Further Edit: The case of Clinton v R [2009] NSWCAA 276 succinctly states a line of authority I was previously unaware of (Howie J at 31):31 This Court has held that extra-curial punishment is a matter that can be taken into account in determining the appropriate sentence to be imposed upon an offender. It can …
Month: July 2009
Served by mail
Edit: Elucubrator's post on DPP v Angell [2010] VSC 76 from March 2010 is useful for distinguishing the operation of s 160 from the Road Safety Act's s 25.A couple of people I've spoken with recently have told me they think that s 160 of the new Evidence Act 2008 might affect some claims of …
Statutory right of privacy?
Barrister Peter A Clarke blogs at Illegitimi non carborundum (which roughly translates as 'don't let the bastards wear you down').His latest post raises the prospect of Australian law creating an enforceable right of privacy.I mentioned a few weeks ago that Australian law has so far been reluctant to embrace a tort of privacy.The Victoria Law …
Defining a successful defendant
Section 131 of the Magistrates' Court Act 1989 gives magistrates the power to award costs in summary criminal proceedings. The section confers a general discretion. Though there's nothing written there about an accused having to be acquitted before a discretion to award costs exists, an accused will usually need to be considered a successful defendant …
Reckless intoxication
Edit: Later, in R v Robazzini [2010] VSCA 8, the Court of Appeal considered argument that different drugs prevented earlier instances of drug-fueled violence as laying an adequate foundation for using voluntary pre-offence intoxication as an aggravating feature.Neave JA, 57 In my opinion his Honour correctly treated the appellant’s drug taking as an aggravating factor. …