Sydney Criminal Lawyers® Weekly Rundown – Articles from 24 to 30 September 2018
In case you’ve missed any of them, here’s a rundown of the past week’s articles: No More ‘Section 10 Bonds’ in NSW Conditional release orders replace ‘section 10’ good behaviour bonds today in NSW. Click here to read the article...
Dr Katelaris Spent Four Months in Prison for Possessing Massage Oil
Renowned medicinal cannabis practitioner Dr Andrew Katelaris was arrested in April after being pulled over by police on the Central Coast. The doctor was charged with supply of a prohibited drug, as an officer found two small bottles of what...
Sydney Criminal Lawyers® Weekly Rundown – Articles from 17 to 23 September 2018
In case you’ve missed any of them, here’s a rundown of the past week’s articles: Britain May Ban Secret Facebook Groups A bill has been introduced to outlaw ‘secret’ social media groups on the basis that they are fertile ground...
Two Die at Defqon 1, But NSW Government Still Refuses to Allow Pill Testing
Tragically, this year’s music festival season has begun with two suspected drug-related deaths at a festival in southwestern Sydney. And this incident is all the more appalling as these deaths could have potentially been prevented if the NSW government was...
Drug Driving
Drug Driving is an offence under section 111 of the Road Transport Act 2013. The maximum penalty if it is your first ‘Major Traffic Offence’ in 5 Years is: An ‘automatic’ licence disqualification of 6 Month which the magistrate can...
Arresting Drivers for Using Cold and Flu Tablets Will Not Save Lives
NSW roads minister Melinda Pavey has announced there will be an expansion of substances that can ‘influence’ drivers for the purpose of laws against driving under the influence (DUI). She has also announced a strategy designed to assess whether individuals...
Indictable Drug Supply Cases Can Now be Finalised in the Local Court
Until recently, cases of drug supply which involved more than the ‘indictable quantity’ but less than the commercial quantity could not be finalised in the NSW Local Court - they were ‘strictly indictable’ which meant they had to be committed to...
Criminal Laws Only Deter When They Are Seen as Just
Politicians often invoke tough-on-crime rhetoric to win votes - playing to popular perceptions that penalties are too weak and that, when dealing with defendants, magistrates and judges should ‘lock’em up and throw away the key’. There is also a popular...
New Road Laws: Tougher DUI Penalties, Targeting Phone Use and Cocaine Testing
On 1 July, a series of new road safety laws will come into effect across New South Wales. The new laws will add cocaine to the list of drugs police test drivers for, significantly increase the penalties for driving under...
Premier Wants Sniffer Dogs in Schools
The present heavy-handed approach to illicit drug use has been widely been discredited by former police commissioners, politicians and health professionals. Instead of curbing the use of the illegal drugs, it’s accepted it increases the harms associated with substance use. However,...
