Good Cop Sues for “Whistleblower Reprisal”
Suspended Gold Coast policeman Rick Flori has lodged a civil claim in the Brisbane Supreme Court, signalling the beginning of his lawsuit against the Queensland Police Service (QPS) for “whistleblower reprisal”. Mr Flori’s claim names eight police officers, including assistant...
Recreational Cannabis: Regulate and Reap the Benefits
One in five US citizens now lives in a state where the use of recreational marijuana is permitted. On November 8 last year, another four US states voted in favour of marijuana legalisation, bringing the total number of states to eight, as...
Supreme Court Slams Law Firm for Failing to Provide Itemised Bill
By Blake O’Connor and Ugur Nedim A NSW Supreme Court judge has slammed Sydney law firm Brydens Lawyers for failing to provide a former client with an itemised bill of costs. Mr Tan Than Le was seriously injured in 2005...
Replacing Prison Bars with GPS Tracking Devices: An Interview with Professor Mirko Bagaric
Date of publication: 27 April 2017 The Australian prison system is failing, as incarceration rates are at an all-time high. As of June last year, there were 38,845 adult prisoners in corrective services custody, making the national imprisonment rate grow to 208...
Top DNA Analyst Sacked for Allegedly Fabricating Records
DNA evidence has become an increasingly important component of criminal investigations and prosecutions since its use became widespread in the 1990s. Today, police around the country can access the National Criminal Investigation DNA database, which contains the DNA profiles of hundreds of...
Woman Faces Prison for Giving Cannabis Oil to Sick People: An Interview with Jenny Hallam
If you ask the South Australian police what they think of Jenny Hallam, they’ll call her a criminal. Ask many others, and they’ll say she’s their angel. Ms Hallam, a marijuana reform activist, is facing up to 10 years in...
The Healing Hand of Restorative Justice: An Interview with ANU’s Dr Miranda Forsyth
The Australian criminal justice system has come under criticism for incarcerating growing numbers of people. With recidivism rates closing in on fifty percent - meaning nearly half of those released from prison are back within 2 years – many believe a punitive...
Always Independent: An Interview with Murrawarri Republic Chair Fred Hooper
This weekend in Brisbane, the Referendum Council is holding the last of the Dialogues: a series of meetings with First Nations peoples to discuss the issue of recognising the nation’s Indigenous people within the Australian constitution. The findings from the meetings...
RIP Government Accountability in Australia: A Privacy Guide for Journalists
With the scope of online and telecommunications surveillance today, it seems we’re very much living in an Orwellian age. Last week, the complete version of the Australian government’s mandatory metadata regime came into effect. Although the data retention laws were enacted on October 13,...
NSW Lawyer Reprimanded for Breaching Practising Certificate Condition
Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim All Australian lawyers are required to hold a current practising certificate in order to practise law in this country. The certificate acts as a licence, allowing a person to provide legal services. In New South Wales, they’re...
