By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim In a 4 July 2022 letter on drug driving laws, Drive Change campaign lead David Heilpern explained to NSW Labor MLC Chris Rath that when he was a NSW Magistrate, he’d sentenced “literally hundreds of defendants”, who were on cannabis medicine yet convicted over drug driving. Indeed, part of… Read more »
Posts By: NSW Courts
Personality Disorders Should Be Considered a Mitigating Factor in Sentencing
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim NSW police were again called to attend the home of Sandra Wornes on 28 July 2019, as the 46-year-old woman had once more physically assaulted her long-term partner Mr Robson. Wornes, who suffers from a personality disorder, had grabbed the 47-year-old man by the neck and punched him. Despite… Read more »
High Court Rules Indefinite Detention of High Risk Offenders Is Constitutional
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim The High Court of Australia has, for the second time in 18 months, ruled in favour of a legal regime that permits indefinite detention. However, unlike its June 2021 ruling, which found that the executive can detain illegal noncitizens without end, last Wednesday’s decision impacts inmates deemed high risk. The case… Read more »
The Offence of Displaying a Nazi Symbol by a Public Act Without Reasonable Excuse
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim The NSW government last Thursday banned the public display of Nazi symbols, including the Hakenkreuz, the Third Reich’s corruption of the ancient swastika, making this state the second jurisdiction nationally to prohibit the insignia associated with antisemitism, racism and genocide. Introduced in late June, the Crimes Amendment (Prohibition on Display of… Read more »
COVID-19: Courts Consider the Risk of Infection When Determining the Appropriate Sentence
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim. Storm Leigh Zerafa said he didn’t “give a fuck” and he would shoot the baby, as he stood on a fence brandishing a black gel blaster pistol outside his alleged drug dealer’s house in the southern NSW town of Sanctuary Point at around 2.30 am on 23 July 2020…. Read more »
NSW Barrister Reprimanded for Sexually Harassing Junior Solicitor
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim On 5 June 2017, junior solicitor Ms X was seated in a conference room at the NSW Supreme Court, looking visibly distraught after having spoken to the court registrar in regard to a further delay in proceedings due to matters relating to her client. At that point, barrister David… Read more »
NSW Barrister Struck Off for Tax Evasion
On 11 October 2012, the NSW Bar Association attached eleven financial management and reporting conditions upon the practising certificate of a NSW barrister to ensure he met his obligations to submit business activity statements and tax returns with the Australian Tax Office. These conditions continued to apply to his practising certificates up until the year… Read more »
Section 20BQ Applications: Mental Health at Time of Hearing is Relevant, Not When the Alleged Offence Occurred
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Abdelaziz Ali Mahamat-Abdelgader arrived in Australia seeking asylum in June 2012. The citizen of the African nation of Chad was refused immigration clearance at the airport, taken into immigration custody and transferred to Sydney’s Villawood Immigration Detention Centre. Abdelgader applied for a protection visa. He claimed refugee status on… Read more »
NSW Magistrates and Judges Need to Rebuild Public Trust, Chief Justice Bathurst asserts
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Long gone are the days when the public was expected to blindly trust institutions. Over recent years, there has been a marked decline in trust especially in public organisations. And this has gotten to the point where these entities need to question how they can build trust in the… Read more »
Are Recordings of Private Conversations Admissible in Court?
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim On 25 January 2017, an argument broke out between three siblings, who were attending the nursing home where their mother lived. The dispute involved Yvette Court claiming her brother Robert Rathswohl and sister Lisa Davies had left all the care of their elderly parents up to her. Rathswohl and… Read more »