By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim The Australian criminal justice system has its foundations in the British courts, which have long held the presumption of innocence as one of their most basic tenets. Indeed, the principle that a person is innocent until proven guilty is said to go back as far as the book of… Read more »
NSW Courts Articles
The Rules of The Children’s Court in NSW
Police have charged a 14-year old girl with murder after alleged killing in Northern New South Wales. The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, did not apply for bail and will remain in custody until at least September when her case will be held in the Tamworth Children’s Court. The teenager was charged… Read more »
New Rules for Mental Health Orders in NSW
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim NSW parliament has just passed a bill that overhauls the way the court system deals defendants found to have a mental health or a cognitive impairment and subsequently have their charges dropped, along with an order imposed that requires them to undergo treatment. The Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment… Read more »
How Is a ‘Form 1’ Used During a Sentencing Hearing in New South Wales?
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Stuart McKinnon was arrested on 2 May 2018. The NSW resident was taken into police custody in relation to two instances of drug supply that occurred in March 2017. These involved his having organised the handover of drugs via a third party and receiving the accompanying payment himself. McKinnon… Read more »
Are Non-Lawyers Allowed to Give Legal Advice?
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim In December 2012, the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia charged two men with engaging in legal practice despite being unqualified to do so. The pair of non-lawyers had provided legal advice to a husband divorcing his wife and charged $5,000 for the service. The non-lawyers engaged in the… Read more »
Guilty Plea Overturned Due to Criminal Defence Lawyer’s “Seriously Flawed” Advice
Daniel Foran was working as security at Pyrmont’s Harlequin Hotel in the early hours of 21 June last year, when he was required to remove a patron from the establishment. After the inebriated man swung at him several times, Foran punched him, causing the customer to fall to the ground. Following the removal of the… Read more »
Facebook Administrators Are Liable for Defamatory Comments Posted By Users
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Former Don Dale Youth Detention Centre detainee Dylan Voller was successful in a case brought against three of Australia’s largest media organisations last year. The First Nations man claimed the companies, as publishers, were liable for comments third parties posted on their Facebook pages. Voller’s mistreatment and brutalisation at… Read more »
Unjust Outcomes: Extended Supervision Orders in New South Wales
NSW Supreme Court Justice Peter Hamill recently had to decide on whether an extended supervision order (ESO) should be revoked. The five year long order had been imposed upon Darryl Carr in 2009, but due to the way the supervision regime operates, it was still in force eleven years later. His Honour noted Mr Carr… Read more »
Coroner Recommends the Criminalisation of Catfishing
Goulburn prison inmate Brayden Spiteri finally texted his on-again, off-again girlfriend Renae Marsden on 5 August 2013, after a month of not responding. Spiteri had cut off communications as he had a court appearance coming up that might see him released and united with Marsden. The pair, who had never actually met face-to-face, became acquainted… Read more »
From the NSW Supreme Court Vault: Detective Not Guilty of Slandering Marriage Matchmaker
In early-1890s Sydney, Pasquale Besomo ran a matrimonial bureau, which was a service that matched up people who wanted to get married. The Redfern local also ran a related newspaper called Matrimony. An older German man by the name of Talegrin entered into negotiations with Besomo with the hope of meeting a woman who might… Read more »