Shepherd & Anor v Kell & Anor [2013] VSC 24 was an application under s 85B of the Sentencing Act 1991 for a compensation order against two men convicted of manslaughter. The application was made by the victim's parents, who are recognised as victims of the crime themselves by the definition provided at s 3 …
Author: Dr Manhattan
Monis v The Queen; Droudis v The Queen [2013] HCA 4: offensive post is not protected speech
You may not write to the parent of an Australian serviceman, who lost his life in the service of his country, and compare him to a pig and dirty animal. You may not call him a a murderer of civilians, and Adolph Hitler not inferior to him in moral merit. You may not refer to …
Dogged investigator
The first post I did for this blog was on the subject of tracker dogs giving evidence in court - or more accurately, their handlers.That's all the justification I need to jump on board this story doing the rounds, thanks to the Daily Mail.When prosecutors in Britain requested a statement be taken from an officer …
Instructors at trial
Edit: The judgment referred to below can now be found on AustLII (suitably redacted), as MK v Victoria Legal Aid [2013] VSC 49.On Monday the Supreme Court will rule on an application in a murder trial for an order directing Victoria Legal Aid to,provide legal representation to the accused necessary for the accused to receive …
Finishing what you started
In Massey v R [2013] ACTCA 5 the appellant, convicted of murder in a street stabbing, contended that it was a misdirection for a trial judge to tell a jury that she could not rely on self-defence if she had been the original aggressor and her aggression had not ceased. Support for this was said …