If you are charged with a criminal offence, what are the chances of those charges, including your name, being made publicly available (including to the media), regardless of the ultimate outcome?
If you're charged with drink driving, the prosecution must prove that you drove a motor vehicle and that at the time of driving, you were under the influence of alcohol. Proving the offence can become much more difficult if you were breath-tested at a time when you were no longer driving.
A committal hearing is a preliminary hearing held in the Magistrates Court to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for an accused person to stand trial in a higher court.
Amendments to weapons licencing assessments have seen an apparent increase in the number of refusals to grant or renew a license. If you've had an adverse decision about your application, you have 28 days to appeal to QCAT.
It is possible that someone can be convicted of an offence even though not performing any of the acts or omissions which constitute the offence. Such people are known as a “party” to the offence, sometimes also called an “accomplice” or an “accessory”.
A second prosecution can’t be brought after an acquittal and a person can’t be further punished after being convicted and sentenced. The legal principle that ensures this is commonly referred to as “double jeopardy”.
This article looks at what powers police have to seize property, when police have to return that property, and how the property might otherwise be forfeited if seized.
Important changes to the law surrounding guardians and attorneys were introduced in November 2020 which now expressly provides that a guardian or an attorney cannot enter a plea in a criminal proceeding on behalf of another individual.
New offences for failing to report and protect children from child sex offences came into effect in Queensland on 5 July 2021; The offence of "Failure to Protect" and the offence of "Failure to Report".
A look at when multiple criminal charges can be tried at the same time and also a case where multiple charges were joined on the same indictment, however, the court found this should not have occurred.
Charging a person criminally can have far-reaching consequences , not only for the charged person, but also for his or her family, the community, and the criminal justice system. So, what other options are there to laying criminal charges?
The law provides a privilege (immunity) against providing information or documents which may be self-incriminating. This, alongside the right to remain silent, ensures that an accused person cannot be compelled to give evidence leading to his or her own conviction.