Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law Leave a comment on Former Labor MP Craig Thomson arrested and remanded over visa fraud allegations
The Sydney Morning Herald reports:
“Former federal Labor MP Craig Thomson will spend the night behind bars after he was arrested over allegations he facilitated more than 130 fraudulent visa applications over four years, resulting in more than $2 million of financial gains…
“Mr Thomson was arrested at his Terrigal residence on Wednesday and charged with multiple offences, including 19 counts of providing false documents and false or misleading information, five counts of a prohibition on asking for or receiving a benefit in return for the occurrence of a sponsorship-related event, two counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and one count of dealing with proceeds of crime.
He was refused bail at Gosford Police Station and his matter will be heard before Gosford Local Court on Thursday.”
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Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law, Legal profession 1 Comment on Winning Winner Douglas Dinner loses corruption conviction appeal
At about 1.00 am on Sunday 17 February 2019, police were patrolling in Rockhampton when they saw a car driving erratically and knocking over a street sign. They pulled the car over and found the driver was Douglas “call me Doug” Winning, a local solicitor.
What transpired was recorded on the officer’s body-worn cameras. All class, Winning was wearing only a pair of shorts. His vehicle had sustained damage on the bonnet where the sign had hit and there was damage to a front tyre. When asked that he had been drinking, Winning nominated the amount as “a bottle of rum”, explaining that he had had a sleep since finishing it. He was slurring his words. He twice said “You’re not going to pinch me”.
One of the officers said she was going to administer a roadside breath test. Winning was in the car holding his passport and $300 in cash, made up of six $50 notes. At the conclusion of the roadside breath test, Winning lifted his hands. He put his passport down on the seat beside him, and held up his right hand with the notes in it, saying: “Can’t pay my way out this, can I?”.
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Author adminPosted on Categories civil litigation, Criminal law, litigation 1 Comment on Types of appeals in Queensland and the Federal Courts
Appeals in the law are creatures of statute: Attorney-General v Sillem [1864] EngR 352; (1864) 10 HLC 704 at 720-721, Mickelberg v The Queen [1989] HCA 35, Deane J at [4], R v Ferguson; ex parte A-G (Qld) [2008] QCA 227 at [20]. In other words, they never existed at common law, but were instead created by legislation. Therefore, appeals can only be made and determined in accordance with statutory provisions and Court rules about appeals, and primary regard must be had to them. The “common law” of appeals is the case law of interpretation of such provisions.
The joint judgment of Gleeson CJ, Gummow and Kirby JJ in Fox v Percy (2003) 214 CLR 118 distinguished between four types of appeals:
“[20] Appeal is not, as such, a common law procedure. It is a creature of statute. In Builders Licensing Board v Sperway Constructions (Syd) Pty Ltd, Mason J distinguished between (i) an appeal stricto sensu, where the issue is whether the judgment below was right on the material before the trial court; (ii) an appeal by rehearing on the evidence before the trial court; (iii) an appeal by way of rehearing on that evidence supplemented by such further evidence as the appellate court admits under a statutory power to do so; and (iv) an appeal by way of a hearing de novo. There are different meanings to be attached to the word “rehearing”. The distinction between an appeal by way of rehearing and a hearing de novo was further considered in Allesch v Maunz. Which of the meanings is that borne by the term “appeal”, or whether there is some other meaning, is, in the absence of an express statement in the particular provision, a matter of statutory construction in each case.”
It is important for practitioners to understand the different types of appeals in order to be able to know the nature of each type, and therefore how they will be considered and determined. Such knowledge is a prerequisite for practitioners to appraise themselves of the prospects of success in such appeals they may act in.
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Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law 2 Comments on How you can save on legal fees
This post discussed why legal fees tend to be so high. The good news is that as a client there are a number of ways you can reduce your legal fees, as the rest of this article will show.
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Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law 2 Comments on Jarryd Hayne sentenced to five years and nine months imprisonment for sexual assault
Rugby league star Jarryd Hayne was found guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent.
Hayne had pleaded not guilty and denied sexually assaulting the then 26-year-old woman at her home at Fletcher, on Newcastle’s outskirts, in September 2018.
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law Leave a comment on Jarryd Hayne found guilty of sexual assault
Rugby league star Jarryd Hayne was today found guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent.
Hayne had pleaded not guilty and denied sexually assaulting the then 26-year-old woman at her home at Fletcher, on Newcastle’s outskirts, in September 2018.
His first trial in Newcastle last year ended in a hung jury, however the jury found him guilty of performing oral and digital sex on the complainant without her consent.
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Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law 2 Comments on Claremont killer declines to appeal
Claremont killer Bradley Robert Edwards has not appealed against his convictions for two murders, nor his sentences.
The murders
Ciara Glennon, a solicitor aged 27, was last seen in Claremont after visiting the Continental Hotel on 3 April 1997. Her body was later found in bushland at Eglinton in Perth’s north.
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Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law 2 Comments on Bradley Robert Edwards given life with non-parole period of 40 years for two Claremont murders
The murders
On 27 January 1996, a secretary aged 18 named Sarah Spiers disappeared after leaving Club Bay View in Claremont and calling a taxi from a nearby phone booth. Her body was never found.
On 9 June 1996, Jane Rimmer, a 23 year old childcare worker, was last seen alive outside Claremont’s Continental Hotel on 3 August 1996, Her body was found in bushland at Wellard in Perth’s south on March 15, 1997.
Ciara Glennon, a solicitor aged 27, was last seen in Claremont after visiting the Continental Hotel on 3 April 1997. Her body was later found in bushland at Eglinton in Perth’s north.
Continue reading “Bradley Robert Edwards given life with non-parole period of 40 years for two Claremont murders”
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law 4 Comments on Bradley Robert Edwards found guilty of two of the three Claremont killings DNA testing in recent decades has miraculously proven the guilty of the guilty and acquitted the innocent, often many years after the fact. In California, it revealed the identity of the Golden State Killer, and resulted in his convictions for his murderous crimes. The case of the Claremont murders is the latest example of crimes catching up to killers long afterwards, all thanks to DNA.
The murders
On 9 June 1996, Jane Rimmer, a 23 year old childcare worker, was last seen alive outside Claremont’s Continental Hotel on 3 August 1996, Her body was found in bushland at Wellard in Perth’s south on March 15, 1997.
Ciara Glennon, a solicitor aged 27, was last seen in Claremont after visiting the Continental Hotel on 3 April 1997. Her body was later found in bushland at Eglinton in Perth’s north.
A male driver, either in a Telstra vehicle or identifying himself as a Telstra worker, had been seen giving lifts to women in Claremont or neighbouring Cottesloe.
Continue reading “Bradley Robert Edwards found guilty of two of the three Claremont killings”
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law 3 Comments on Recalling the infamous “Order me a f*&3ing pizza while you’re at it” incident
Background
David Allan Baker had been charged with attempted murder and had sacked his barrister and solicitors on an earlier occasion when his trial came on for hearing.
Baker’s trial was set to commence before Justice Martin Daubney on 4 June 2012, but the day before he again sacked his legal representatives and the matter came on before the court on an application by his second set of legal representatives for leave to withdraw after he had dispensed with their services. Continue reading “Recalling the infamous “Order me a f*&%ing pizza while you’re at it” incident”
