Wrongful convictions
If you need legal help with wrongful convictions call Tania on 02 6223 2400, or go to our contacts page.
The staggering number of wrongful convictions in America.
From the Washington Post.
By Samuel R. Gross, a law professor at the University of Michigan, is the editor of the National Registry of Exonerations.
I edit the National Registry of Exonerations, which compiles stories and data about people who were convicted of crimes in the United States and later exonerated. The cases are fascinating and important, but they wear on me: So many of them are stories of destruction and defeat.
Consider, for example, Rafael Suarez . In 1997 in Tucson, Suarez was convicted of a vicious felony assault for which another man had already pleaded guilty. Suarez’s lawyer interviewed the woman who called 911 to report the incident as well as a second eyewitness. Both said that Suarez did not attack the victim and, in fact, had attempted to stop the assault. A third witness told the lawyer that he heard the victim say that he would lie in court to get Suarez convicted. None of these witnesses were called to testify at trial. Suarez was convicted and sentenced to five years. Continue reading
Bikie shootings
ABC website reports on a bikie shooting in Canberra.
Need help with any criminal law matter. Call Tania on 02 62232400 or click here
Canberra bikie shooting sees ‘innocent family’ caught up in mistaken identity: ACT top cop
ABC Radio Canberra Elise Pianegonda and Clare Sibthorpe
An “innocent Canberra family” has been caught up in a bikie feud, with several shots fired into their Ngunnawal home and their front door set alight.
ACT Chief Police Officer Justine Saunders said this morning that the shooting was likely a case of mistaken identity, as a bikie gang member previously lived at the residence.
“It’s [now] a family home of a completely innocent family,” she told ABC Radio Canberra.
No-one was injured in the shooting, which police say happened “late” last Tuesday. Continue reading
Raising the criminal age in Canberra
The question of raising the criminal age in the Australian Capital Territory is raised in a Canberra Times report on 24 June 2018 where Finbar O’Mallon writes:
“The Human Rights Law Centre has called on the ACT government to raise the age a child can be held criminally responsible from 10 years old to 14 years old.
The centre’s legal advocacy director Ruth Barson said the reforms were commonsense for a jurisdiction ahead of the curve in human rights.
“The ACT is very much a community that respects human rights,” Ms Barson said.
“Locking up children under the age of 14 is incongruent with that commitment.”
Children not Criminals (Blogwatch.tv)
“Australia is one of the few countries on Earth with such a low age for locking children up.”
Need help with a juvenile criminal law matter? Phone Tania, (02) 6223 2400.
Justice Served after almost 20 years!
Justice served – from the FBI blog website.
Need help with a criminal matter? Contact Tania on 6223 2400 or click here
Seymour, Indiana, in the 1990s was a Midwestern town with rural roots and a comfortable, small-town feel. Parents felt safe letting their children walk to Girl Scout meetings with friends and ride their bikes unchaperoned.
All that changed on January 20, 1999, when a 10-year-old girl waiting for her father after gymnastics practice was abducted and molested. The man who approached her outside a local girl’s club said he had locked the keys in his car and needed someone with slender arms to reach them.
The attack shocked the community, all the more when the suspect fled before he could be apprehended. At the time, no one realized it would take nearly two decades to bring justice to the victim and her family, and a sense of closure to the community—or that an Indiana State Trooper who was born and raised in Seymour, and is now an FBI agent, would play a central role in resolving the case.
On that cold January day, Charley Hollin forced the girl into his car at knifepoint, drove away, and sexually assaulted her. Afterward, he made the girl leave the car naked, and her clothes were thrown out after her. Hollin also mistakenly threw out his own jacket, which contained his day planner.
Todd Prewitt was an Indiana State Police trooper at the time, and although he wasn’t assigned to the investigation, he took a keen interest. The crime had occurred in his district, and Seymour was his hometown. “I didn’t know the victim,” he said, “but I had family friends who sent their kids to that girl’s club.”
The assault itself was tragic, but then justice was not served. Hollin’s identity was known to authorities—and reported by the media—because they had his day planner. But the victim could not positively identify her assailant with full certainty, so authorities were forced to wait for the results of DNA testing before they could arrest Hollin and charge him with the crime. Hollin took that opportunity to flee.
“The fact that he had vanished caused a lot of apprehension and a lot of additional stress on the victim and her family.”
Todd Prewitt, special agent, FBI Indianapolis
Traffic fines
Traffic fines will increase this year reports the Canberra Times.
Need a traffic lawyer? Call us on 6223 2400 or click here.
Traffic fines will increase this year reports the Canberra Times.
“Drivers will be hit with a double whammy of increased parking costs and more expensive fines under revenue raising plans detailed in the ACT budget.
The ACT government is looking to rake in more from parking and traffic infringements after a lower than expected take last year.
Traffic fines up to raise revenue
Parking in the city will increase by 6 per cent, which could cost an average household about $160 more each year, according to ACT government modelling.
