What are the Police Powers to Conduct a Random Breath Test?
The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) in Victoria has suspended a $4 million road safety funding it had previously granted to Victoria Police. This came following revelations from an internal police investigation that over a 5-year period, over 258,000 breath tests were falsified by police officers in attempts to return negative readings. It is reported ...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
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
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 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
The End of ‘Section 10 Bonds’ in NSW as a Sentencing Option
The Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) reflects the law behind all the sentencing options a Magistrates or Judges can impose on a person guilty of a NSW criminal or traffic offence. That Law has now changed and the new NSW sentencing penalties or options commence from today 24 September 2018 onwards. The popular ...continue reading