When Can a Jury Be Discharged in New South Wales?
The trial of a 22 year old Sydney swimming instructor will now be forced to restart, after the jury was discharged by NSW District Court Judge Kara Shead, on the second day of trial. The jury had been assembled this...
How Much Does a Lawyer Earn in Australia?
According to figures released by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) on 14 June 2024, being a lawyer is not among the top earning occupations in Australia; perhaps except for ‘barrister at the bar’, who are professional courtroom lawyers and can...
Black Lives Matter at Long Bay Prison: Justice Action’s Brett Collins on the Prison Crackdown
Just days after Black Lives Matter protests swept the nation, reigniting the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody movement in this country, reports started emerging that a similar demonstration was taking place inside Sydney’s Long Bay Gaol. Indeed, aerial footage shows inmates...
COVID-19 Prison Lockdowns Lead to Riots
Tensions are running high in prison systems across not just Australia but other parts of the world during COVID-19. Without access visits from family and friends, and even lawyers, inmates are becoming frustrated and angry which is leading to a...
Prisoners Lives Are Still at Risk: An Interview With Ex-Inmate Damien Linnane
Victorian Supreme Court Justice Timothy Ginnane ordered on 1 May that the state’s justice department conduct a risk assessment of Port Phillip Prison in relation to COVID-19. The inquiry will include whether adequate cleaning and virus screening measures are taking...
“An Act of Negligence”: An Interview With COVID Prison Watch’s Miranda Gibson
The NSW government passed a suite of emergency laws on 24 March, just as it was about to close parliament for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. And amongst the extraordinary measures that were set in play, were provisions that...
The Law on Observing, Filming and Distributing Intimate Images in NSW
Isolation can be lonely, so it’s only natural that many of us will be reaching out in intimate ways via text and video-calls whilst we are cooped up indoors. But ‘sexting’ in the time of COVID-19 comes with certain risks...
All Local Court Bail Applications to Be Heard in the Downing Centre
The past few weeks have seen drastic changes to the way in which criminal cases are dealt with in the Children’s, Local, District and Supreme Courts. On 2 April 2020, the Chief Magistrate of New South Wales, Judge Graeme Henson,...
Defendant Granted Bail Due to Coronavirus Concerns
As the COVID-19 epidemic unfolds, it’s having a substantial impact on the Australian criminal justice system, from the Local Court all the way up to the High Court of Australia. NSW District Court Chief Judge Derek Price announced on 30...
How Is Coronavirus Relevant to a Bail Application?
Bail is a promise to attend court while you are waiting for a charge to be dealt with by the courts, instead of being held behind bars on remand. For less serious charges the promise may be enough and bail...