A one-car family driving to the city for work would now pay $2772 in yearly parking costs, according to an ACT government scenario. Continue reading
Police Chief on trial
The Guardian Australia 
At the height of Australia’s most bizarre political crisis, when the Northern Territory chief minister Adam Giles was rolled by his colleagues and refused to leave, the besieged leader stood in his living room and said senior police were behind it all.
“The allegations that have been coming out about senior members of the police force actively running a coup, or a campaign, in cahoots with some alleged politicians is a significant problem,” Giles said. He thought his phone was tapped. He had thrown it in the pool.
Giles never publicly explained what – or who – he was talking about.
Over the past 40 days, the trial of the former NT police commissioner John McRoberts has heard evidence that shed new light on certain pivotal events in the months before the botched coup.
Hit and run
ABC online reports on a hit and run incident in Western Australia.
The distraught wife of a fly-in, fly-out worker critically injured in a hit-and-run incident in WA’s north has appealed for public information to help find those responsible.
Jacob Lee Moore, 41, a father of two from Mandurah, south of Perth, is in a critical condition at Royal Perth Hospital after being struck by a car on a Karratha road in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Mr Moore’s wife Jolene said her husband, who works for Global Construction Services, had been due to fly home to his family in Mandurah on Saturday.
Police said Mr Moore was found lying on Murjira Ramble in the Karratha suburb of Baynton at about 2:30am on Saturday, not far from where he lived.
New digital drivers licence
New Digital Licence in NSW
NSW drivers will soon be able to show the police their licence on their phones when pulled over.
Legislation will be introduced soon to enable a digital licence to be available through the Service NSW app on mobile phones. It will allow people to use it as proof of age and identity to get into pubs and clubs also.
This follows a trial in Dubbo last year with 1400 residents. Drivers who opt-in for the digital service will still be provided a physical care but won’t be required to carry it.
South Australia implemented a similar scheme in September 2017.
It paves the way for the use of technology to become a de facto wallet.
No news of a similar introduction to the ACT.
A full article can be located here.
Please note our blogs are not legal advice. If you would like to speak to a lawyer about a criminal, traffic or family violence matter, please call Alliance Legal on 6223 2400 and speak to our criminal lawyer, Tania Hayward.
New 40 km per hour rule in relation to emergency vehicles
On 14 April 2018 a new road transport offence commenced in the ACT.
The new legislation requires drivers to reduce their speed to 40km/h when passing or overtaking a stationary or slow moving emergency vehicle that is displaying a blue or red flashing light. Continue reading
Proposed changes to P Plate laws in ACT
The ACT government is introducing a range of changes designed to improve the safety of young drivers and reduce the road toll.
What are the changes?
The range of approaches include:
- introducing P1 for 1 year, and P2 for 2 years to target restrictions for new drivers
- requiring learner drivers to hold their licence for at least 12 months until they are 17 years old and complete a minimum of 100 supervised driving hours; at least 10 hours at night
- restricting P1 drivers from having more than one passenger aged 16-24 years
- restricting P1 drivers from driving between midnight and 5 am
- banning mobile phones, including hands free, for L, P1 and P2 drivers
- introducing hazard perception testing before P plates.
Failure to protect children from sexual abuse could become a crime in the ACT
Isn’t protecting children from sexual abuse already a crime?
Not in the ACT…. however, ACT Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay is looking at law reforms, similar to those in Victoria, that would make it a crime for failing to protect a child from sexual abuse. While teachers and other professionals who work with children must report misconduct to the ACT Ombudsman, there is no blanket law that requires all people in the ACT to report child sexual abuse, if they become aware of it. Such laws already exist in Victoria and NSW.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommended that all states and territories adopt the Victorian legislation. In the Commission’s final report it stated, “We agree that prevention of institutional child sexual abuse is the goal, but we consider that the failure to protect offence reinforces the importance of prevention and attached appropriate criminal consequences to serious failures to take available steps to prevent abuse“. The Commission recommended the laws should only apply to institutions, not all people.
The ACT government has already moved to explicitly outlaw grooming and sexual relationships with children, as part of the Commission’s preliminary recommendations. However, Ken Archer, the ACT Bar Association president described those amendments as a ‘shocker’ because it could in fact criminalise sex education. The ACT government have made the new reforms available for public comment until 27 April 2018. If you would like to make a comment you can find out how at yoursay.act.gov.au
Please note our blogs are not legal advice. If you would like to speak to a lawyer about a criminal, traffic or family violence matter, please call Alliance Legal on 6223 2400 and speak to our criminal lawyer, Tania Hayward.
Man caught speeding 33 times
33 convictions for speeding….
Canberra man, Miroslav Guba’s failed to appear in Milton Court in February 2018. He was supposed to face court for speeding north of Ulladulla at 1:30am one morning. He was travelling at 145km/h in a 100km/h zone. Continue reading
Crime statistics in Canberra
Crime on the rise in Canberra
The latest release of Canberra crime statistics show that there has been an increase in burglaries, thefts and assaults. The increases show:
- home burglaries in Kingston rose more than 50% than last year, and 32% in the city
- armed robberies were up 21%
- motor vehicle theft up 41%
Pedestrian or push bike at fault?
