Aggravated assault, ABH, GBH

Common assault is one of the most prosecuted criminal offences in the Local and District Courts given its ability to cover a wide range of complaints. In fact, common assault can occur without touching at all. For example, threatening death or injury, spitting on someone or raising a hand to someone in anger.

Magistrate penalties on criminal offence

In NSW, the list of penalties that may be handed out in criminal offences are contained in the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW). The penalty which is imposed depends on a range of factors, including:

The seriousness of your offence;
Which court your charge is heard in;
The charge which ultimately is sought by the police; and
How persuasive you or your lawyer are in court, including remorse.

Indictable Offense

If you have ever been summoned for a criminal charge, it is likely that you have seen the words summary or indictable on your court attendance notice (often abbreviated to “CAN”). Whether your offence is labelled a summary offence or indictable offence will determine factors such as:

Common assault

Did you know that threatening someone, pushing them or spitting on them may expose a person to the possibility of 2 years imprisonment or $2200 fine?

Common assault is one of the most prosecuted criminal offences in the Local Courts. Why? It is one of the broadest criminal charges in NSW. Facts supporting an assault charge may also contain circumstances which attract an offence of actual bodily harm (ABH), grievous bodily harm (GBH) or may attract ‘aggravated assault’. It is not unusual for the police to run several of these charges at once.

Diversity of the profession

Australia has the same number of female and male solicitors. In fact, in 2018, there were more recorded female than male solicitors practicing in Australia. However, this statistic does not reveal the imbalance in the representation of classes across the legal profession. Not many in the legal profession truly know what it means to live below the poverty line or deal with the stressors in life which come with this.

Curtis Scott and Police misconduct

The principle that a defendant in a criminal trial is innocent until proven guilty is a fundamental common law right. It is also known as the ‘golden rule’ in Woolmington v DPP [1935] AC 462. In theory, this principal should protect alleged criminals from being judged without a formal hearing and from being subject to punishment, including via police conduct. Unfortunately for sporting stars whose reputation off-field is intrinsically linked with how the public perceive the sport, players accused of criminal offences are often pre-judged by the public and by their sport authority.

An Overview of Australian Drug Laws

In Australia drug laws are very complex, including both federal and state laws. Importing or exporting drugs is an offence under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). Committing this offence under the commonwealth laws may result in very serious penalties and imprisonment for several years.

Domestic Violence series 2

The Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Amendment (Coercive Control – Preethi’s Law) Bill 2020 was introduced to Parliament by Labour member for Shellharbour, Anna Watson, in late September. The introduction of the bill followed the tragic murders of Preethi Reddy and Hannah Clarke, and in the context of a global epidemic of domestic violence and family homicides during COVID-19.