Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law Leave a comment on Disgraced former cop Roger Rogerson’s final hours
Former NSW detective Roger Rogerson has been moved from prison to the Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick, Sydney and his life support has been turned off.
Continue reading “Disgraced former cop Roger Rogerson’s final hours”
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law Leave a comment on “What if I know that my client is guilty?”
What if a lawyer knows that their own client is guilty of the offence(s) for which they have been charged? This is a question that lawyers are often asked, although perhaps surprisingly not often by criminal clients.
Continue reading ““What if I know that my client is guilty?””
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law 2 Comments on High Court majority dismisses Brent Huxley’s appeal for murder of Michael McCabe
A recent High Court decision demonstrates the often highly technical and complex task of crafting directions for a jury which accurately and unambiguously state how the law relates to the case.
On 18 September 2019, Brent Malcolm Huxley was convicted after a trial before Justice North in the Townsville Supreme Court of the murder of Michael James McCabe. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
McCabe, a known illicit drug user, was murdered on or about 16 August 2015. Police found McCabe’s “partly-skeletonised and partly-mummified” body in remote bushland at the bottom of a steep, rocky embankment in Crystal Creek, north of Townsville, on September 17, 2015.
An autopsy revealed Mr McCabe had multiple fractures to his face, consistent with having a large rock dropped on his head.
Another man named Jason Douglas Taylor was also convicted of McCabe’s murder in a separate trial. Taylor’s appeal against conviction was subsequently dismissed.
The Crown case was that there was a “plan” schemed by Huxley to murder Mr McCabe with the help of others. It was alleged McCabe had been assaulted hours before his death on 15 August 2015 in a unit in Burnda Street, Townsville.
A second co‑accused named Matthew Luke Horima Rewha was charged with the unlawful assault occasioning bodily harm in company of McCabe at the unit on 15 August 2015. A third co‑accused, Leonie Doyle, was Huxley’s girlfriend at the time. She was charged with being an accessory after the fact to the manslaughter of McCabe.
The prosecution alleged that Rewha assaulted McCabe in the unit, and that Huxley subsequently murdered McCabe on 16 August 2015 at Crystal Creek or elsewhere in Queensland.
Hess’ evidence
The primary evidence against Huxley was from Darren Hess, who claimed that Huxley had confessed he had committed the murder to him in August 2015.
Hess gave evidence at the trial that Huxley had “showed up” at his address in Townsville on three occasions in August 2015. On the first visit, Mr Huxley was driving a blue Commodore. On the second visit, Hess asked Mr Huxley “what have you been up to?” and that Mr Huxley replied “the usual stuff” and then said “I done a hit on a bloke for $10,000”. Mr Huxley showed him “how he picked the rock up and dropped it on him and he said the fellow went wahhh – gone”. On the third visit Huxley told him the $10,000 had gone into his cousin’s account.
Hess’ evidence included a demonstration of the action that Mr Huxley showed him with the rock, describing that Mr Huxley “pretended to pick the rock up and dropped it”.
Continue reading “High Court majority dismisses Brent Huxley’s appeal for murder of Michael McCabe”
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law 2 Comments on Daniel Keneally convicted of fabricating evidence
Daniel Keneally, the son of former NSW Labor premier Kristina Keneally, has been found guilty of fabricating evidence.
The worst thing a police officer can do in their job is to unlawfully kill another person. Besides that, fabricating evidence in order to have someone convicted of a serious offence and/or imprisoned would have to be among the worst things police officers can do.
Continue reading “Daniel Keneally convicted of fabricating evidence”
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law 2 Comments on Bruce Lehrmann named as accused in Toowoomba rape case
Former parliamentary staffer Bruce Lehrmann, who was accused of raping fellow staffer Brittany Higgins in Parliament House, has been identified as the high-profile man accused of rape in another case.
Continue reading “Bruce Lehrmann named as accused in Toowoomba rape case”
Author adminPosted on Categories Administrative law, Criminal law 1 Comment on Shane Drumgold SC seeks judicial review of Sofronoff findings
Outgoing ACT Director of Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC, who resigned following damning findings made against him by Walter Sofronoff KC in an inquiry report, is now challenging those findings.
Continue reading “Shane Drumgold SC seeks judicial review of Sofronoff findings”
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law, Legal profession, Liberty 4 Comments on Calls for more inquiries into prosecutorial conduct as Drumgold resigns
The resignation of Shane Drumgold SC as ACT Director of Prosecutions is to be welcomed. As ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury noted while accepting Shane Drumgold’s resignation, Drumgold’s role as director of public prosecutions had become “no longer tenable”.
Drumgold will now likely be fighting to save his legal career. There’s also the possibility of criminal charges.
Continue reading “Calls for more inquiries into prosecutorial conduct as Drumgold resigns”
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law, Legal profession 4 Comments on The drums roll for Drumgold’s legal career
Walter Sofronoff KC’s damning findings against ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold SC could spell the end of Drumgold’s legal career.
This comes after it was reported that Bruce Lehrmann will sue the ACT Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions over his prosecution. The Prosecution was dropped after a hung jury.
Continue reading “The drums roll for Drumgold’s legal career”
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law 2 Comments on Bruce Lehrmann to sue ACT Office of Prosecutions
It has been reported that former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann will sue the ACT Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions over his prosecution.
This follows the ACT government receiving the Sofronoff report examining misconduct in the prosecution case which is expected to contain damning findings against Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold.
The report has not been released to the public, for reasons that have not been fully explained.
Lehrmann alleges that Drumgold attempted to withhold police documents from his defence lawyers, read Higgins’ confidential counselling notes and undermined Lehrmann’s presumption of innocence.
As we have noted, the politicisation of this case has led to this debacle.
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law, Evidence 1 Comment on Lying lab boss Cathie Allen belatedly sacked
Cathie Allen led the DNA lab that was plagued by scandal as a result of a decision taken in 2018 to test DNA samples in a way that resulted in low-level DNA samples being deemed as “DNA insufficient for further processing” and often led to inconclusive results.
Last year, Allen had recommended low-level DNA samples should go straight to amplification rather than be micro-concentrated which was widely considered to be best practice in order to cover her tracks.
The whistle was blown at Queensland’s Forensic and Scientific Services lab in 2021 and eventually led to the commission of inquiry headed by Walter Sofronoff KC.
Continue reading “Lying lab boss Cathie Allen belatedly sacked”
