Posts By: Ugur Nedim

COVID-19: NSW District Court Comes to a Virtual Standstill

Courts in Sydney Pre-Lockdown

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a range of restrictions being placed upon the conduct of Local Court cases, and the situation until now in the District Court has been that no new jury trials have been set down, or allowed to commence, until further notice. The measures are designed to reduce the prospects of… Read more »

Majority Verdicts in New South Wales

Jury panel

For hundreds of years, juries in NSW criminal trials were required to return ‘unanimous’ verdicts of either guilty or not guilty, in order for an accused person to be convicted or acquitted of a crime. This meant that all 12 members of the jury had to reach the same conclusion about whether the prosecution had… Read more »

Competence and Compellability of Witnesses

Subpoena file

It is integral to our justice system that parties be able to require the attendance of witnesses at court to answer questions. A party, such as the defence or prosecution, will normally require the attendance of a witness by issuing them with a subpoena to ‘give evidence’ (ie testify). Failure to attend can result in… Read more »

Jury Hears Worst Child Sexual Abuse Case Ever

Downing Centre

Lawyers and court staff are describing the trial of two parents accused of ongoing child sexual abuse as “the worst ever heard”. The horrific allegations were ventilated in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court, where the girl’s father and mother stood trial over the past 12 weeks. The parents were charged with a total of 89… Read more »

Basic Steps in a NSW Jury Trial

Court

Clients charged with serious criminal offences whose cases proceed to a higher court – such as the District or Supreme Court – are often ‘in the dark’ about the steps involved in a jury trial. And why wouldn’t they be? Television shows often depict a dramatic trial consisting of a little cross-examination (almost always involving… Read more »

Make Me an SC!

Brown gavel

Being appointed ‘silk’ or Senior Counsel (SC) is the ‘Holy Grail’ for barristers. It allows them to charge a lot more for their services and gives them a certain ‘cache’ as standing out as the most respected in their profession. Needless to say, the stakes to attain the rank of Senior Counsel are high. Every… Read more »

Parcel Bomber Faces Parramatta Local Court

Parramatta Local Court

A handsome British TV host, a sexy Penthouse pet, her body-builder boyfriend, a mystery package containing a bomb and a faked death are at the centre of this 18-year old murder mystery that came before Parramatta Local Court over the weekend. Roberto de Heredia, a former Foxtel Shopping Network presenter, has been extradited back to… Read more »