The Criminal Offence of Treason: Definition, Evolution and Political Application
Treason has for hundreds of years been considered one of the most serious offences that a person can commit. Whilst the criminal offence of treason dates at least as far back as Roman times, the vagaries and inconsistencies in what...
Crimes That Cross State Borders: Where Will You Be Charged?
A person stands on one side of the New South Wales / Victoria border and discharges a firearm that fatally wounds a person on the other side. Will the shooter be charged by New South Wales or Victoria Police? Which...
NSW Police Officers Charged with Perverting the Course of Justice
Two New South Wales police officers have been charged with perverting the course of justice and will appear in the Mt Druitt Local Court on 21 June 2023. The officers - a man and a woman both aged in their...
Is Sending an Unsolicited ‘Dick Pic’ a Crime in New South Wales?
Being a woman on the internet can be an unpleasant experience, particularly when pervy, socially incompetent men slide into your DMs. An unfortunate experience for many women is receiving unsolicited and unexpected pictures of male genitalia. But does this common...
The Offence of Perverting the Course of Justice: History and Current Laws
Engaging in conduct which actually results in, or is intended to result in, justice not being achieved has always been treated seriously by the criminal justice system - historically attracting sentences as serious as death. In New South Wales, the...
Students from Prestigious Sydney School Suspected of Animal Cruelty
Students at the prestigious Kings School in Sydney are being investigated by police over allegations they tortured and killed a goanna during a school camp at the end of last term. The school has admitted that students killed the native...
The Shameful History Of Calling LGBT People “Groomers”
A recent trend in conservative politics, particularly online, involves accusing LGBT people of “grooming” children - either into a particular sexual identity or to facilitate abuse. A strange focal point for this politics has been drag queens, female impersonators (often...
The Offence of Possessing, Producing or Disseminating Bestiality or Animal Crush Material in NSW
A “crush fetish” is a paraphyllia in which sexual arousal is associated with observing objects being crushed or being crushed oneself. A disturbing sub-variant of this fetish, known as “animal crush” involves sexual gratification derived from seeing the injurious or...
Can Consensual Choking for Sexual Pleasure Amount to a Criminal Offence in NSW?
Sexual choking is an increasingly common “kink” involving the squeezing of a partner’s neck during sexual activity. This activity carries the risk of harming or even causing the death of the person upon whom the force is applied, especially if...
It’s Time to Reform Vaping Laws Through a “Harm Reduction Lens”
Right now, in NSW, an adult can buy some cigarettes at a shop and puff away to their ailing heart’s content. But if they’d prefer legal nicotine vaping liquid, a much healthier alternative, they need to obtain a doctor’s prescription....
