Law on the Age of Criminal Responsibility in NSW: An Interview with Greens MP David Shoebridge
By Poppy Morandin and Jimmy Singh. Despite a strong campaign to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14, the decision has been deferred to 2021, following concerns that further work needs to be done regarding processes and services for children who exhibit offending behaviour. The issue was discussed at the meeting ...continue reading
Inquest Into the Death of Indigenous Man in Custody Highlights the Need for Change: An Exclusive Interview with Barrister Stephen Lawrence from The Wigs
By Poppy Morandin. Following recent weeks in which Indigenous deaths in custody have been at the forefront of discussion, an inquest has heard that a treating nurse of an Indigenous man who died in his cell at Tamworth Correctional Centre was not informed of his seizures. In September 2017, Tane Chatfield died following being ...continue reading
Two Men Snorted Cocaine in Front of Police Have Pleaded Guilty and Sentenced with a Non-Conviction
By Poppy Morandin & Jimmy Singh. It would seem reasonable to assume that individuals would know better than to snort cocaine in plain sight and in front of police. However, 26-year-olds Mitchell Anthony Price and Keegan Brendan Moore seemed none the wiser to this fact as they embarked on a night out at Jerrabomberra ...continue reading
NSW Police Aim to Conduct 200,000 Mobile Drug Tests Representing an Increase From the Previous Year
By Poppy Morandin and Jimmy Singh. It has been revealed that NSW Police have set a target to detect almost 300,000 crimes this year and are using area-specific goals to achieve this result. The approach covers a number of detections in numerous categories of crime including theft, robbery, sexual assault, and drug detection. The ...continue reading
Law on Correctional Employees Engaging in Sexual Conduct or Intimate Relationship with Inmates in NSW
By Sahar Adatia and Jimmy Singh. A Sydney prison guard is facing the grim possibility of two years behind bars over an alleged sexual relationship she had with an inmate that continued for several months in the confines of a Western Sydney jail. Melissa Goodwin was provisionally stood down in May 2020 by her ...continue reading
Smuggling Contraband Charges Result After Men Allegedly Try to Toss a Tennis Ball Stuffed with Drugs Over Prison Fence
By Sahar Adatia and Jimmy Singh. Stuck in the confines of a correctional facility, where the comfort of contraband is a mere figment of the imagination, there are no means too extreme or absurd for the prisoner who is desperate to get their hands on prohibited items. From alcohol and drugs, to cigarettes and ...continue reading
Jury Trials Return to NSW After a 3-Month Freeze
By Poppy Morandin & Jimmy Singh. With COVID-19 related restrictions easing and business seemingly returning to normal for most of New South Wales, the District Court has begun criminal trials before juries again. The return will be done under strict measures including temperature checks and screening questions for jurors, in order to prevent individuals ...continue reading
Real Estate Agent Sentenced for Trafficking Cocaine in Victoria
By Poppy Morandin & Jimmy Singh. Craigslist ads for $350 “White VIP” party tickets posted by someone named “Charlie”, that were promised to be the “best in Melbourne,” and would “sort out your weekend properly,” may seem innocent enough to the untrained eye. However, in late February 2017, Victorian Police set up a purchase ...continue reading
Law on Drug Smuggling Charges in NSW
While Australia no longer have the death sentence as a penalty, China still has it under its criminal justice system. Australia completely abolished the death sentence by 1985, in fact the federal government legislated against capital punishment. The last ever recorded execution by way of a death penalty in Australia was in 1967, Victoria ...continue reading
Law on Police Use of Pepper Spray in NSW
By Poppy Morandin & Jimmy Singh. The deployment of pepper spray on protestors following the Black Lives Matter rally in Sydney, has sparked concerns regarding the way in which the NSW Police Force uses such a tool. The day was largely characterised as a peaceful protest, following the public assembly’s last-minute authorisation from the ...continue reading