Should juries be told about past convictions?
When a person is on trial, the jury is not normally told about their criminal history, if they have one. Similarly, if there is no jury, the judge or magistrate is not permitted to take into account any prior offending...
Prison Inmates vs Harvard Debating Team: Who Wins?
You might doubt that a team made up of prison inmates could beat a Harvard University debating team - after all, Harvard is one of the most fiercely competitive and prestigious universities in the world, with a championship winning team....
Jurors Forced into a Guilty Verdict
In most situations, juries are required to reach a unanimous verdict - which means that every juror must either find the defendant guilty or not guilty. The exception to this rule in NSW is ‘majority verdicts’, which allow verdicts of...
Manjeri School Project: Helping Kids to Get an Education
Millions of children worldwide will never attend school, and a study by UNESCO found last year that one in four young people in developing countries are not able to read a sentence. But even children who are fortunate enough to...
Police Officer Charged With Murder
We invest billions of dollars every year into police forces nationwide. We give officers immense power, lethal weaponry and entrust them to uphold the law. But one Melbourne police officer is alleged to have betrayed that trust by taking the...
Four Arrested for Radicalising Teenage Shooter
Four men have been arrested in raids across Western Sydney after the fatal shooting of a police employee in Parramatta last week. More than 200 police officers raided properties in Wentworthville, Merrylands, Guilford and Marsfield early in the morning, arresting...
Top 10 Offences For Which People Go to Prison
When you think of prison inmates, you might conjure up images of ‘hardened criminals’ locked away for violent and abhorrent crimes, like murder and paedophilia; but the fact is that many are in prison for non-violent offences. Rising Prison Population...
Margaret Cunneen: Barristers Are Not an ‘Old Boys’ Club’
Top criminal law barrister Margaret Cunneen SC is used to having the finger pointed at her. Last year, she found herself the subject of an ICAC inquiry after she allegedly advised her son’s partner, Sophia Tilley, how to influence a...
When Can Police Impound Cars?
Police can seize property for a variety of reasons, including when they suspect it is the proceeds of crime, or for use as evidence in a case – but the main way that cars are impounded in NSW is under...
Sleeping Killers: What Does the Law Say?
The criminal law is called upon to deal with all kinds of bizarre and unlikely scenarios, including situations where people kill while asleep. Although it may sound like a horror movie plot, homicidal sleepwalkers have been well-documented for centuries –...
