simmer, another disturbing story has emerged. Footage has now surfaced of of six police officers using two...
Dodgy DNA Testing Casts Doubt on Thousands of Criminal Convictions
A scathing report handed down by a six-moth Queensland Commission of Inquiry into the state’s DNA testing methods, systems and processes has put thousands of convictions at risk of being overturned on appeal. Convicted murderer Andrew Cobby is the first who...
When Will the Prosecution Appeal Against a Court’s Decision in a Criminal Case?
The decision to appeal against a court ‘s decision in a criminal case can be a costly and time consuming process, as well as potentially re-traumatising for both the complainant and defendant – and this can be the case whether...
Conditional Release Orders in New South Wales
Former NRL star Brett Stewart has pleaded guilty to cocaine possession. The Former Manly Sea Eagles star and part-time coach was arrested last month after police witnessed him making an illegal drug deal on a suburban street on the Northern...
Should Jarryd Hayne Be Behind Bars?
Jarryd Hayne is back in custody following the unsuccessful challenge to the prosecution’s application to have him held in custody until his sentencing hearing next month. The New South Wales Supreme Court yesteeday found no grounds for the former NRL...
Jarryd Hayne Refused Bail Under Section 22B of the Bail Act 2013
Former NRL star Jarryd Hayne has been remanded in custody after the prosecution made a successful detention application in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Yesterday, Supreme Court Justice Richard Button agreed with the prosecution that Mr Hayne, who...
Under the NSW Antiprotest Regime, Oppressive Bail Conditions Are the True Punishment
After having been charged under the then recently enacted NSW antiprotest regime last June, ten Blockade Australia activists appeared before NSW Magistrate Christine Haskett at Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on 5 April. The extreme antiprotest regime was a Perrottet government response to...
