Section 28 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 provides that common law offences punishable by not more than 10 years imprisonment or referred to in Schedule 2 may be heard summarily (as long as the requirements of s 29 are satisfied). Penalties for common law offences are set out in s 320 of the Crimes …
Month: February 2011
Fit to plead?
Advocates who regularly appear in summary courts know well the questions associated with mental impairment and fitness to plead arguments.Late last year the Supreme Court decided in C L (a minor) v Lee & ors [2010] VSC 517 that the Children's Court couldn't determine if an accused person was fit to be tried and so …
What should a modern court building look like?
Edit: The new Brisbane court complex is now open. I happily admit that it looks great from some angles.Today's Herald-Sun carries a contribution by Marilyn Warren to the paper's current Make Melbourne Better campaign.The article is an economical work of recycling by the Chief Justice. It's extracted from a much longer address made by her …
Continue reading What should a modern court building look like?
Police v Beukes [2011] SASC 9: intervention order breaches are strict liability offences
In Police v Beukes the Magistrates' Court of South Australia dismissed a charge that alleged an offence under s 15(1) of the Domestic Violence Act 1994 (SA). Section 15(1) reads,(1) A person who contravenes or fails to comply with a domestic violence restraining order or a registered foreign domestic violence restraining order is guilty of …
Updates to the JCV Sentencing Manual
It's easy to sign up for updates from the Judicial College.If you don't subscribe, the JCV still make it easy to go in and check for recent updates to their major publications. Once inside a Manual look on the right side of the page for a clickable link that says Recent updates. (The Sentencing Manual …