God save the … er, DPP

Late last year Attorney-General Rob Hulls announced that they would be dropping the reference to the Queen in all criminal prosecutions. Cases are now to be brought in the name of the Director of Public Prosecutions.He's received legal advice that bringing indictments in the name of the DPP will have no constitutional effect. Similar changes …

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Compensating victims

The Department of Justice is reviewing the current system of compensation and restitution for victims of crime, and released a discussion paper canvassing the various options used in other jurisdictions and options that Victoria could adopt.Submissions are invited until 22 February 2010.

Notices to Appear

Notices to Appear are a new method for police and other authorised officials to require an accused person to appear before the Magistrates' Court. They are an alternative to summons or bail procedures, and may be used for any summary offence or indictable offence triable summarily. The form of a Notice to Appear is set …

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JCV online test 2

The Judicial College of Victoria released the second part of their online evidence self-test yesterday.There are ten questions to test your knowledge of relevance, opinion evidence and the discretions. Like the last part, you'll probably need to refer to the Evidence Act 2008 to complete it.Good luck!

Legislation Watch: Random stop and search

The Summary Offences and Control of Weapons Acts Amendment Bill 2009 had a trouble-free passage through parliament.On 10 November it had its First Reading in the lower house. Its Second Reading was moved two days later and was completed by the 26 November. It was introduced to the Legislative Council that same day, and was …

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