By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim The decade-long debate in NSW around foetal personhood laws continues as NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and attorney general Mark Speakman have released exposure draft legislation seeking to establish a circumstance of aggravation for criminal offences perpetrated against pregnant women. Released on 10 November, the draft Crimes Legislation (Offences Against… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Alleged leader of a southwest Sydney dial-a-cocaine ring Sarah Rutherford was released on bail on 13 May this year, after being remanded in prison for close to three months, following a late February raid on her Greenacre home, which turned up the illicit substance and drug paraphernalia. The 30-year-old… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Personal visits for inmates in NSW correctional facilities have been suspended since 16 March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And while this suspension is preventing the spread of the virus, it’s also taking an emotional toll on those inside. These circumstances have also cut off a vital route… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim David Shoebridge is quite fond of the NSW GIPA laws, which are also known as freedom of information (FOI). These laws have allowed the NSW Greens MLC to access and highlight information around gun ownership, consorting laws and police plans to bust up the 2014 Bentley Blockade. The heavy… Read more »
By Sonia Hickey and Ugur Nedim The New South Wales Court of Appeal (NSWCA) has made what’s being labelled as a landmark decision for pet owners in apartment buildings and other strata managed premises. Angus’ owner, soul singer Jo Cooper, has endured a five year legal battle with the strata corporation of a prestige Darlinghurst… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Coercive control is a form of domestic abuse perpetrated by one partner against another. It can involve a range of tactics – intimidation, isolation, humiliation – which work to “dominate and control” the partner, explains the coalition behind the Criminalise Coercive Control campaign. “It is a strong precursor to… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim NSW Police Strike Force Smede raided a Rhodes riverside apartment on 27 September 2020, uncovering a clandestine drug laboratory in the unit’s garage, while a subsequent raid on a vault on Castlereagh Street in Sydney’s CBD turned up illegal drugs related to the large-scale operation. Along with the lab… Read more »
A Sydney-based criminal defence lawyer charged with aggravated sexual assault is seeking to have his name suppressed, along with the name of the firm where he works. The lawyer is trying to save his reputation, and that of his employer, by preventing the publication of what police allege is a “salacious” and cocaine-riddled culture within… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim It’s hard know what the warmer months of 2020/21 have in store for the citizens of NSW. As last summer expired, large tracts of the country had burnt to the ground, and Sydneysiders had begun wearing facemasks to guard against the smoke hanging in the atmosphere. Then just days… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Former sole principal at Lane Cove legal practice Leslie Hargrave Lawyers, James Leslie recently had his name struck off the roll of solicitors kept by the NSW Supreme Court, as it was found he’d mishandled trust money in numerous ways, which constituted professional misconduct. In late 2016, Leslie was… Read more »
