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 …
Continue reading Lane, beset and Max: public protesting apparently permitted
Sometimes the wheels of justice grind very slowly.The High Court heard appeals from this case twice, most recently delivering its decision on 28 September 2011. The NSW Court of Appeal also dealt with the matter twice. On its face it's a fairly simple negligence action arising from a fall in a public park one night …
On Thursday I posted something about the common law offence of attempting to pervert the course of justice.The fact that making a false allegation of a crime may be an attempt to pervert the course of justice is well documented. Perhaps it should be obvious, but false submissions on a plea of mitigation can be …
Edit: The case of Regina v OM [2011] NSWCCA 109 illustrates how very serious charges can spin out of a minor incident.My curiosity was piqued by the Elucubrator's post on Monday about the ability (or not) of law enforcers to trespass while in the course of their investigations. The facts in Brown v Spectacular Views …
The Judicial College has updated its Charge Book.Changes bring the manual further into line with the provisions of the Evidence Act 2008. They include:New Chapters4.15.1 - Silence in Response to People in Authority – Bench Notes and a Charge4.15.2 - Silence in Response to Equal Parties – Bench Notes and a ChargeRevisions4.1 - The Accused …