Police Power to Pick Who to Prosecute
We recently wrote a blog about NSW Premier Mike Baird, who was caught doing an illegal U-turn and not wearing a seat belt during a double demerits long weekend. The highway patrol officer who pulled Baird over decided to let...
Hunting Rare Animals: Should Tougher Laws be Enacted?
For 12 years, Cecil the lion lived a free and peaceful life, roaming the grounds of Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park. But on July 1 the beloved lion - considered by many Zimbabweans as a ‘mascot’ and ‘star attraction’ of the...
Rising Prison Numbers: Is Home Detention the Answer?
Over the last few years, Corrective Services personnel have struggled to come up with solutions to deal with the significant jump in prisoner numbers- a problem that is only expected to worsen as time goes on. With cell walls straining,...
Drug Affected Driver Sentenced to 7 Months Imprisonment
Last month, we reported on the case of a South Australian woman who successfully argued that her driving ability was not negatively affected by the presence of methamphetamine in her blood at the time of an accident in which a...
Jury Asks Dead Man if Defendant is Guilty of Murder
How would you feel about a dead person being asked to decide your fate if you were on trial for murder? It’s certainly not the most conventional, or recommended, method of deciding guilt or innocence, but this was exactly what...
Police Want Further Dilution of Right to Silence
A little over two years ago, NSW Police were pushing then-Premier Barry O’Farrell to remove the right to silence for those accused of serious criminal offences. Back then, police argued that legal reform was desperately needed to address situations where...
92 Charged with Drug Offences at Splendour in the Grass
Another year, another Splendour - and for the 30,000 music lovers who donned gumboots and braved the copious amounts of mud and rain, the event was a great success, with artists such as Tame Impala, Florence and the Machine, Mark...
NRL’s Fifita Brothers in Hot Water
Footy players are increasingly in the media for their behaviour off-the-field, and not just their contributions to schools and the community. Cronulla players Andrew and David Fifita are under investigation after a weekend game where it is alleged that they...
The Government Validates ICACs Past Decisions: But the Fight is On!
ICAC was disappointed and concerned when the High Court ruled that it did not have the power to investigate lawyer Margaret Cunneen. Ms Cunneen had been accused of perverting the course of justice for allegedly telling her son’s girlfriend to...
Amber Heard Faces Criminal Charges for Bringing Depp’s Dogs to Australia
A few months ago, Johnny Depp and his dogs made headlines when it was revealed that the dogs had actually entered the country illegally. Under the Quarantine Act 1908, anyone wanting to bring animals into Australia must have an import...
