Dear Sir, I refer to your report “Photographer faces sex charges” by Gary Adshead, May 19, 2009.I congratulate PhotoCoffee boss Kingsley Klau, of Rockingham, for his total support for his 21-year old employee, who has been charged with child sexual a…
It was ‘unelected judges’ who gave Australia our common law, Mr Justice Lex Lasry told an audience in May 09. And ‘unelected judges’ have far more experience of broad ‘life in the raw’ than many people think, he says.
BLACKBURN LECTURE
Unelected…
A blameless person could go to jail under the new, catch-all ‘bikie’ legislation now operating in two States. The President of the Law Society of South Australia, John Goldberg, explains how easily the oppressive laws could send an innocent man or wom…
Barristers, solicitors and many others – including CLA – are worried at the proposed peremptory lowering of the bar in proving murder charges in the Australian Capital Territory. Here barrister Shane Gill gives an excellent rundown on why the proposed ch…
In a highly unusual move, the Director of Public Prosecutions in NSW, Nicholas Cowdery, has issued a ‘General Commentary’ which slams the NSW bikie legislation as excessive, calls for better enforcement by police of existing laws (rather than new laws…
The media and the law are asymmetric communicators, speaking at different ‘levels’ and ‘cross’ purposes, writes lawyer, journalist and lecturer Crispin Hull. But the fact that each is “unelected” is one of the great strengths of Australian democracy.…
Is forensic science accurate? Not always, say a group of US scientists who want more rigorous research to prove the veracity of fingerprint, bite mark and screwdriver point comparisons – among other techniques – that produce ‘evidence’ used to send peopl…
As President Obama solidifies the USA’s stance against torture, Australia’s internal position is still uncertain. We need to legislate locally to make sure torture is as legally repugnant as it is morally, Prof. George Williams says.
Our torture laws…
Even people accustomed to prosecuting under draconian laws think the special legislation against bikies is over the top. Keith McEwan argues that what is beign done to bikies sounds a big warning bell to people who value traditional civil liberties in Au…
Why did it take six days and citizen journalism to shed light on the death during a G20 protest in London of paper-seller Ian Tomlinson? Nick Davies of The Guardian examines the role of thepolice and the UK’s Independent Police Complaints Commission and…