One of the comments on last week's post about the review of Victoria Legal Aid's fee structure pointed out that it isn't just the move to a whole of job system that will impact on potential VLA clients. Next year some people will be ineligible for aid who would have been eligible under the existing …
Tag: commentary
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 …
Smith v The Queen [2010] VSCA 192; the impact of forgiveness on sentence
Smith v The Queen [2010] VSCA 192 reaffirmed that a victim's forgiveness can be a relevant consideration in sentencing, but should be treated cautiously.Evidence of forgiveness by the victim may indicate that the consequences of the offence on the victim have not been long-term or debilitating, thereby affording some mitigation: R v Skura [2004] VSCA …
Continue reading Smith v The Queen [2010] VSCA 192; the impact of forgiveness on sentence
Documents that lie about themselves
The offences at 83A of the Crimes Act 1958 can be committed in a variety of different ways, though the most common forms allege either the making of a false document or the use of a false document.Charges of making and using a false document are distinct and punishment on both is not double jeopardy: …
The contents of Victim Impact Statements
Edit: Events in the Supreme Court last week show that there will be stumbles during attempts to involve victims in the sentencing process. Perhaps some of the flexibility recommended by the Court of Appeal in Hester's case might have helped.Last Friday's post about cutting-and-pasting interviews got me thinking about Victim Impact Statements, another document tendered …