Public Given Access to Police Brutality Hearing
The Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating allegations that a woman was brutalised at the hands of two police officers at Ballarat Police Station. The proceedings are being streamed live into a well-known Ballarat restaurant this week, to enable the...
Judge’s Associate Allegedly Dupes Judge into Providing Reference
Media sources have reported that ‘Sydney lawyer’ James Cowled, 31, is under investigation after allegedly procuring a character reference from recently retired Federal Court Judge Michael Lloyd-James under false pretences, and using it during his sentencing proceedings to avoid a...
New Bill Proposes to Legalise Abortion in NSW
The NSW parliament will soon consider changes to abortion laws which would remove it as an offence under the Crimes Act. Abortion is currently a ‘serious indictable offence’ in NSW, meaning it can be tried in the higher courts. However,...
Lotto Win Sparks Supreme Court War
They say money can’t buy you happiness. That certainly appears to be the case for two Sydney factory workers embroiled in a courtroom battle over a multi-million dollar Lotto win. $40 million is at the heart of a dispute, which...
Lawyers at Schools: Promoting Access to Justice
A school in Victoria is pioneering a trial that’s giving students and families better access to legal services. Vincent Shin is Australia’s first school lawyer, working from the Grange P-12 College in Victoria. He looks just like any other twenty-something,...
Police Officers Misuse Private Information for Personal Gain
Queensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) continues to investigate the unauthorised use of sensitive government databases by the State’s Police Service. Since 1st July 2015, the CCC has completed 15 investigations into unauthorised access to confidential information, resulting in 81...
Plan to Protest? Expect Nerve Damage
Australian Police have been adding Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRADs) to their law enforcement arsenal, a move which has raised concerns amongst health experts, civil rights advocates and those who feel the ability to protest is an important part of...
Legal Aid in Crisis: 45,000 Forced to Represent Themselves in Court
The Law Council of Australia has created a campaign called ‘Legal Aid Matters’, aiming to pressure governments into providing sufficient funding for legal aid services. The Council says: “At least 45,000 Australians have been forced to represent themselves in court,...
Children to Face a Fortnight of Police Questioning
The Baird government, having just passed laws giving police unchallengeable power over the movement of individuals, are now proposing laws which allow police to detain and question young people for up to a fortnight, without charging them with any offence....
Australian Government Shuts Journalists’ Mouths
World Press Freedom Day was celebrated on May 3, marking the 250th anniversary of the world’s first freedom of information law, which came into effect in Sweden and Finland. And just last year, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull stated that the...