A recent crash between an elderly man and a person riding a bike in Flemington, Melbourne caused some confusion amongst viewers when dash cam footage when viral.
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers have weighed into the argument and provide their view. Check out the dash cam footage here and see what you think…..
According to MBL there is no specific road rule in Victoria that allows ‘bicycle lane filtering’ as there is for motorcyles. So in the absence of that rule, other road rules still apply.
Victoria road rules for bikes:
- bike riders are required to travel so that their vehicle is completely within the lane markings, unless they are changing lanes
- bike riders must use a bike lane if there is one, unless it is not practical
- so the bike rider in the video should not have been travelling between two rows of stationary cars given that there is a bike lane.
Pedestrian crossing the road:
- the video appears to show that the man was within 20 metres of a signalised pedestrian crossing which means he should not have crossed at the road where he did
- pedestrians should always look out for their own safety as they do not have a right of way. Pedestrians only have right of way in limited circumstances, for example at pedestrian crossings, intersections, driveways, or special shared zones.
Who is at fault?
There is not simple answer! Both people appear to have broken the road rules.
Biohacker guilty of fare evasion
Meow-Ludo Disco Gamma Meow-Meow, aged 33, (and formerly known as Stuart McKellar), plead guilty in a NSW Court in March 2018 for fare evasion. Mr Meow-Meow had a NSW Opal card chip implanted in his hand, but because he couldn’t produce the card when confronted by a Sydney train inspector, he was charged with fare evasion. Continue reading
Woman trafficked into Australia for sex
A NSW man was extradited to Canberra in February 2018 after being arrested at the Moonlight Gentleman’s Club in Auburn, NSW. It is alleged that Bradley Grey, 53, has worked in the adult entertainment industry for years, and trafficked a woman into Australia and forced her into sex work in a Canberra brothel. He is charged with human trafficking, forced labour, breaking immigration law, raping and committing an indecent act on the woman. Continue reading
Credit Card knives banned under Prohibited Weapons Act 1996
From 28 March 2018, the ACT Prohibited Weapons Act 1996 will be amended to ban several items including specialised firearms and accessories, as well as disguised or hidden blades or spikes – known as credit card knives.
According to Detective Superintendent Mick Calatzis from ACT Police ‘these items have been on sale legally in many places for quite some time, and may have been brought into the country as souvenirs.’ Despite this, they are dangerous, and the police will not hesitate to prosecute those who are possessing the items from March 28. The maximum penalty for the unauthorised possession or use of a prohibited weapon, such as a credit card knife is $75,000, 5 years imprisonment, or both. Continue reading
Man approaching students in Belconnen
ACT Police are investigating several reports of a man in a white sedan who has reportedly been approaching school children in the Belconnen area.
The incidents are alleged to have recently occurred before and after school in the suburbs of Melba, Flynn, and Fraser.
Police have described the man’s vehicle as a small white four door sedan, that possibly has black louvres on the rear window. They have also released a ‘face fit’ of the alleged person. Police are keen to identify the man and his vehicle; if you have any information please contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Police are asking parents to remind their children about stranger danger, and reporting any unusual activities immediately.
Sex offender caught 15 years later
On 25 February 2001, Benjamin Morgan followed two young girls as they were walking along a street in Charnwood, ACT. Morgan walked up behind the two 15-year-old girls and grabbed one of them. The other friend yelled at him to let her go, but instead he held the girl from behind and masturbated himself as the young girl cried and begged for him to let her go. Morgan ejaculated, then let go of the girl, and both girls ran home. Police had obtained a DNA profile, but were never able to identify Morgan as the attacker until 2015.
In 2015, police received an interstate DNA match that suggested Morgan was the offender. The results said it was 100 billion times more likely to be him.
In March 2018, Morgan finally faced court. The ACT Supreme Court heard that Morgan claimed he had no recollection of the offences against the two girls, and he said he had been living in Perth at the time. Eventually he plead guilty and was sentenced by Justice John Burns to 15 months, and a non-parole period of eight months. He is eligible for release in October. Justice Burns said that although Morgan had committed more sex crimes in the intervening years, the crimes against the girls were his first in time, and he was sentenced on that basis.
The Canberra Times article can be read here.
Please note our blogs are not legal advice. If you would like to speak to a lawyer about a criminal, traffic or family violence matter, please call Alliance Legal on 6223 2400 and speak to our criminal lawyer, Tania Hayward.
Canberra public servant charged with “upskirting”
An employee of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) faced court on 1 March 2018 charged with 3 counts of ‘upskirting’ and one count of failing to comply with a direction.
The 51-year-old male made an application for bail when he appeared before Magistrate Boss. His lawyer told the court that his wife was happy to have him home, and he would comply with bail conditions.
The Prosecutor told the court that police found 240 images and videos when the checked the man’s phone, and there was a “significant” amount of child exploitation material found at his home. It is alleged he had tens of thousands of images and videos on various storage devices. Continue reading
Memberships and Associations
