Blog Archives — Page 9 of 11

Concurrent & Cumulative Sentences

It is often the case that more than one charge is preferred or arises from one criminal enterprise – this then raises the issue of how the court is to sentence an offender for multiple charges. The imposition of concurrent or cumulative sentences is largely a discretionary exercise for the court however, the main principle […]

Withdrawing a Plea Of Guilty

Changing your mind about pleading guilty after entering the plea? Unfortunately, withdrawing a plea of guilty once entered and before sentence is not an easy task; particularly if you were legally represented. An accused person entering a plea must do so understanding and intending by that plea, that he/she is admitting guilt to the offence, […]

Parity Between Co-Accused

In the sentencing of co-accused the principle of parity will often loom large – essentially the principle of parity being that ‘like should be treated alike’ to avoid any justifiable sense of grievance to a co-accused who receives a harsher sentence. Whilst the principle itself is fairly straight forward, where the co-accused have been charged […]

Child Pornography

No offence raises the community ire and sensibilities more than offences or perceived offences against children. A relatively recent example of that being, the debate over Bill Henson’s work depicting naked young children and the debate as to the works classification as either art or child pornography. Largely in response to this debate the government […]

Indecent Assault

The offence of indecent assault is a Table 2 offence ie. summary offence unless the prosecution elect to prosecute upon indictment. The maximum penalty for indecent assault is 5 years imprisonment (see below for the offence provision). The law as it relates to indecent assault is as follows: In Fitzgerald v Kennard (1995) 38 NSWLR […]

Apprehended Violence Orders (AVO)

Making of an ADVO or APVO:The court can make an order for an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) in relation to either a Domestic situation referred to as a: Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) or in a Personal situation referred to as a: Apprehended Personal Violence Order (APVO). The definition as what constitutes a ‘domestic relationship’ […]

Persons Unlawfully in Possession of Property

This is a summary offence (see below) that is relatively easy for the prosecution to establish – as the prosecution are only required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the goods are reasonably suspected of being stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained. The gravamen of this offence is as stated, one against possessing suspicious goods […]

Resist or Hindering Police

The offences of resisting or hindering a police officer as per s546C of the Crimes Act 1900 (set out below) are summary offences ie. dealt with in the Local Court and carry a maximum penalty of 12 months imprisonment or a fine of 10 penalty units ($1100). The elements of the offence are as follows: […]

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