Tag: Courts
Why do people breach their bail? Our research shows it’s not because they’re committing more crimes
There’s a widespread belief that people who breach their bail conditions do so deliberately, but the real causes are often much more benign.
Dogma or data? Why sentencing reforms in NZ will annoy judges and clog the courts
Judges routinely reduce sentences based on mitigating factors. But a proposal to cap such reductions will potentially lead to fewer guilty pleas and put more strain on a the justice system.
Australia’s first civilian jury was entirely female. Here’s how ‘juries of matrons’ shaped our legal history
Centuries ago, women could “plead the belly” - argue they were pregnant to avoid the death penalty. It gave rise to the female jurors in Australian courtrooms.
A judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation trial against Network 10 has been delayed. What’s going on?
Just days before Justice Michael Lee was due to pass down his judgement, Network 10 threw another spanner in the works.
David McBride is facing jailtime for helping reveal alleged war crimes. Will it end whistleblowing in Australia?
David McBride helped bring about a reckoning with the Australian Defence Force, but came at a legal cost. Will it stop others coming forward?
The rule of law is fundamental to a free society – so why don’t NZ courts always uphold it?
Court decisions based on a judge’s discretion rather than the letter of the law are increasingly common. But this risks undermining some basic liberties.
The words that helped wrongly convict Kathleen Folbigg
The meanings we carry around in our heads seem so natural and inborn that we fail to realise other people can have quite different understandings.
Some people think income tax is illegal. It's pseudolaw, and it's damaging the legal system
Pseudolaw looks a bit like law. It uses legal texts and sounds like something a lawyer might say. But it does not follow normal legal rules. So where did it come from, and why it is so worrisome?