NSW Courts Articles

Young Man Acquitted of Murder, After Key Witness Exposed as a Police Informant

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim In the early hours of 21 April 2008, a series of altercations between two groups of young men and youths in the vicinity of Granville railway station took place. One group, described as being of “Islander appearance”, included Edward Spowart and Firoz Mohammed, while the other, said to be… Read more »

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Prosecution Must Prove Date of Alleged Criminal Offence

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim In February 2019, a then 15-year-old girl began karate classes taught by NSW instructor Mark Passmore for “about three weeks” commencing on the 4th of that month. The teen complained to NSW police on the 19th, that the then 66-year-old man had made an indecent comment to her. During… Read more »

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Rights Commission on How an Australian Human Rights Act Should Operate

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Australia is the only liberal democracy that doesn’t have a national act or charter enshrining and protecting basic human rights in domestic law, which means that while our government has agreed to uphold such rights at the international level, it has made no such commitment to its citizens. The… Read more »

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What is a Conspiracy in New South Wales Criminal Law?

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Emmanuel Rubasha and Obed Guise were in Bankstown on the evening of 20 November 2019, waiting for Jesse Curuenavuli to pick them up in his mother’s car. Travelling with Curuenavuli were two others, Brooke Mohi and Albert Nitiva. The trio travelling in the car collided with another in Bankstown,… Read more »

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Police Cannot Enter Private Land Without a Warrant If Prohibited by a Trespass Sign

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Along with senior constable Rankin, then NSW police acting sergeant Fahey attended a NSW Northern Rivers region property at Warrazambil Creek on 24 August 2021, in relation to an email detective inspector Greenwood received suggesting a potential illegal gathering may take place. The legality of the gathering or possible… Read more »

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Courts Must Not Consider General Deterrence When Sentencing Mentally Ill Defendants

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim NSW police executed a search warrant on 15 April 2020, at a house in Yagoona, where Quoc Toan Chu lived with his parents. When officers arrived at the premises, Chu indicated which room was his. And when asked if that was where the drugs were hidden, he replied, “Just… Read more »

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What Are the New Sexual Consent Laws in New South Wales?

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim In response to a broad debate about sexual violence towards women both globally and across the country, as well as a local focus around the 2013 alleged Lazarus sexual assault case in Kings Cross, new sexual consent laws took effect in NSW on 1 June last year. Passed in November the… Read more »

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Fresh Evidence Can Be Tendered on Appeal in Rare and Exceptional Cases

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim In early 2018, Sydney man James Barnes spotted a woman walking alone through Sydney University at around 8 pm. After having finished work for the day, she was making her way towards Parramatta Road in order to catch a bus to Ashfield, where she lived. Barnes followed her, catching… Read more »

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Personality Disorders Should Be Considered a Mitigating Factor in Sentencing

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim NSW police were again called to attend the home of Sandra Wornes on 28 July 2019, as the 46-year-old woman had once more physically assaulted her long-term partner Mr Robson. Wornes, who suffers from a personality disorder, had grabbed the 47-year-old man by the neck and punched him. Despite… Read more »

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