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The Coroner’s Court plays a pivotal role in the Victorian justice system. Coroners are judicial officers who are responsible for the independent investigation of all reportable deaths and fires. Each year, Victoria’s coroners independently investigate roughly 6,500...

The Victorian legal system has strong safeguards in place against workplace bullying, harassment, and discrimination. This is evidenced by the Victorian WorkSafe Authority having prosecutorial powers through provisions within the Occupational Health and Safety Act...

To be frank, there is no one size fits all approach when it comes to effectively defending against drug charges. Any experienced and specialised criminal lawyer knows that effective defence strategies for drug related charges depend on the specific charge and...

Expert witnesses can play an extremely important role in both a trial defence strategy and in sentence mitigation during a plea hearing. This article will examine the role of expert witnesses and how they can be utilised by defence lawyers. What is an Expert Witness?...

In Victoria, there are several important stages and court procedures that must be completed before a case goes to trial. These stages include committal hearings, directions hearings and pre-trial legal argument (also known as Voir Dire or Basha enquiries). These...

Unfortunately, there’s no way to sugar coat it. Having a criminal record is a barrier to obtaining employment following a court proceeding. This is particularly the case where someone has been convicted of violent, sexual or dishonesty related offences, such as fraud...

When an accused person pleads guilty to a criminal offence in a court, they are formally making a concession that the prosecution can prove the elements of the offence to the criminal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt. Although a plea of guilty does not...

More often than not, you will not have advance notice that you are going to be arrested. However, if you are fortunate enough to know in advance that Police may seek to question you, then you have an opportunity to educate and prepare yourself for this process....

The law surrounding sexual offences, particularly issues of consent in prosecutions for alleged sex crimes, is complex and constantly evolving. Consent is a fraught and complex issue for law makers, because of our increased understanding of sexual assault and because...