‘They give God a bad name,’ says victim
More than 1,800 Catholic Church figures and 4,444 allegations of abuse. Horrific numbers, which a senior Catholic Church figure has described as ‘shocking’ and ‘indefensible’ at the 50th public hearing of the Royal Commission - the 16th hearing dealing with...
Woman Stabs Boyfriend for Refusing Threesome
A man in the US has allegedly been stabbed in the arm and abdomen after refusing to participate in a ‘threesome’ with his girlfriend and another woman. The defendant, forty-two year old Teresa Gillard, met a woman at a local...
NSW Chief Justice Calls for Greater Public Communication
We previously reported on a speech delivered by the Chief Justice of NSW, Tom Bathurst, where he criticised the hundreds of new laws which impinge upon legal safeguards in Australia, calling upon lawyers to take a pro-active role in bringing...
History Repeats: The Parallels Between Trump and Hitler
Original publication date: 2 February 2017 In a 2010 interview, renowned political analyst and activist Noam Chomsky likened the political climate of the United States to that of the late Weimar Republic in Germany, right before Adolf Hitler became chancellor...
NSW Chief Magistrate Blasts Defence Lawyers
Police in NSW enjoy the power to ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ - which means they can charge a person with a criminal offence on a mere ‘reasonable suspicion’, and try to gather evidence later. By contrast, police in...
Renewed Calls to Protect Whistleblowers
Senator Nick Xenophon wants to get rid of laws that make it a criminal offence for public sector employees to leak information that is embarrassing to the government. The laws Section 70 of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) (‘the Act’)...
Bail Granted Despite Sexual Assault Convictions
A judge in Downing Centre District Court has granted bail to a Sydney masseur after a jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting a female client. Anthony Theodosiou pleaded not guilty to five counts of indecent assault and three of...
World Leaders Remove Women’s Rights
Social media went into overdrive this week when a photo of newly-appointed US President Donald Trump signed anti-abortion legislation at his desk, surrounded by a group of male staff. Many believe the stroke of Trump’s pen will result in higher...
RIP Presumption of Innocence: Juries May Be Informed of Past Convictions
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse released model legislation on November 25 last year to amend the Evidence Act. The draft bill aims to allow for the broader admissibility of tendency and coincidence evidence. The proposed amendments would mean...
Government to Deport Alleged Apex Gang Members
According to Victoria police, a good way to deal with the state’s crime problem is to deport young adult gang members. A parliamentary body is also considering whether those under the age of 18 can also be turfed out of...