No Crime, No Time: ISJA’s Dave Pollock on Reforming Victoria’s Harsh Bail Regime
The impacts of harsh bail laws have been increasingly raised over recent years, as state governments have tightened them. Indeed, last year saw NSW impose an unworkable prohibition on granting bail to those convicted, prior to their “likely” sentencing, unless exceptional circumstances...
Calls for an Australian Criminal Cases Review Commission: An Interview With Former High Court Justice Michael Kirby
From Februrary 2022: Michael Kirby has recently completed a chapter for a Canadian legal publication, in which the esteemed former High Court Justice outlines the need for more thorough safeguards against unjust convictions in this country. Within the chapter Miscarriages...
What is a Severity Appeal in New South Wales?
An elite cyclist has had his convictions overturned in the District Court of New South Wales after initially pleading guilty in the Local Court to assaulting two teenage girls following a ‘knock and run’ prank. 27-year old Dutch cyclist Mathieu...
The History of Parricide: Intentionally Killing a Close Family Member
Murdering one’s own mother or father is an act so reviled throughout history that no King, Queen, Emperor, Sultan or dictator wanted to acknowledge it even existed by making it a discrete criminal offence. This is despite many such heads...
In What Circumstances Can I Change My Plea of Guilty to Not Guilty in NSW?
A man who unexpectedly pleaded guilty to murdering American Scott Johnson in 1988, has had his conviction quashed on appeal and will now face trial for murder in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Scott Johnson’s naked body was...
Should Juries Be Sequestered More Often in Australia?
The recent mistrial of Bruce Lehrmann, the man accused of sexually assaulting Brittany Higgins in Parliament House, Canberra, has led to debate about whether the jury should have been sequestered - in other words, required to stay at hotels each...
The Impact of Juror Misconduct on the Right to a Fair Trial
The rise of the internet and social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, where it seems everyone has an opinion regardless of the credibility of the facts to which they are privy, has led to a corresponding increase in...
Climate Defender’s Mental Health Application Succeeds in Court
Mali Cooper was the courageous Blockade Australia climate defender, who, on 27 June 2022, as part of a broader citywide protest blocked the northern entrance to the Sydney Harbour Tunnel with their car, causing morning peak hour disruption, aiming to alert...
NSW Bail Applications: Supreme Court Decisions on Section 22B of the Bail Act 2013
On Tuesday, 21 June 2022, the Bail Amendment Act No 27 was introduced into the New South Wales Parliament and passed by both Houses just two days later - with virtually no community consultation. The Act introduced a new section...
Minimising the Risk of Unfair Prejudice in Jury Trials
In the eyes of many, the relentless adverse publicity against the man accused of sexually assaulting Brittany Higgins in Parliament House, Canberra on 22/23 March 2019 has made it impossible for him to ever receive a fair trial. Mr Lehrmann...
