By Kieran Adair and Ugur Nedim People who are sent to court are supposed to be entitled to a fair hearing, regardless of the magistrate or judge’s mood, or their personal opinions or prejudices. But unfortunately, this isn’t always the case in our busy court system. While it is often possible to appeal unfair rulings… Read more »
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 »
The remaining council merger plans of the the NSW government have been thrown into question after the NSW Supreme Court ruled that the process did not accord with procedural fairness. The Ku-ring-gai council has won its appeal against a proposed merger with Hornsby Council, with the court criticising the secrecy of the process. The ruling casts… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Jacob Holland entered the house of a neighbour in Coffs Harbour on November 9 2014. The 21-year-old man had never been to the residence before, nor did he know the family who lived there. He made his way in through a backdoor that had a faulty lock, and was… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Australian attorney-general George Brandis rushed a bill through the House of Representatives on February 16 to amend native title laws. If passed by the Senate, it will reverse the impact that a recent Federal Court ruling will have on past and future Indigenous land use agreements (ILUAs). The Noongar native title… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Late on the night of February 12, 2013, Jason Dewey heard voices coming from several men gathered out the front of his wife’s Cessnock home. The men were making threatening remarks directed towards him. After going out onto the front veranda, Mr Dewey saw a group of ten men,… Read more »
By Zeb Holmes and Ugur Nedim Several years after being acquitted of murdering his girlfriend Caroline Byrne, Gordon Wood has commenced civil proceedings against the State of New South Wales, seeking $17.8 million in damages for malicious prosecution and false imprisonment. The case In a famous miscarriage of justice, Mr Wood spent more than three… Read more »
On February 2 of this year, the Federal Court ruled that the largest native title settlement in Australian history was void. The Noongar native title settlement was worth $1.3 billion dollars. The court’s decision may have widespread implications for both past and future agreements. The settlement between the Western Australian government and the Noongar traditional owners… Read more »
We previously reported on the case of 44-year old Silvia Schreuder who, along with 42-year old Jason Hall, was charged with larceny and fraud offences after stealing 62-year old aged care nurse Kay Shaylor’s handbag as she lay in a critical condition after a car accident. The collision occurred when Mr Shaylor’s vehicle was hit… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Controversial Magistrate Roger Prowse is at it again. As discussed in a previous blog, the Local Court magistrate caused a stir in May 2015, when he accused a police office of contempt and called a halt to proceedings against a man charged with common assault. On that occasion, defendant Tony Rugari… Read more »
