An unrepresented litigant suffers from all sorts of disadvantages in court proceedings. Not having a grasp of the relevant legal principles is just the start. From not knowing formal etiquette, to simply being nervous speaking publicly, there's a host of reasons why anyone would be better off getting a lawyer.There are two common tactical mistakes …
Month: August 2010
Dead men do tell tales
Section 65 of the Evidence Act 2008 provides an exception to the hearsay rule where the maker of a representation is unavailable. We've discussed the scope of that word here before. This post concentrates on the previous court proceedings exception:65. Exception - criminal proceedings if maker not available (1) This section applies in a criminal …
PILCH
Infringement enforcement in Victoria is hopelessly complex and almost impossible to navigate. There's no question that the complexity of the system drives many people to pay their tickets rather than challenge them. Unfortunately, that's not an option for everyone.I've mentioned before that the VLA's Workers' Guide to Fines is a useful reference when trying to …
Disclosing indecent images
Section 70 of the Crimes Act creates an offence for possession of child pornography.Under sub-s (4) law enforcement officials and people authorised by the Chief Commissioner of Police don't commit an offence by possessing child pornography if they possess it to perform a lawful power or duty.What about an accused person's lawyers? Section 70(2)(b) provides …
Honour crimes
Honour crimes are (at least in this post) offences that are motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's recognised community values.Crimes perpetrated by migrants tend to gain the most media attention, but there's many types of honour crime. Other examples include initiation and punishment rites of bikie gangs, traditional indigenous practices like ritual …