Sydney Brothers Not Guilty of Manslaughter
Our client is a 40 year old man from Greystanes in greater Western Sydney. He lived with his older brother and elderly mother until her death in September 2017. On 23 August 2017, our client and his brother called an...
Are There Situations Where a Person Who ‘Confesses’ Should Plead ‘Not Guilty’?
Tim Watkins was only 22 years old when he was left for dead by the side of Wilsons Creek Road earlier this year. He was riding his bicycle home from a mates’ house shortly after midnight on a road he...
The Rules for Changing a Plea from Guilty to Not Guilty
On 30 June 2004, Raymond Wong pleaded guilty before a magistrate in the Sydney Local Court to one count of committing an act of indecency, contrary to repealed section 61N of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). At the time, Wong...
The Defence of Mental Illness in New South Wales
Being found not guilty by reason of mental illness isn’t just the stuff of good fiction crime novels, as a recent case in the Supreme Court of New South Wales demonstrates. In that case, a 38-year old father who stabbed...
UN to Inspect Australian Prisons
United Nations Inspectors will have ‘unfettered access’ to Australian-run detention centres when they visit Australia in the coming months. It will be the first time inspectors have visited Australia. Such routine visits are one of the obligations of the Optional...
Section 32 Mental Health Applications in New South Wales
A former partner of accounting firm KPMG has faced Manly Local Court after admitting using a corkscrew to threaten a Liberal party campaigner, punching him in the stomach while holding the object, calling him a “paedophile supporter” and tearing down...
If You’re Refused Bail, You’re Likely to Get a Harsher Sentence
The NSW adult prisoner population seems to have stabilised in recent times, after a half decade of dramatic increase, which saw the under 10,000 inmates of 2013 rise to a peak of 13,651 detainees in May last year. And this...
Parklea Correctional Centre: A Privately-Run Prison in Crisis
An inmate at Parklea Correctional Centre uploaded a video filmed using a contraband smartphone onto YouTube in July 2017. During the clip, the inmate flaunts a knife and another weapon, and he also holds up a small bag of white...
Accused Murderer Granted Bail
Former high school teacher Lynette Dawson disappeared in 1982, just two weeks before her daughter was due to commence kindergarten. The mother-of-two was last seen at the Bayview home shared with her husband, Chris Dawson. Mrs Dawson’s body has never...
Drug Charge Against Ray Hadley’s Son Dismissed Due to Mental Health
Former police officer Daniel Hadley, the son of ‘tough on crime’ radio shock-jock Ray Hadley, has had a drug charge for cocaine possession dismissed on mental health grounds. Mr Hadley was reported to have been arrested while attempting to purchase cocaine...