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Criminal Law Articles

Changes to roadside random drug and alcohol testing in NSW

Please note this article only relates to drink driving and driving with a prescribed restricted substance in your oral fluid. What has changed? From 1st September 2024, there have been several major changes in New South Wales about how roadside drug and alcohol testing is conducted. Roadside Drug…

Criminal Infringement Notices and Drug Possession in NSW

What is a Criminal Infringement Notice (CIN) in New South Wales? A CIN is an alternative option available to NSW Police instead of sending you to Court. You must satisfy certain requirements such as being an adult, not continuing to commit the offence or being too intoxicated to…

Don’t Risk It: How to Successfully Manage Your Bail Conditions

In the Australian legal system, bail is a crucial process that allows individuals charged with a crime to remain at liberty (in the community) while awaiting trial, provided they comply with certain conditions set by the court. Despite its importance, many people find themselves in breach of their…

Terrigal Night Out Gone Wrong: Three Co-Offenders Let Off Without Conviction

Our Mr Francis Caesar Devine, Associate, represented three young co-defendants charged with possessing small quantities of cocaine on a night out in Terrigal. Each of them pleaded guilty and were sentenced in the Local Court at Gosford. Mr Devine put together strong subjective cases on behalf of each…

Murder charge dropped in Victorian cold case

Manny Conditsis, Senior Trial Advocate and Accredited Specialist in Criminal Law, assisted by Kayla Nielsen lawyer, achieved another extraordinary result in the Victorian cold case murder charge of Peter Wetzler. In September 2023, Mr Wetzler was arrested at his Newcastle home and charged with the murder of Debra…

Client charged with supply large commercial quantity of MDMA granted bail 

Michal Mantaj, Trial Advocate and Accredited Specialist in Criminal Law, recently appeared for a client charged with supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, namely MDMA. It is very unusual for an individual charged with supplying a commercial quantity of drugs to be granted bail as…

Dangerous Driving & Police Pursuit Charges Withdrawn & Dismissed

Last week Michal Mantaj, Accredited Specialist in Criminal Law & Trial Advocate, appeared for a young man charged with taking part in a police pursuit. On conviction, the offence attracts a maximum penalty of imprisonment for a period of three (3) years and an automatic disqualification of a…

Jennifer Crumbley convicted of 4 counts of involuntary manslaughter in the USA

What is Involuntary Manslaughter? There are two types of involuntary manslaughter in the USA [can vary as between states]: 1. Unintentional homicide – act(s) committed that amount to criminal negligence. Example 1– an ad hoc supposed health professional providing ‘care’ to someone that was so negligent that caused…

Client charged with murder granted bail at the Victorian Supreme Court

On 6 September 2023 our client was charged with murdering his fiancee almost 40 years ago in Victoria, and Victorian police applied for his extradition and for him to be remanded in custody. Senior Trial Advocate Manny Conditsis successfully resisted the extradition on the basis that the case…

Client charged with 12 counts of sexual abuse found not guilty.

Recently, Michal Mantaj, one of the trial advocates from our criminal defence team, successfully represented a client who was charged with 12 offences related to allegations that he sexually abused his stepdaughter and another female family member. Our client maintained his innocence and entered pleas of not guilty…

No Criminal Record, Licence Disqualification or Fine for Dangerous Driving

Criminal Law Solicitor, Ms Kayla Nielsen, has successfully persuaded Toronto Local Court to discharge a client from criminal charges on mental health grounds. Our client was charged with Dangerous Driving and reported that, at the time of driving, he had an episode of extreme anxiety and panic. It…

Kathleen Folbigg Pardon – Important Questions Answered

Has she been found Not Guilty? No. She has been Pardoned, meaning she has received the benefit of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy The Royal Prerogative of Mercy, relevantly,  is as it sounds, a process that leads to mercy given to a person previously convicted of serious crime.…

I have received a Court Attendance Notice- what now?

What is a Court Attendance Notice A Court Attendance Notice (CAN) is an official document notifying you and the court that police have charged you with a criminal offence. This document provides important information about your charge, including What crime you have been charged with. A very brief…

Manny Conditsis named Australia’s Criminal Law Partner of the Year

Senior Trial Advocate and Managing Director of Conditsis Lawyers, Manny Conditsis, has been named Criminal Law Partner of the Year at the 2021 Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards. Mr Conditsis was accompanied by co-director, Michal Mantaj, and the Conditsis Lawyers team at the black-tie event held…

Better get a lawyer, son. You better get a real good one!

As a rule, I would not suggest that anyone take legal advice from an Indie Rock Band, but the above line from the “better get a lawyer” by the Cruel Sea is an exception to that rule. Not only does it emphasize the importance of legal representation but,…

Alex Bailey named top criminal lawyer under 30 by Lawyers Weekly!

We are thrilled to announce that on Friday 11 June our criminal lawyer Alex Bailey won the Criminal Law category of the Lawyers Weekly Top 30 Under 30. These awards identify the top young lawyers across Australia, recognising the depth of talent and outstanding achievements of Australia’s young…

Christian Porter | Populist Opinion v Procedural Fairness & Justice

  Popular Opinion Where there is smoke there is fire [2020 Four Corners Program as to recent and historical inappropriate behaviour of Christian Porter] as well as the more recent allegations of sexual assault dating back to 1988 [33 years ago]. Irrespective of Police confirmation of its own…

Criminalisation of coercive control

This is a hot topic at present and rightly so. There needs to be and should be significant community discussion and education to do the subject justice. Is coercive control a form of domestic violence or abuse and should it be criminalised? The overwhelming answer is Yes! It…

Do you have teenage children? You need to read this!

