Honest and reasonable mistake

An accused person should be acquitted if when they allegedly offended they honestly and reasonably believed in a state of facts that — if true — would have made their acts innocent: Proudman v Dayman (1941) 67 CLR 536.The requirement that the mistake be both honest and reasonable can make life hard for the accused. …

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Teabagging begs questions of constitutional validity for courts

Skepticlawyer mentioned this interesting case where the High Court is considering the constitutional validity of the Australian Military Court. (The transcripts for 22 Apr and 23 Apr 2009 are available on Austlii.)Why do we care?Well, constitutional validity of courts occasionally crops up even in our jurisdiction!In Kable v DPP (NSW) [1996] HCA 24; (1996) 189 …

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