Posts Categorized: NSW Courts

Parity in Sentencing: Youth Sentence Reduced to Reflect Co-Accused’s Successful Appeal

Parity in Sentencing

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim At about 9.50 pm on 16 December 2021, Jordan Campton, Brayden Taylor and Brock Ruwoldt were leaving the Events Cinema at Liverpool’s Westfield Shopping Centre, when they were set upon by a group of six male youths, who cornered and then began harassing them. One of the teen assailants,… Read more »

Politicians Don’t Have the Power to Revoke Australian Citizenship, High Court Rules

Australia Passport

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Algerian national Abdul Benbrika immigrated to Australia in 1989 and became a citizen in 1998, in line with section 15 of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth) (the Act), which involved pledging allegiance to the nation. And he also maintained his Algerian citizenship. Benbrika was found guilty by a Supreme Court… Read more »

The Shepherd Direction: Fundamental Facts Must Be Proved Beyond Reasonable Doubt in Circumstantial Cases

Circumstantial Cases

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim In the mid-1970s, the “Mr Asia” drug syndicate commenced operations. It was a multi-million-dollar criminal network initially importing cannabis and then heroin from Southeast Asia into Australia, New Zealand and the UK, via Singapore distributor Choo Cheng Kui or Chinese Jack. James “Diamond Jim” Shepherd was initially the network’s banker…. Read more »

Police Officer Fails to Have Assault Charges Dismissed on Mental Health Grounds

Downing Centre

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim On 13 September 2022, officers attached to the NSW Police Central Metropolitan Region Enforcement Squad were conducting a surveillance operation in a street in the western Sydney suburb of Prospect, where a stolen Audi Q5 car had been noted as parked and left unattended. Just after 10:30 pm, the… Read more »

Terrorism Offences: Judges Must Properly Consider Mitigating Factors During Sentencing

Sentencing considerations

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim A 15-year-old male came to the attention of the AFP’s NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) in May 2015, as he’d been accessing violent Islamic extremist material online. The AFP’s National Disruption Group (NDG) then got in touch with the teen’s family and suggested his father make a plan… Read more »

Lawyer Twice Found Not to Have Perverted the Course of Justice in Suggesting Illness to Client

Downing Centre

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Sydney criminal defence lawyer Mohammed Zreika was found guilty of the offence of perverting the course of justice, under section 319 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), by Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson at Sutherland Local Court on 19 November 2021.  The offence carries a maximum penalty of 14 years behind bars. The magistrate… Read more »

Drug Driving is an Absolute Liability Offence, District Court Judge Finds

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim A man was driving along Cowpasture Road in southwest Sydney’s Horningsea Park, close to midnight on 12 September 2020, when the manner of his driving caught the attention of some NSW police officers, who promptly directed him to pull his utility over. The officers subjected the driver to a… Read more »