O7540 Justice

Jury challenges should be halved: commission

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Original article by Jane Lee
The Age – Page: 4 : 4-Sep-14

Defendants in criminal trials in Victoria have the right to make as many as six peremptory challenges to juror selections. Juries Commissioner’s Office data show that in 2013 two thirds of female jury candidates were the target of a challenge, but only a third of male ones. In order to boost diversity, the Victorian Law Reform Commission recommends halving the number of allowable challenges to three. It also wants jurors to be referred to during the court proceedings by numbers rather than their names. Attorney-General Robert Clark has pledged look at the issues

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VICTORIAN LAW REFORM COMMISSION, VICTORIA. OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL, VICTORIA. JURIES COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA

Kill accused’s version ‘not convincing’

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Original article by Tim Clarke
The West Australian – Page: 22 : 3-Sep-14

The murder trial of Mervyn Bell continued in the Supreme Court of Western Australia on 2 September 2014. Prosecutor Amanda Forrester told the court that the accused was responsible for the death of a baby in March 2013, but acknowledged that the exact cause of his death cannot be determined. Bell has been charged with raping and killing the child, who was 10 months old at the time of his death

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SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Most people fail to plan for end of life

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Original article by Amy Corderoy
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 10 : 3-Sep-14

Queensland University of Technology’s Australian Centre for Health Law Research has issued a new study on advance care directives. Director Ben White says the survey of 7,200-plus respondents shows that while in Queensland and South Australia some 20% of people have such detailed plans for how much medical treatment they want to receive toward the end of their life, in Victoria and New South Wales the rates are much lower and the average is only 14%. There is a strong correlation between having a financial enduring power of attorney or will and preparing a care directive

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QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY. AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR HEALTH LAW RESEARCH, UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

Fewer injuries but aggression worse

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Original article by Michael Koziol
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 4 : 2-Sep-14

A New South Wales parliamentary inquiry will hold a public hearing on lockout laws for licensed venues on 4 September 2014. The rules were introduced in February, and prohibit venues from admitting patrons after 1:30am. The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons’ submission to the inquiry notes that the laws have led to fewer people attending St Vincent’s hospital with alcohol-related injuries, although proprietors of some venues say the lockout has led to increased violence toward staff

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ROYAL AUSTRALASIAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS, SIDE BAR, THE STAR, ECHO ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX EGP

Disabled bay penalty $2000

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Original article by Kate Emery
The West Australian – Page: 5 : 2-Sep-14

The Western Australian Govenment will crack down on motorists who use parking spaces that are reserved for drivers with disabilities. At present the maximum fine for using disabled parking bays without a permit is $A140, but this will be increased to $A300. However, disability advocates believe that more severe on-the-spot fines are justified. Courts will be able to impose fines of $A2,000 under the reforms, compared with $A1,000 at present

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NATIONAL DISABILITY SERVICES LIMITED, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Legal aid restored for family violence victims

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Original article by Jane Lee
The Age – Page: 8 : 1-Sep-14

Family Court of Australia Chief Justice Diana Bryant and others attacked a decision in 2013 by Victoria Legal Aid (VLA), triggered by budget cuts. It cancelled payments for legal assistance to those who were appearing in child custody matters, did not have a lawyer and were victims of domestic violence. VLA has now reinstated aid for cases in which the perpetrators have been found guilty of breaching an intervention order or of similar family-violence related offences

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VICTORIA LEGAL AID, FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA, SUNSHINE MAGISTRATES’ COURT, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTORIA INCORPORATED, WOMEN’S LEGAL SERVICE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Doctors warn on euthanasia

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The West Australian – Page: 15 : 1-Sep-14

There is opposition among Western Australian doctors to a federal private member’s Bill on euthanasia. The so-called "dying with dignity" bill is being introduced to federal parliament by Australian Greens senator Richard Di Natale. Dr Doug Bridges, the former head of palliative care at the Royal Perth Hospital, says the emphasis should be on giving terminally-ill patients good palliative care, adding that doctors should not be forced to kill people

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AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ROYAL PERTH HOSPITAL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Prison cops

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Original article by Grant Taylor
The West Australian – Page: 1 : 28-Aug-14

Western Australia’s Department of Corrective Services and the organised crime squad will form a specialist task force to address the issue of organised crime in the prison system. The task force has been set up in response to a police investigation dubbed "Operation Ulysses", which revealed that prison officers have been smuggling drugs into the state’s prisons. Three prison staff were arrested as part of the investigation

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WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CORRECTIVE SERVICES, WESTERN AUSTRALIAN POLICE SERVICE

State’s crime rate rises for third year

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Original article by
The Age – Page: 4 : 28-Aug-14

New data shows that there was a 3.7 per cent increase in Victoria’s crime rate during the 2013-14 financial year. This includes an 0.2 per cent increase in crimes against the person and a 7.5 per cent rise in sexual offences that did not involve rape. Reports of family violence rose by 6.2 per cent, while some 3,813 offences related to the use of "ice" were reported to police

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VICTORIA POLICE, VICTORIA. DEPT OF JUSTICE

Metadata to be defined under planned new data retention laws

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Original article by Ben Grubb
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 5 : 28-Aug-14

Australian Attorney-General George Brandis has conceded that the definition of "metadata" is currently too ambitious and vague. He has pledged that new legislation to force telcos and ISPs into storing the information for as long as two years, in order to aid anti-terrorism investigations, will now contain clear details on what types of data are covered. An internal discussion paper has already excluded unified resource locators and destination internet protocol addresses

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AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ELECTRONIC FRONTIERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, SKYPE TECHNOLOGIES SA, WHATSAPP INCORPORATED, VIBER MEDIA INCORPORATED, BITTORRENT INCORPORATED