Hamdi Alqudsi, the central figure in Australia’s most successful jihadi recruitment network, has been sentenced to a minimum of six years in prison. In July this year, the 42-year-old western Sydney resident was found guilty in the NSW Supreme Court of seven counts of supporting engagement in armed hostilities in Syria. Alqudsi was found to… Read more »
By Mathew Drogemuller and Ugur Nedim In an extraordinary NSW Supreme Court case, a Chinese Businessman is suing North Sydney based escort agency, Royal Court Escorts, for $3.7 million. Wealthy businessman Yu ‘Martin’ Xu has a penchant for sex with famous international A-listers. He allegedly paid millions to Royal Escorts to sleep with actress Megan… Read more »
Today, there are 132 Magistrates and over 100 courthouses across NSW. With a range of jurisdictions including Local Courts, District courts, Supreme courts and the Court of Criminal Appeal, the NSW court system is complex and far more sophisticated than it once was. The Early Magistrates It was 1788 when the first Magistrates in Australia… Read more »
Last Friday, police lost their Supreme Court bid to block an indigenous rights rally to commemorate the death of TJ Hickey (above), an indigenous teenager killed in 2004 during what many believe was a police pursuit. But the rally went ahead last Sunday as scheduled, starting at TJ Hickey Park and ending at Sydney Town… Read more »
Magistrates and judges have a significant amount of power when presiding over cases. That power ranges from determining what evidence can be used in court, right up to the appropriate penalty that a particular defendant should be given if they plead guilty or are found guilty. Judicial discretion is an important aspect of the sentencing… Read more »
The South Australian Law Reform Institute has recommended that the choice to take a religious oath when giving evidence should be scrapped in favour of a universal, non-religious promise to tell the truth in court, known as an ‘affirmation’. The Institute made several recommendations in its final report delivered just this week, which was a… Read more »
Going to court can be a daunting experience, especially when you don’t have an experienced lawyer to guide you through the process and speak for you inside the courtroom. Here are four of the most common mistakes made by those who choose to represent themselves in court. 1. Entering the Wrong Plea Deciding whether to… Read more »
If you’ve ever watched a TV courtroom drama, you might think that the judge plays a very active role in jury trials – asking questions about the evidence, witnesses and, of course, making decisions about the law. In reality, however, this is not normally the way it plays out. While a judge oversees the case,… Read more »
A recent study by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) have compared the rates of reoffending for defendants who were sentenced to prison with those who instead received a suspended sentence. Which one was the most effective? The results might surprise you! What is a suspended sentence? A suspended sentence in NSW… Read more »
