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...
What Conduct Amounts to ‘Dangerous Driving’ in New South Wales?
Police will allege speeding was a factor in the weekend’s horror bus crash in the Hunter Valley, which resulted in the deaths of 10 passengers and more than 20 being admitted to hospital. The bus was carrying 36 passengers when...
Higgins, Wilkinson, Lehrmann: Heroes or Victims?
In years to come, the criminal prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann over ultimately unproven allegations of sexual assault in Parliament House is likely to become a case study for students of law, and may even inform the way in which such...
The History of the Role of Criminal Defence Lawyer in New South Wales
Like many other aspects of the legal system, the role of the criminal defence lawyer has a long and interesting history both in our own nation and in times that predate colonisation. Here’s an outline of the origins of the...
The NSW Police State: Excessive Force, Lethal Assault, Strip Searches and Dog Monitoring
The lethal tasering of 95-year-old Clare Nowland, who, suffering dementia, was holding a steak knife and approaching a NSW police senior constable at such a pace with the aid of her walking frame that he felt he had no choice but...
Former NSW Police Officer On Trial for Multiple Counts of Child Sexual Assault
A former New South Wales police officer is on trial in the Northern Rivers accused of three counts of having aggravated sexual intercourse with a child aged between 14 and 16 years, as well as producing, disseminating or possessing child...
The Law, Penalties and Defences for Making Bomb Threats in Australia
New South Wales’ busiest courthouse, the Downing Centre in the Sydney CBD, was evacuated at around 10am on Friday, 2 June 2023 when a man reportedly walked through the entrance holding a package and stated “this is a bomb”. The...
UK Police Officer Stood Down for Pointing Taser at Elderly Woman
While the use of tasers by police officers comes under public scrutiny in New South Wales - with several confirmed incidents of mentally ill persons being fatally wounded as a result of being tasered, a 95-year old woman being fatally...
Ben Roberts-Smith: Bully, Liar, War Criminal
A judge of the Federal Court of Australia has found the media was truthful in describing our nation’s most decorated living soldier as a war criminal, after hearing extensive evidence from Australian soldiers and many other witnesses during a three-month...
Psychic Scams Can Constitute the Criminal Offence of Fraud
ScamWatch, a division of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), has announced that ‘psychic scams’ are on the rise, with a reported $555,240 extorted from Australians in 2022. Individuals purporting to be psychics or clairvoyants will often prey on...