Charge Book becoming essential reading

The VLRC's report on jury directions came out in June and suggested a number of different reforms. One of the proposals was more frequent reference by judges to the Judicial College's Charge Book.In R v Said [2009] VSCA 244 the Court of Appeal delivered its strongest encouragement yet for increased use of the Charge Book. …

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Award for Mallard Inquiry lawyer and journalist

Lawyers Weekly reported today that lawyer John Quigley and journalist Colleen Egan received Australian Lawyers Alliance Civil Justice Award for 2009, for their work contributing to Andrew Mallard's release.His case is a strong example of the need for an independent judiciary, legal profession and critical media.Mr Mallard appealed to the High Court against his conviction …

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On the lam

People who turn themselves into the authorities after having absconded a long time ago can pose a difficult sentencing problem. This is particularly true where the offences involved are relatively minor, and the fugitive has been living a blameless life on the lam (and it is lam; life on the lamb sounds very uncomfortable). On …

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JPs to go?

Edit: The decision has been made to retain the role and, apparently, the name. A press release was issued from the Attorney-General on 22 Feb 2010.Last month the state government released a consultative paper A Review of Justices of the Peace in Victoria.There are currently two types of honorary justice in Victoria: JPs and bail …

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