NSW Police Adopt a ‘Shoot to Kill’ Policy
On the 13th of November 2015, the world watched in horror as a group of armed men carried out a series of orchestrated attacks at various locations around Paris. In the wake of these atrocities, the international community has been...
Court Slams Police Over Illegal Facebook Hack
The defendant is normally the one who ‘faces the fire’ inside the courtroom. But in one recent court case in Sydney, the tables were turned when it was revealed that a police officer had acted outside the law. The Case...
‘WTF’ Cases That Will Have You Shaking Your Head
Animals have no independent voice, and it is left to concerned humans to conserve and protect them from cruelty. Although we still have a long way to go before animals are granted basic rights, there are acts of cruelty that...
Stars of Australian Sport on the Wrong Side of the Law
Our sporting stars are admired by millions of Australians, but this does not mean they are out of the law’s long reach. Here we share the stories of five icons of Australian sport who have recently faced criminal charges. 1....
Courts Show No Leniency Towards Drug Addicted Offenders
A recent case in Downing Centre District Court illustrates the way in which the courts deal with drug addicted people who commit crime to support their habit. In R v Ligaiviu [2015], the offender’s addiction to crystal methamphetamine, or ‘ice’,...
Man Released Due to Lack of Prison Resources
In the latest example of the effects of prison overcrowding, a District Court judge has been forced to release an alleged drug supplier on bail due to a lack of resources in prisons and remand centres. The unnamed man appeared...
Australia Applies to Join the UNHRC: But Existing Members are Critical
Delegates from more than 100 countries delivered speeches during the latest meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, many of whom were highly critical of Australia’s human rights record, especially our treatment of asylum seekers. Countries...
WA Police Admit Bungling Major Cases
We recently wrote a blog about the case of Gene Gibson, who allegedly ‘admitted’ in a police interview to killing 21-year-old Joshua Warneke, despite not being able to understand English and not having an interpreter. In July 2014, the Western...
Fascinating Cases: First Slavery Prosecution in Australia
Slavery has been illegal for the majority of Australia’s post-colonial history - although it has existed and continues to exist right up to today. Here, like in the rest of the world, human trafficking and sexual servitude are a hidden...
Australian Prisons: Dumping Grounds for Mentally Ill Aboriginals
Indigenous people and those suffering from mental health conditions are the most overrepresented groups in Australians prisons today. Around 38% of inmates in Australia have been diagnosed with a mental illness - and 27% of our prison population is Indigenous....