Did you know that it is a criminal offence to have consensual sex or any form of consensual sexual touching when one or both are under the age of 16 years? Example 1: the boy is 16 ½ and the girl is 15 ½ – it is a…

Hung Juries in Sexual Assault Trials

What does a hung Jury mean? In Australia, for an accused to either be found guilty or not guilty of a crime in a jury trial, the starting point is that the jury decision must be unanimous. However, after jury deliberations of about 8 hours or so, the…

New domestic violence laws bad news for unrepresented defendants

A new law recently passed by the NSW parliament is going to make it even more difficult for defendants who cannot afford a lawyer to defend themselves. The law is part of a suite of reforms aimed at making it easier for complainants (alleged victims) in domestic violence…

The Cannabis Cautioning Scheme

The debate over how to deal with cannabis use is back in the headlines again, courtesy of the ACT Government. In September of 2019 the ACT Government passed laws decriminalising the possession of small amounts of cannabis and cultivation of small numbers of cannabis plants. This approach to…

Illegal Mobile Phone Use On NSW Roads

The current penalty for using a mobile phone whilst driving a motor vehicle is $344 and five demerit points. But is this enough to deter drivers from using a mobile phone whilst on the road? The NSW Government is not convinced. With the increase of fatalities on NSW…

Pill Testing

As you’re aware, pill testing has been at the forefront of the media over the last few weeks. It comes in the wake of a number of young people dying at festivals from alleged drug overdoses. There has been public outcry, asking the NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, to…

On the spot fines for possession of prohibited drugs

On 25 January 2019, the NSW Government implemented legislation enabling police officers to issue on the spot fines for drug possession offences. What does this mean? Police officers will have the discretion and power to issue a $400 fine to offenders found with illicit drugs in their possession.…

Supreme Court jurisdiction questioned for hearing bail applications

In the recent decision of Noufl v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW)[i] the Supreme Court ruled it did not have the jurisdiction to hear a bail application while an appeal was pending in the Court of Criminal Appeal. The decision was an appeal against conviction, with the appellant…

Under Age Consensual Sex – Should Either Party Be Charged?

 Background – Case Study – Client John Note: Psyuedonyms for all names   Initially, John was charged in relation to two complainants – Mary and Jane. At the time of the alleged offences, Mary was about 16 years and some months and Jane about 15 years and 9…

Self Defence in NSW

In New South Wales the law as to self-defence is essentially contained in Section 418 of the Crimes Act 1900 and there are various case authorities that interpret that section. Essentially, there are two (2) legs to making out a defence of self-defence and they are: The person…

Immunity for on-field violence must end

It is time that we, as a society, stopped treating on-field violence by sport stars as being immune from criminal prosecution and held athletes accountable for their actions in the same way as the rest of us. This weekend’s round of NRL saw yet another ugly brawl between…

Criminal Law Matters: Issue 7

CAN I GET A LICENCE JUST FOR WORK? CAN I GET A WORK LICENCE? I HAVE BEEN TOLD YOU CAN GET A LICENCE JUST TO GO TO AND FROM WORK  No! No! No! Not in NSW!! NOOOOO!   I remain fascinated by the fact that every client for…

Major Changes to NSW Sentencing Law

Proposed Legislation The Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Sentencing Options) Act 2017 No 53 will make substantial amendments to the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 [“the Act”] and is scheduled to be proclaimed in about May 2018.  Gloss Overview  Abolition of Good Behaviour Bonds (s9) AND replacement with Conditional…

Make the most of a Pre-Sentence Report interview

A Pre-Sentence Report (“PSR”) is a report about you prepared for the court by the community offenders service. It is used by the Court to help decide what sentence to impose on you. It will also let the court know whether you are suitable to be placed on…

The Newcastle Herald: Behind Newcastle’s rising crime statistics

Opinion | What’s behind area’s rising crime statistics The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research disclosed last week that crime across most of NSW had remained stable or fallen over the past two years. The bad news, particularly for Newcastle, is that most major crimes are increasing in the…

New increased police powers unjustified and problematic

Recent changes to parole and shoot to kill laws and regulations introduced through amendments to terrorism legislation in New South Wales present some very real concerns to our priceless civil liberties under the repeated political populace mantra that this is necessary to make us “safer from terrorists that…

Should I speak with police?

When Police are investigating an allegation that you have committed a criminal offence, they will usually invite you to participate in an interview with them about the allegations. Deciding whether or not to accept this invitation can be one of the most difficult and important decisions you will…

Federal Government’s Proposed New Encryption Laws

The Federal Government has recently announced that it intends to make new encryption laws to force tech companies to provide law enforcement authorities with assistance to intercept and decrypt communications. While little else is known concerning the details of these proposed laws, the language which the Prime Minister…

Traffic Offender’s Intervention Program

The Traffic Offender’s Intervention Program (TOIP) is typically a pre-sentence course for people who have committed traffic offences. If you are a traffic offender the Magistrate or Judge may refer you to the program or you can book in directly. If you undertake to complete it, your court proceedings are…

How the two hour rule can help defend a drink driving charge

If you’re charged with a drink driving offence, you need to take it seriously. Acting quickly to get advice from an expert traffic lawyer could mean the difference between receiving a fine, losing your licence or even a stint in jail. Depending on your case, your lawyer may…

Defending Drink Driving Charges

Introduction Being convicted of a drink driving charge can potentially have devastating consequences for both you and your family. It begins with a loss of your driver’s licence. For some people that is merely an inconvenience, however for others -who rely on their licence to maintain their employment-…