Can I plead guilty if I am innocent?
Unlike in the United States, defendants in criminal cases do not have the right to a court appointed lawyer in Australia. This means people who cannot afford to pay for a private lawyer but are not eligible for legal aid...
Police Against Drug Prohibition: An Interview with LEAP’s Greg Denham
In 2001, the Uniting Medically Supervised Injecting Centre (MSIC) was established in Sydney’s Kings Cross, in response to a spate of heroin overdoses. Ten years on, studies found that the facility had been a resounding success. Ambulance call-outs were down by 80...
One-Punch Attack Leaves Young Man in Coma
Three teenagers on the Gold Coast have been charged over an alleged one-punch assault in Surfers Paradise that has left a 21-year old man fighting for his life. The alleged victim, Thomas Dover, was walking on Ferny Avenue in Surfers...
Lawyer Guilty of Sexual Assault
A 35-year old lawyer from London is facing prison time after his drunken behaviour got out of control at a Christmas Party at the prestigious London Rowing Club, leading to convictions for ‘racially-aggravated assault’ and ‘sexual assault’. Festive celebrations went...
Government Proposes to Give Lawyers Access to Metadata
The Turnbull government is currently considering whether to allow civil litigation lawyers access to its controversial mandatory data retention regime. This means that lawyers working on civil cases would be able to access information regarding an individual’s internet and phone...
Hyde Park Rapist Loses “Incoherent” Appeal
Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim A man convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting a teenager in Hyde Park in Sydney has lost his appeal case. Joseph Stephen Rosenburg argued that the 18-year-old girl had lured him into the park in an elaborate...
NYE Bashing of Two Asylum Seekers on Manus Island
Two Iranian asylum seekers were beaten by up to 10 Papua New Guinea (PNG) police and immigration officers on New Year’s Eve. The pair were then taken to the Lorengau police station on Manus Island, where they were held in custody...
Murder for Hire in Australia
2016 was a big year for media coverage of contract killings. The year started with the murder of Joseph Acquaro, the criminal defence lawyer for Melbourne crime boss Rocco Arico. More recently, crime figure Pasquale Barbaro lost his life in...
Are E-Cigarettes Legal?
Electronic cigarettes or ‘vapes’ are becoming a popular alternative to smoking, but there’s some confusion about whether they are actually legal and if so, whether they are subject to anti-smoking laws. The answer is not simple - lawmakers around the...
Objection! That’s Hearsay.
We’ve all heard rumours which don’t seem to originate from the person who actually observed the subject event. And while we all have a general understanding of what hearsay means - information received from others which cannot be substantiated- the...
