Posts By: Sydney Criminal Lawyers

Sentencing Judges Must Make Clear That Mitigating Factors Were Considered

Sentencing proceedings NSW

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim On 28 October 2022, Abbrar Abbas arrived at Sydney Airport, after two days in Fiji. On collecting his baggage and presenting his incoming passenger card to an Australian Border Force officer, the International student was taken to a baggage examination area, and a bottle of yellow liquid was found… Read more »

The Fact an Offence Reduces the Likelihood of Parole is a Mitigating Factor on Sentence

Supreme Court NSW

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Fayez Hatahet travelled to Syria on an Air Jordan flight on 25 September 2012, as he was attempting to secure the release of his brother-in-law, whom he believed was being held by an armed group in that country. However, on arrival, Hatahet went on to engage in hostile activities… Read more »

Past Offending is Irrelevant When Assessing the Objective Seriousness of a Crime

NSW Court

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Over 20 January 2021 to 16 June 2022, NSW woman Rania Bazzi perpetrated a string of offences that Justice Richard Button of the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal (NSWCCA) went on to describe as crimes that were not “of the utmost gravity”, but the nine offences she plead guilty… Read more »

NSW Chief Justice Issues Guidance on Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Court

Ai Lawyer

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Generative artificial intelligence, or Gen AI, is part of the broader AI computer science, which is geared to machine learning and problem-solving, and it focuses on the creation of new content, which can include visual images, audio or text. And there are a number of well-known platforms that can… Read more »

Toughening of Bail and Discrepancies in Decision-Making Contribute to Rise in Prison Population

Prison Cells

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim The Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) has released a number of reports in recent years explaining some of the reasons behind the explosion of people being held on remand in New South Wales. These reasons may be seen as primarily related to the systematic strengthening of bail… Read more »

Court Orders Re-Sentencing of Defendant Due to the Failures of His Defence Lawyers

Supreme Court Window

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Between 1 January 2014 and 25 December 2019, Michael Shortland spent over 2,000 hours gambling at the Dee Why RSL, which saw him lose over $643,000, while the habitual gambler had also lost over $1 million at Sydney’s Star Casino over the period from 1 January 2000 through to… Read more »