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
How Does COVID-19 Affect Bail Applications in NSW?
By Fouad Awada and Jimmy Singh. On 30 March 2020, the Supreme Court of New South Wales handed down a decision granting conditional bail to Mr Abdul Rakielbakhour who was accused and charged with serious domestic violence charges. Mr Rakielbakhour was arrested and charged with common assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, alleged ...continue reading
Stranger Allegedly Sexually Touched School Girl is Yet to be Identified and Charged
It’s every parents’ nightmare. A child walking to school one morning when approached by a stranger in a car who manages to lure the child into the car before committing an act of sexual touching, or worse. That’s what allegedly occurred to a 12-year-old girl last Thursday morning at about 8am when the Sydney ...continue reading
What are the Rules Around NSW Police Strip Searching a Person?
241,000 is the number that has been given to NSW Police Officers, representing the quota for conducting personal searches, including strip searches on people for the 2019 financial year. In fact, in 2019, NSW Police failed to meet its quota by just under 2000 searches. NSW Greens managed to obtained the shocking revelation through the ...continue reading
What is a Criminal Lawyers’ Role?
Criminal lawyers represent people from all walks of life. Unfortunately, movies and TV shows have portrayed criminal lawyers in a bad light, prompting members of the public asking the question criminal lawyers get asked too often, “but how can you defend a criminal?”, or “how can you defend a guilty person?”. Too often we ...continue reading
Laws, Penalties & Defences for Child Grooming Offences in NSW
Simon Akkerman who is an accomplished cinematographer, who’s worked on Russel Crowe’s film Master & Commander has been charged with historical child grooming offences. It is reported that 63-year-old Akkerman was charged with 8 counts of indecency with a child aged under 14 that occurred nearly 30-years ago. It’s reported that he sexually abused ...continue reading
Penalties for a Teacher Having Sex with an Under-Age Student
It is reported that on or about 16 October 2019, 36-year-old Texas high school teacher, Randi Chaverria allegedly performed oral sex on a student in her classroom on two occasions at the Round Rock High School during her employment there. Chaverria who was a family and consumer science teacher was awarded ‘Teacher of the ...continue reading
The Law & Penalties for Engaging in Sexual Activity or Intercourse with a Child Outside Australia
It is reported that 33-year-old convicted paedophile Richard Huckle was discovered dead in his prison cell in Yorkshire on 13 October. Reports indicate that Huckle was stabbed to death. While his death was confirmed by a prison service spokesman, police are still investigating the suspicious death. Richard Huckle was a photographer and held an ...continue reading
Is it Legal to Make a Citizen’s Arrest in NSW?
It is reported that a man with a large knife in Sydney CBD has allegedly attempted to stab people on Tuesday. Causing the Sydney CBD to go into lockdown, the incident unfolded close to the corner of Clarence and King Street when a man who was reportedly armed with a machete went on a ...continue reading
A Guide on Your Right to Silence When Approached by Police
By Scott Feeney and Jimmy Singh. The Brazilian Military Police were ready. The raid was about to take place in the northeast of the country, in the low-income community of Vila Irma Dulce. It was Monday the 22nd of April, and while on a regular patrol of their beat, the police observed a man ...continue reading