What Happens if you Breach your Bail Conditions in NSW?
Bail is a promise to appear before the court to answer your criminal charge, and comply with any conditions imposed at the time of a grant of bail. It means you will be released from custody pending your next court date....
The Law on Assaulting Police
It’s a common scenario, known in the legal profession as ‘the trifecta of charges’: An individual is using offensive language in a public place. They are confronted by police who act in an overbearing and aggressive manner. The situation escalates...
Murder Confession Inadmissible Due to Threats
In March 2014, Gary Clifford Blackman was living on his semi-rural property named Tomewin, near the NSW Northern Rivers town of Murwillumbah. Mr Blackman suffered cognitive impairment due to chronic alcoholism, and by most accounts, was a passive and agreeable...
Government Places Religion Ahead of Child Protection
Leaders of victims’ and child protection groups have echoed accusations by Greens MP David Shoebridge that the Berejiklian government is being dictated “by the religious right,” after it neglected to adopt recommendations by the Child Abuse Royal Commission to remove...
#EnoughIsEnough: Stop Police Brutality in Australia
Videos of Australian police officers committing horrendous acts of brutality are being uploaded to social media at an alarming rate, renewing calls for offending officers to be made accountable for their crimes. The head of a community legal services organisation...
Lawyers Pay Tribute to Legendary Australian Barrister
The legal profession across Australia’s is mourning the death of its longest serving barrister, Brian Bourke AC who passed away aged 88 after a short illness. Tributes have been flowing on social media for the man known for many things,...
The Rise of Redfern’s Black Power Movement: An Interview with Professor Gary Foley
On January 25 1972, then Australian prime minister Billy McMahon stated that his government refused to grant Aboriginal land rights. The conservative politician made the announcement in response to the growing lands rights movement of the time. The fact that McMahon...
Watchdog Will Refer Finding of Serious Police Misconduct to Parliament
An independent commission has been shown footage of several Byron Bay police officers pinning down a naked, 16-year old boy and repeatedly hitting him with a baton. The Chief Commissioner of the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) said one of...
The Fallacy of ‘You Have Nothing to Fear if You Have Nothing to Hide’
Privacy is something valued by all of us, at least to some degree. Arriving home at the end of the day, it’s important to know that what goes on behind closed doors is not being monitored by authorities or some...
Successful Drug Regulation: An Interview with Dr Julian Buchanan
The call for drug law reform is getting stronger, both globally and domestically. There is a growing acknowledgement amongst communities and former holders of positions of authority that the century-old drug prohibition model has failed. The 2011 Global Commission on Drug...
