The Criminal Offence of Breaking and Entering in New South Wales
A man is accused of breaking into a property in rural New South Wales and stealing farm equipment. According to police, the 38-year old entered the property near Muswellbrook – a town in the Upper Hunter Region of New South...
Australia’s Callous Deportation System Must End, as Danger Awaits Yet Another Deportee
Then immigration minister Scott Morrison oversaw the passing of legislation in late 2014, which strengthened the character test in section 501 of the Migration Act (Cth) 1958, so that residents of Australia have since been deported en masse, after being sentenced to...
Sexual Offences Against Young Persons Under ‘Special Care’ in New South Wales
The story of Chris Dawson, a high school teacher who married one of his former student’s after his wife Lynette’s disappearance in 1982 is a case that has gripped the nation. And justice for Lynette’s family has been a long...
Thin-Skinned, Heavy-Handed Policing: A Worldwide Trend
Seven police officers rushed the home of a 16-year old autistic girl on Monday 7 August 2023 and performed a heavy-handed arrest on the teen for making an “offensive homophobic comment” towards one of the officers, before dragging the girl...
Sydney Criminal Lawyers® Weekly Rundown – Articles from 7 to 13 August 2023
In case you’ve missed any of them, here’s a rundown of the past week’s articles: What is the Early Appropriate Guilty Plea (EAGP) Scheme in New South Wales? The scheme prescribes steps in certain serious cases and percentages of guilty...
What Happens If a Domestic Violence Complainant Fails to Attend Court?
Criminal defence lawyers are often asked what will happen if the complainant - also known as the alleged victim - in a case involving accusations of domestic violence fails to attend the Local Court on the ‘hearing date’, which is...
Can Sending Excessive Text Messages Amount to a Criminal Offence?
Criminal defence lawyers are often called upon to represent clients in cases where there is animosity between two parties but no accusation of violence, deprivation of liberty or appropriation of property - but where the conduct which forms the basis...
Black Deaths in Custody Continue Decades After the Royal Commission
Two Indigenous men died in custody this week - one in New South Wales and the other in Western Australia, highlighting yet again the systemic racism and human rights abuses in prisons. In New South Wales, Wiradjuri man TJ Dennis...
The UN Human Rights Committee Finds Australia Violated Indigenous Peoples’ Land Rights
Weeks out from Australia holding a referendum on the Voice, an Indigenous advisory body to government, the UN Human Rights Committee (CCPR) has determined that our legal system has run roughshod over First Nations rights in a decision that happened to...
Shoebridge’s National Legalise Cannabis Bill Covers All Grassroots Wants and Concerns
After Australia legalised medicinal cannabis nationwide in October 2016, people who use the plant recreationally have been hesitant of political initiatives to legalise it, even though the lawful use of the fairly innocuous herb is the outcome they desire. And that’s with...
