Courts make hundreds of bail decisions every week but we rarely hear about them. In the past month in New South Wales, however, we have heard much about three high-profile decisions granting bail to: Steven…
The South Australian Commissioner for Victims’ Rights, Michael O’Connell, recently called for victims of crime to have their own lawyers at the time that criminal defendants are sentenced. O’Connell’s…
At least one of the many confusions surrounding Bob Marley was resolved last week in the High Court of Justice in London. A company called Cayman Music failed to obtain a declaration that they, not Blue…
As Viviane Reding, vice-president of the European Commission, congratulates herself for forcing Google to comply with the right to be forgotten, she might want to take a moment to think about some issues…
Your common-law wife and husband do not exist. Next month will see the latest stage in the latest attempt to improve the legal standing for people that live together but choose not to marry. With nearly…
Half of all Australians will experience a legal problem this year. Most won’t get legal assistance or come into contact with our courts or other legal institutions. In part, this is because Australia’s…
The recent decision by the Scottish Parliament to scrap the need for corroboration in criminal trials is designed to solve a longstanding problem: there is a low rate of convictions in rape cases and…
Queenslanders have been subjected to a barrage of media coverage of state attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie going public with a private conversation he had with the President of the Court of Appeal, Margaret…
When counsel assisting the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse put it to Cardinal George Pell last week that his lawyers weren’t his moral advisors, she was implying that he…
Last month, a video of an elderly man’s alleged assault on a Gold Coast bus went viral on social media after a passenger filmed the confrontation. The incident put the sometimes-ignored issue of violence…
Queensland solicitor-general Walter Sofronoff QC resigned last week. He has now revealed his outrage at the conduct of Queensland attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie. Bleijie has appeared willing to breach…
The 2003 disappearance of 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe in Queensland highlighted the difficulties police face when investigating a potential murder with no body and no crime scene. Ultimately, it was the…
In recent weeks the issue of the religious content of Australian education has been hotly debated. Last week The Age reported the latest development. Principals in several Victorian state schools had ceased…
One fascinating aspect of the Newman government’s “war on bikies” in Queensland has been the battle for the hearts and minds of average citizens. In an attempt to convince the public of the threat – and…
Although the Court of Disputed Returns has not yet formally declared that Western Australia’s half-Senate election was void, Justice Hayne’s judgment has made it clear that this is the necessary, or as…
We rightly celebrate living in a society where law and order prevail. Being able to follow established rules allows for the smooth operation of the many necessary transactions of everyday life. Yet it…
In a courtroom crowded with supporters, Queensland woman Sally Kuether was released on bail late last month. Kuether, a librarian, had been arrested and held in custody for six days under the state’s notorious…
It’s rare for a significant period of time to pass before another debate about breastfeeding takes place in the media. The latest? Some of the highest authorities have said breastfeeding is okay, even…