The Parramatta Local Court and the History of Parramatta
Why is Parramatta the Next Big City? Parramatta is about 23km away from Sydney’s central business district. The estimated residential population of Parramatta is around 243,000 people, while Sydney’s estimated metropolitan population is about 5 million. There are plans to be able to transport people between Parramatta and CBD Sydney more efficiently by creating a ...continue reading
The Law on the Honest and Reasonable Mistake of Fact Defence
Before outlining the honest and reasonable mistake of fact defence, it is important to get a general understanding of ‘absolute liability offences’ and ‘strict liability offences’. Absolute Liability Offences An absolute liability offence is any offence which there is no requirement to have a guilty mind (‘mens rea’) at the time of committing the ...continue reading
The Law and Penalties for Mid-Range Drink Driving in NSW
New South Wales Police did almost 5 million road side breath tests just last year. New drink driving laws were announced earlier this year, effectively introducing on-the-spot fines of $561 (penalty notice) and immediate 3-month licence suspensions to anyone caught drink driving with a low-range concentration of alcohol in the breath or blood. A ...continue reading
What are the Penalties and Defences for High-Range Drink Driving Charges?
Primary School Teacher Charged for High-Range Drink Driving on 8 February 2018, a primary school teacher was charged for high-range drink driving when Kelly Littlejohn aged 40, allegedly returned a reading of 6 times the limit- 0.306. The primary school teacher from Caringbah was driving after having attended a parent teacher night. Police allege ...continue reading
Harsh Penalties for Driving with Small Traces of Cannabis in the Saliva, Urine or Blood
The Controversy of Drug Driving Laws in NSW The controversy behind this relatively new law is the unfairness of creating a law that will cause someone to face harsh consequences of a criminal conviction and driver licence disqualification from the mere trace or presence of an illicit drug (such as cannabis)- while there is no ...continue reading
The Law on When Police Can Search Your Car Without a Warrant in NSW
The Case of DPP v Leonard [2001[ NSWSC A man from Dubbo NSW, Mr. Leonard was charged with supplying prohibited drug charges and 3 further charges of drug possession offences. The drug supply charges were on the basis that it was over the ‘traffickable’ quantity of cannabis. The matter proceeded to the Local Court for ...continue reading
What is the Law and Penalties for Car-Jacking in NSW?
By Sahar Adatia and Jimmy Singh On October 4, 2018, a man was arrested following carjacking a Range Rover in Redfern while a 61-year-old man was still inside the vehicle. According to NSW Police, just before 1:30pm on the day, reports were made that the Range Rover was stolen from a car wash on ...continue reading
Your Rights as a Driver in NSW when Confronted by Police
On July 13, highway patrol officers approached and stopped a 29-year-old mother who was driving along Wentworth Street with front end damage which caught the attention of the officers. This prompted them to follow and stop her to conduct a random breath test. Parked outside the Commercial Hotel, the mother gave a negative alcohol ...continue reading
New NSW Sentencing Penalty Introduced: The New ‘Intensive Corrections Orders’
On 24 October 2017, Parliament in NSW assented to the amending legislation which effectively changed the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW). As of 24 September 2018, three major new sentencing options were introduced into NSW. A Magistrate or Judge can now impose any one of these new sentencing or penalty options for traffic ...continue reading
New Sentencing Option Introduced in NSW: ‘Community Correction Orders’
Our previous blog outlined how the ‘section 10 bond’ has now replaced the new ‘conditional release order’ as a new sentencing option in NSW for criminal and traffic offences. This blog outlines a further new sentencing option called a ‘community corrections order’ which effectively replaces the old ‘section 9 bond’ and ‘community service order’ penalties, ...continue reading