Do Courts Have to Use Preferred Pronouns for Transgender Defendants in Criminal Cases?
Earlier this month, children’s book author JK Rowling tweeted the following in regard to a new practice note that applies to South Australian courts regarding preferred pronouns: Asking a woman to refer to her male rapist or violent assaulter as...
What is a Criminal Justice Visa in Australia?
A criminal justice visa allows a person who is not an Australian citizen or a valid visa holder and is accused of a crime or otherwise required for the criminal justice process to remain or arrive in the country while...
Supreme Court Bail Applications in New South Wales
A Supreme Court bail application will normally be made after bail has been refused by a police offer after the arrest and charge process, and thereafter by a magistrate in the Local Court, or layer by a judge in the...
Is Being of ‘Good Behaviour’ an Implied Condition of Bail in NSW?
Good behaviour bonds ordered by courts for those who plead guilty to, or are found guilty of, criminal offences in New South Wales will always require that the defendant be of “good behaviour”; in other words, not commit further crimes...
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...
In What Circumstances Can a Judge Direct a Jury to Acquit the Defendant?
A judge who was presiding over the jury trial of a Victorian police officer this week has taken the decision regarding guilt or innocence away from the jurors, directing them to return an acquittal on all assault charges and thereby...
Suspicious Amendment of Criminal Law Judgement Results In Successful Appeal
A recent decision by the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal has raised eyebrows over the finding that official court records relating to a sentencing hearing were amended well after the case had been finalised to suggest the presiding...
What Will a Court Consider When Determining Bail in NSW?
The man accused of causing the deaths of several passengers after the bus he was driving overturned in the Hunter Valley last Sunday night has been granted strict conditional bail. 58-year old Brett Button from Maitland in the Hunter Region...
Footage Released of NSW Police Using Excessive Force Against Elderly Woman
While the outrage that New South Wales police tasered a 95-year old dementia patient in a Cooma nursing home last week continues to simmer, another disturbing story has emerged. Footage has now surfaced of of six police officers using two...
Dodgy DNA Testing Casts Doubt on Thousands of Criminal Convictions
A scathing report handed down by a six-moth Queensland Commission of Inquiry into the state’s DNA testing methods, systems and processes has put thousands of convictions at risk of being overturned on appeal. Convicted murderer Andrew Cobby is the first who...
