This Bill makes a couple of minor changes to sentencing procedure. The Second Reading Speech is here, the Explanatory Memorandum is here. Unless proclaimed earlier, it has an automatic commencement date of 31st January 2013.Clause 4, an amendment to s 60 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 which purports to give the Magistrates' Court authority …
Tag: criminal procedure
Committals to go?
The issue of abolishing committals is back in the spotlight again. The proposal seems to have come around every few years for the past two decades, like Batman films.The Australian Institute of Criminology ran a conference on committals back in 1990. It's interesting to read the papers, because the arguments for and against appear similar …
VLA fact sheets
Victoria Legal Aid are reducing the number of cases their duty solicitors will become involved in at sittings of the Magistrates' Court. The changes to their criteria are discussed here.They say on their website:From July 2012 duty lawyer services in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria will prioritise people in custody, and people who cannot afford …
Chief Magistrate calls for review of police prosecutors
The Age reported two days ago that Chief Magistrate Ian Gray suggested reviewing police acting as prosecutors in the Magistrates' Court (and presumably also the Children's Court). Assuming he was quoted accurately, what the Chief Magistrate said was genuine independence from investigating police was a problem, and also that police aren't trained or resource adequately …
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Daley v Tasmania [2012] TASCCA 4: designer drug derivatives and analogues
Minor differences at microscopic level can produce substances very similar in effect to prohibited drugs of dependence, but that aren't specifically listed in any of the schedules of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981. Provisions in various state and Commonwealth legislation prohibit these copycats so that their possession and sale is illegal even …
Continue reading Daley v Tasmania [2012] TASCCA 4: designer drug derivatives and analogues