Fancy owning an historic country courthouse? If so, your dream could soon become a reality, with NSW Attorney-General Gabrielle Upton hinting that some of the state’s aging courthouses might soon be auctioned off. According to Ms Upton, around 20% criminal cases in NSW are listed at the Downing Centre and Parramatta Courts, which are struggling… Read more »
A Coronial Inquest into the tragic death of 83-year-old Noreen Peacock has reached a conclusion, with Magistrate Sharon Freund delivering her findings. Ms Freund’s report details the “extraordinarily sad case” of an elderly woman who died after battling dementia, and the impact of the situation on her daughter, Melissa, who was her sole carer. Background… Read more »
The Family Drug Treatment Court of Victoria (the FDTC) was established in May 2014 by Magistrate Greg Levine, who had spent years heading the Children’s Court of Victoria – as well as countless hours researching similar family drug court initiatives in the USA and UK. Since its inception, the Court has helped parents overcome their… Read more »
The courtroom can be a stressful place, especially for defendants who are facing serious criminal charges. And being on the wrong end of a bad decision can be extremely frustrating and testing. But while simply being upset is not an offence, letting your feelings out by swearing at a magistrate or judge certainly can be…. Read more »
If you planned on killing someone and they ended up dying, but not directly as a result of your actions, are you still guilty of murder? This question was explored in the famous case case of Thabo Meli v The Queen (1954) which took place in ‘Basutoland’, a former British colony in South Africa. The… Read more »
The NSW Criminal Court of Appeal (NSWCCA) recently ruled that the evidence obtained unlawfully by a police officer was admissible in court, because the seriousness of the case and importance of the evidence outweighed the degree of his illegal conduct. The Unlawful Search On the 5th of March 2012, Officer Hembrow entered a property to… Read more »
It’s no secret that courtrooms around the nation are filled to capacity, with lawyers and their clients frustrated by long delays in the justice system. The juvenile system is no exception, with Children’s Courts at Glebe and Parramatta stretched to the limit. But it is hoped that the opening of a new inner-city Children’s Court… Read more »
It would be nice to trust police to carry out their investigations in a fair manner, but what if the methods they use to get the answers they want are fundamentally flawed? A new study by two forensic psychologists has found that – through unfair interviewing methods – police are able to plant false memories… Read more »
Negligent driving is one of the most common major traffic offences in Australia, behind drink driving. Combining the two can lead to horrific consequences. In one tragic case, an intoxicated P-plater caused the death of his best friend and inflicted severe brain damage upon another passenger when he veered off the road and collided with… Read more »
Random breath-testing is something we have come to accept as an inevitable part of driving, but where do police powers end? Many people believe that if police saw you driving, they have the right to give you a breath test anywhere, but this is a myth. Simply being on private property is not enough to… Read more »