Top Ten Tips For Representing Yourself When Pleading Guilty to Drink Driving
Drink driving is one of the most common criminal offences before the NSW courts. Many people charged with drink driving will wish to plead guilty and get it over with, but won’t have the financial resources to hire a lawyer....
The Right to be Forgotten – Should We Possess the Right to have Embarrassing Information Removed from the Internet?
The rise of the digital age and social media sites has seen an erosion of privacy, with photos, emails, and other information being distributed across the web for all the world to see. Many of us have been plagued by...
10 Tips For Staying Safe Over New Year’s
With New Year’s Eve just around the corner, it’s no doubt that police will once again be out in force patrolling the streets. Every year, police arrest a large number of people - many for alcohol-related offences. However, there are...
The Dilution of the Doctrine of Double Jeopardy and the Gordon Wood Case
In June 1995, the body of Sydney model Caroline Byrne was found at The Gap, Watson’s Bay. It took thirteen years for Gordon Wood, her then boyfriend, to stand trial for her murder. He was adamant that she committed suicide,...
What are the Rules for Strip Searching?
“I removed my clothes one piece at a time as requested. When we had stripped down to our underwear in the street, we were searched. I honestly felt the only way to prevent the search becoming more intrusive or sexual...
Fatal Police Shootings – Is More Weapons Training Needed?
On the 9th of August this year, Darren Wilson, a police officer in the city of Ferguson, Missouri, shot and killed 18-year-old African-American Michael Brown following an altercation on the street. The incident sparked anger and unrest within the community...
With so much Media Attention on Violent Crime: Are Crime Rates in NSW Rising or Falling
Recent figures from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) show that most of the main offence types have remained steady or decreased in number throughout the state over the previous three months. There have been a number...
Will Robots Really Replace Lawyers by 2030?
The idea of a robot lawyer may sound like science fiction, but if predictions are to be believed, robotic lawyers may become a reality sooner than we might think. Technology is moving at a rapid pace, and many believe that...
The Expert Must Be Right! Expert Witnesses and the ‘White Coat’ Effect
Expert witnesses are routinely called by both the defence and prosecution in defended hearings and jury trials. They play a valuable role in criminal proceedings by providing professional opinions about particular facts that may be in dispute. Evidence obtained from...
Should ASIO be Monitored to Protect the Community Against the Misuse of it’s New Powers?
The Abbott government’s recent crackdown on terrorism has prompted amendments to national security legislation, giving ASIO broad powers to monitor citizens and rendering them immune from prosecution in certain circumstances. Understandably, the amendments have left many questioning the extent of...
