How to Become a Barrister in NSW
For many aspiring and admitted lawyers, the idea of wearing the wig and gown which signifies barristers at the bar when entering a higher courtroom can be enticing. Many NSW lawyers enter the Bar after practising as a solicitor for...
Government to Give Itself Greater Power to Seize the Assets of Citizens
A Senate committee has just given the Turnbull government the green light to nationalise a scheme that allows government to seize citizens’ assets unless their legitimate origins can be explained, even if the owner of the wealth hasn’t been charged...
Supreme Court Dismisses Gordon Wood’s Malicious Prosecution Claim
Gordon Wood has failed in his bid to sue for malicious prosecution after he was acquitted of murdering his girlfriend Caroline Byrne. A prosecution without merit Mr Wood was found guilty in 2008 of throwing Ms Byrne off a cliff...
Law Society Opposes Changes to Sexual Assault Consent Laws
The NSW state government commissioned a review of the laws relating to consent in sexual assault cases in May 2018, following the acquittal of a man accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year old woman in an alleyway behind his father’s...
Sydney Man Faces Prison over 3D Printed Replica Firearms
A Sydney man who pleaded guilty to manufacturing replica guns with a 3D printer is facing a lengthy prison sentence. Mr Sicen Sun was arrested last year after advertising one of his replica firearms on a Facebook community ‘Buy, Swap...
Changes to NSW Sentencing Options: Community Correction Orders
The NSW Parliament assented to the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Sentencing Options) Act 2017 (the Act) on 24 October 2017, which amends the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (the Sentencing Act) as it relates to the penalty options available to magistrates and...
Aboriginal Justice: An Interview With Inside Out’s Keenan Mundine
Aboriginal Justice campaigner Keenan Mundine recently addressed the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva. He called on the leading human rights body to demand that the Turnbull government raises the age of criminal responsibility in this country. Currently, Australian...
New ‘Foreign Interference’ Laws Are Aimed at Stifling Dissent
Donald Trump has insisted throughout his presidency that there was “no collusion” between his election campaign and the Russian government. Just hours before his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, was set to go on trial for tax and bank fraud...
Israel “Constitutionally” Enshrines Its Apartheid System
On 19 July, the Knesset – the Israeli parliament – passed the Nation-State Law, which officially relegates Palestinians in Israel to the rank of second-class citizens. This has effectively enshrined Israel’s decades-old system of apartheid in the nation’s Basic Laws: its...
Citizens’ Group to Fight Police Corruption
Many believe the culture of misconduct in the Queensland Police Force (QPS) is worse than ever before, even poorer than prior to the state’s 1987 Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption. Despite recommendations for better accountability mechanisms, police in Queensland -...
