Nightlife violence has been a hot issue for some time now. In January, New South Wales introduced a mandatory eight-year prison term who anyone who fatally punches another whilst under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It also included other efforts to curb violence, such...
The hallmark of our criminal justice system is that a person charged with a criminal offence is innocent until proven guilty and that all steps need to be undertaken to ensure that the accused is given a fair trial. In the wake of Brett Cowan's sentencing,...
Justice Atkinson has sentenced Brett Peter Cowan to life imprisonment with a minimum non parole period of 20 years for the murder of Daniel Morcombe. Justice Atkinson further sentenced Mr Cowan to three-and-a-half years for indecently dealing with Daniel, and two years for interfering with his...
Brett Peter Cowan was yesterday found guilty of the murder of Daniel Morcombe. Mr Cowan was also found guilty of indecently dealing with Daniel and interfering with his corpse. The six men and six women of the jury took seven-and-a-half hours to return their unanimous verdict,...
“A person can not be twice punished… for the same act or omission…” Double jeopardy is a fundamental and integral part of our legal system. It prevents a person from being tried or convicted more than once for the same act. A recent case in the...
Recently the High Court published its judgment in the case of Mark Sharne Smith v The State of Western Australia [2014] HCA 3. The case relates to the finding of a note in the jury room after a verdict had been reached in a criminal...