Bright sparks in the Magistrates' Court

Late last year I mentioned the woes a few of my colleagues had encountered about using iPads in our Magistrates' Courts. I understood there was a policy from the Court in development, but there was no word on it till now.Since then, the Magistrates' Court has taken to twitter itself at @MagCourtVic, and today — …

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Bright sparks in the Magistrates’ Court

Late last year I mentioned the woes a few of my colleagues had encountered about using iPads in our Magistrates' Courts. I understood there was a policy from the Court in development, but there was no word on it till now.Since then, the Magistrates' Court has taken to twitter itself at @MagCourtVic, and today — …

Continue reading Bright sparks in the Magistrates’ Court

Lane, beset and Max: public protesting apparently permitted

The Magistrates' Court announced on twitter this week that the DPP decided to not appeal the 23 July 2012 decision dismissing trespass charges against protestors at Max Brenner's chocolate bar in Melbourne from 1 July 2011. (The decision is available on the Magistrates' Court website here.)So, what's the effect of all this?Well, the first thing …

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The recent history of Browne v Dunn

Edit: For a recent example of an appellate court taking a grim view of a practitioner's failure to uphold their obligations, see the civil case of Baulch v Lyndoch Warnambool [2010] VSCA 30.AJA Byrne didn't mince words [at 23]:The conduct of defence counsel in this instance is to be condemned. It was not an inadvertent …

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