Can Police ‘Estimates of Speed’ Stand Up in Court?
We recently posted a blog about a truck driver who received a speeding ticket based upon a police officer’s ‘estimate of speed’. The officer in question declared himself to be an ‘expert’ at estimating speed. Many people could not believe...
Online Love Predators Raking in Millions
No doubt plenty of people were sent flowers and cards on Valentine’s Day earlier this month, but others may have received a less romantic surprise in the mail. Catfish fraud is the term used when a person assumes a fake...
Do You Support Cancelling Visas of Migrants Suspected of Crimes?
Since changes to the Migration Act in December 2014, a total of 203 people have already had their visas revoked. This compares to only 374 cancellations in three years from July 2011 to July 2014. The amendments to the Act...
Can I Have My Fingerprint and Photograph Records Destroyed?
If you are arrested or charged on suspicion of having committed a crime, the police will take certain details, sometimes known as criminal particulars, so they can verify your identity. These are usually in the form of fingerprints and photographs....
Should Terrorism Suspects Get the ‘Benefit of the Doubt’?
In the wake of the first report into the Lindt café siege, Prime Minister Tony Abbott made an anticipated speech on Monday about law reform measures that the nation will adopt in its fight against terrorism. On the same day,...
Save Izzy! A Family’s Quest to Save Their Dog’s Life
Legal history has been made in Victoria after a family was given permission to appeal their pet pet dog’s death sentence to the High Court of Australia. The Staffordshire terrier, named Izzy, escaped from the family home and bit a...
Illegal Downloaders Could be Bullied into Paying Settlements
People who illegally downloaded the movie “Dallas Buyers Club” could face legal action if a bid to obtain the identification details of 4,762 people who downloaded the movie is successful. The owners of the movie have been embroiled in a...
When Can Illegally Obtained Evidence Be Excluded?
Evidence that is being used in a criminal case needs to comply with a range of rules, and there are certainly limits on what can and can’t be used as evidence in a courtroom. The admissibility of evidence in NSW...
Should Police be Allowed to ‘Estimate’ Speed?
Revenue from speeding fines helps to fill state government coffers year-after-year. In the last financial year alone, NSW motorists paid $150 million in speeding fines. Many of those tickets were for going slightly over the speed limit in areas not...
Do I have to turn up to court if I’m pleading guilty?
Several people have recently informed our firm that they took the advice of police and filled out the back of their little yellow ‘court attendance notice’ (CAN), indicated a plea of guilty, then sent it to court only to later...
