Judge and Accused Murderer Exchange Insults
It started as a routine hearing, but ended with the defendant facing contempt of court charges, and the judge also facing possible disciplinary action over a heated exchange that included profanities and vulgar insults. Denver Fenton Allen, accused beating a...
Mental Health Issues in the NSW Police Force
For a former NSW police officer who wants to be identified only as ‘Greg’, investigating the death of a murdered indigenous woman whose naked body was dumped in a remote ditch was the start of a rapid decline in mental...
Female Inmate Attends Court Without Pants
Corrective services in the US have come under fire for sending a female inmate to court with no pants and failing to provide her with sanitary products. Judge Amber Wolf was presiding over a District Court in Louisville in the...
The Norfolk Four: A Miscarriage of Justice
By Blake O’Connor Most would agree that the wrongful imprisonment of a person constitutes a serious failure in the administration of justice. However, the fact that upwards of 300 people have been exonerated in the United States through the ‘Innocence...
Judge Repeatedly Calls Lawyer “Stupid” and “Incompetent”
Transcripts from a Victorian courtroom detailing a heated exchange between a lawyer and judge have been at the centre of an appeal by Michael Cook, who appealed his armed robbery conviction due to the behaviour of the judge. Mr Cook...
Shoplifting: Easier to Commit and Justify than Ever Before
Criminologists are concerned that self-service checkouts are gradually normalising the act of shoplifting. Easier to Steal Professor Larry Neale from Queensland University of Technology’s business school believes the absence of humans at every checkout makes the act of stealing easier...
‘Hey Dad Wall’ Built to Protect Robert Hughes from Faeces and Urine Attacks
67-year-old former ‘Hey Dad’ star, Robert Hughes, was convicted in Downing Centre District Court of child sex offences in May 2014. He was sentenced to a full term of 10 years and 6 months in prison, with a ‘non parole...
NSW Government May Ease Lockout Laws
Key figures in the NSW government have withdrawn support for the current regime of lockout laws, including Deputy Premier Tony Grant who believes the laws are doing more harm than good; with the closure of hundreds of businesses in the...
Netherlands Closes Prisons due to Shortage of Criminals
The Netherlands will close several of its prisons in coming years due to a steady decline in crime rates. Why are prisons empty? The Netherlands places a heavy emphasis on diversion, reintegration and rehabilitation programs, which have proven to be...
Sleeping Man Cleared of Rape Charges
The Central Appeals Court in Sweden has overturned the conviction of a man found guilty of sexual assault, finding that the prosecution had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt he was awake when he had intercourse with a teenaged...
