Operation ‘Safe Arrival’ Targets Drivers Over The Holiday Period
Once again, the annual Christmas-New Years road safety campaign has seen a significant number of motorists charged with various traffic offences. Dubbed ‘Operation Safe Arrival,’ the two-week long double demerit period, which began at midnight on the 19th of December...
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,...
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...
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...
Police Listening to Phone Calls between Lawyers and Clients – The Erosion of Client Legal Privilege
Legal professional privilege, known in NSW as ‘client legal privilege’, has long been accepted as a central tenet of the justice system; providing that communications between lawyers and their clients should be exempt from disclosure. The privilege has been described...
Queensland Barrister who was found Guilty of Tax Offences tipped to become Magistrate
We have published a number of blogs about lawyers who have engaged in professional misconduct and unethical behaviour. In many cases, these lawyers were ‘struck off’ - meaning that that they lost their licence to practice law. In a profession...
Sydney Siege – How Was It Allowed to Happen?
The Sydney Siege has raised more questions than it has answered. If Man Haron Monis had survived Monday’s heinous crime, the charges he could have faced may have included detain for advantage, kidnapping, weapons charges, terrorism, murder - and the...
Craig Thomson found ‘Not Guilty’ of 49 Fraud Charges
Many would be aware of the highly publicised controversy surrounding disgraced former Federal MP and Health Services Union secretary, Craig Thomson. 50 year-old Thomson is alleged to have committed numerous acts of fraud, after a Health Services Union secretary identified...
Police Blitz Targets over 100 Alleged Shoplifters in Sydney
When December rolls around each year, the stores are filled with people frantically trying to cross everything off their shopping lists before Christmas hits. But it’s also the time that, for whatever reason, shoplifters hit the shops in record numbers,...
