NSW Courts Articles

Lawyers Slam Further Tightening of NSW Bail Laws

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim The NSW government rushed through new bail laws last week, with many including criminal lawyers asserting that the amendments are ill-considered and could represent an obstacle to certain defendants being able to undertake important programs and demonstrate rehabilitation in the lead-up to the finalisation of their cases. The laws,… Read more »

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The ABF’s Powers to Search and Seize Electronic Devices, Require Passwords and Copy Data

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Australian Border Force officers performed warrantless searches of 41,410 electronic devices belonging to passengers at international airports from January 2017 through to December 2021. These searches involved smartphones, laptops and other devices, such as removable storage drives. Obtained by IT News via a freedom of information request, these figures provide a… Read more »

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High Court Strikes Down Dutton’s Citizenship Cancellation Terror Powers

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim The High Court determined last week that Abbott-era powers that permit dual citizens to be stripped of their Australian citizenship, if suspected of engaging in terrorism activity overseas, are unconstitutional. The citizenship laws were initially drafted by then immigration minister Peter Dutton in 2015 and subsequently amended by him in… Read more »

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A “Travesty”: Magistrate Finalises Case in Three-Minutes Without Prosecutor or Reasons

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim “Several remarkable things happened in the Dubbo Local Court that day”, said NSW Supreme Court Justice Peter Hamill at the outset of his 1 June final findings in regard to the 11 February 2022 NSW Local Court case R versus Faiva Peckham. His Honour last week described the three-minute-long case presided… Read more »

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NSW Police Given the Power to Search Past Drug Offenders Without a Warrant

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim In mid-May, news hit that western Sydney is in the grips of a gang war, which involves feuding between the Alameddine and Hamzy families, and has resulted in 13 dead gang members. So, the NSW Police Force has launched Taskforce Erebus in response. In its first week, Erebus had reportedly… Read more »

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Dutton’s Loses Defamation Case as Tweet Hadn’t Implied Anything Untrue

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Dedicated refugee rights advocate Shane Bazzi posted a tweet late night on 25 February last year, which stated, “Peter Dutton is a rape apologist”. The tweet also featured a link to a June 2019 Guardian article titled, Peter Dutton Says Women Using Rape and Abortion Claims as Ploy to Get… Read more »

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Totality and Parity are Important Principles When It Comes to Sentencing Co-Offenders

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim At around 3.30 pm on 17 January 2020, Brendan Gilbert Wood and George Layton entered Kelly’s Asian Flower brothel posing as customers.  Whilst alone in the waiting area, the pair donned face coverings, Layton armed himself with an axe and a machete, whilst Wood held a machete. In threatening… Read more »

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NSW Youth Koori Court Keeps First Nations Youth Out of Prison, Reports Finds

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim The latest NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) custody figures, which relate to the 2021 December quarter, reveal that in this state 43 percent of all young people being held in youth detention are First Nations children. This is despite Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids only accounting… Read more »

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NSW Barrister Guilty of Contempt for Refusing to Cease Work When Directed

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim A barrister since 1995, Michael Rollinson received an email from the NSW Bar Association on 2 July 2021 directing him to cease practising as he’d failed to pay the full fees to annually renew his practising certificate. He was told that if he didn’t stop, he’d be in breach… Read more »

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