Jurors Prosecuted for Googling Defendants
Juries don’t always follow the rules. In fact, jury nullification – where a jury goes against the evidence and acquits a defendant – has been a contentious issue among legal scholars for centuries. There are certain laws of evidence which apply...
‘N-Bomb’ Linked to Deaths of Young Australians
On June 8, the body of Rye Hunt was found washed up on a beach in Marcia, just outside Rio. Tasmanian-born and bred, Rye was backpacking overseas with a mate. They’d been travelling for seven weeks and were amiable travelling...
It Was Him! Problems with Identification Evidence
Identification evidence can be powerful inside the courtroom, but many studies have found that eyewitnesses often have a genuine, yet mistaken, belief that they have identified the person responsible for a crime – their “recollection” being affected external factors. In...
Guilty Obeid Faces Prison
Former NSW politician Eddie Obeid famously declared there was a “one per cent” chance of criminal charges being brought against him after adverse findings by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). Now, Mr Obeid faces a lengthy prison sentence after...
Social Justice Advocate: An Exclusive Interview with Renee Eaves
Renee Eaves was four months pregnant when Constable Barry John Donnelly entered her home and arrested her on driving offences. The night that followed was hell: police at the Roma Street Watchhouse denied her medication or a bucket to vomit in,...
Drug Testing of Police Officers: Police Policing Themselves
South Australian police officers will soon face the possibility of being drug and alcohol tested after ‘critical incidents’, such as when they use firearms or engage in high-speed pursuits. But there’s a catch: their police colleagues will need to suspect...
Men Charged A Second Time Over the Death of Lynette Daley
On the day after Australia Day in 2011, Paramedics were called to a remote area of Ten Mile Beach in Northern New South Wales. On the sand, a woman lay dead. Two men were with her when she died. For...
Skewed Priorities: NSW Government Spends Big on Prisons
The NSW government has vowed to install almost 3,000 new prison beds to meet the state’s growing prison population; which has increased by 12% in the past year alone to reach an all-time high of nearly 12,000. Premier Mike Baird...
High-Flyer Sent to Prison for Insider Trading
30-year-old Oliver Curtis handed his wife his wedding ring and a $50 note, then gave her a hug before being taken into custody. He has been sentenced by the NSW Supreme Court to two years in prison, with a minimum...
The Devastating Impact of Criminal Prosecutions
By Blake O’Connor and Ugur Nedim 37-year-old Ian Jeffrey Wells, a volunteer firefighter with the Rural Fire Service, says he is again being dragged before the courts after being acquitted in relation to a fatal crash in 2012. The case...
