‘Sexsomnia’ and the Legal Defence of Automatism in New South Wales
A Sydney man has been found not guilty of a string of sexual offences against children after raising evidence that he was asleep and suffering from ‘sexsomnia’ during the incidents, and that he was therefore acting involuntarily – a requirement...
Appeals to the District Court Against Local Court Convictions in NSW
A former NRL player who went on to become a professional boxer has successfully appealed his conviction over allegations of breaking and entering, with the appeal court finding ‘suspicion is no substitute for proof’. In the Local Court A magistrate...
The Legal Defence of Mental Health or Cognitive Impairment in NSW
The tragic deaths of two young boys in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales has raised more questions than answers, as their mother remains under police guard in hospital suffering from self-inflicted stab wounds. Those questions include: is...
Unimpaired Drivers Continue to Face Drug Driving Charges in New South Wales
The NSW Police Force conducted the four-day-long driving safety offence blitz, Operation RAID (Remove All Impaired Drivers), last week, which resulted in the detection of 6,653 driving offences in total, as officers targeted three specific impediments to safe driving: alcohol,...
Albanese’s Singling Out Trans People from the Census is a Move from the Morrison Playbook
“When populations are invisible in the Census, they are at increased risk of marginalisation and disadvantage,” reads a 5 August joint statement by the UNSW Kirby Institute and other key health organisations, regarding Albanese’s decision to rescind on a pledge...
Police Watchdog Finds that Officer Who Fabricated Evidence Engaged in ‘Serious Misconduct’
Nowra man Luke Brett Moore raised a complaint with the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission in May 2021, regarding a phone conversation he’d had with NSW police constable Daniel Keneally that, he claimed, led the officer to subsequently fabricate evidence against...
Second First Nations Youth Death in Custody in WA in Less Than a Year
A second First Nations youth died in the custody of the WA state, when, last Thursday night, a yet-to-be identified 17-year-old First Nations youth took his own life, after being imprisoned for two days at that state’s only child prison:...
Germany Sets Cannabis Driving Limits, While NSW Continues to Unfairly Criminalise Users
German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier signed off on legislation a fortnight ago to set a limit for driving under the influence of cannabis, with the new legal limit that’s now taken effect being 3.5 nanograms of THC per millilitre of blood....
Parole in New South Wales: What Are the Benefits and Risks of Granting Parole?
A recent decision to grant parole to a murderer who attempted to sexually assault a woman when he was last paroled has many up in arms. But while the decision by the NSW State Parole Authority to release convicted murderer...
The Offence of Sexual Intercourse with a Child Aged Between 10 and 14 Years in NSW
A sitting member of New South Wales parliament has resigned from the Liberal Party after being charged with multiple child sexual offences. Pittwater MP Roderick “Rory” Gilmore Amon was charged on Friday, 30 August 2023 with 10 sexual offences, comprising...
