CrimNet

22 June 2023

What Kathleen Folbigg's pardon should teach us

Sydney Institute of Criminology has called for the establishment of a Criminal Cases Review Commission in Australia. The institute has written to Attorneys General and other political leaders. A list of people and institutions that have indicated their support is mentioned on the Sydney Institute of Criminology website. To read the letter and the list of signatories. See here.

Institute member, Professor David Hamer, and Institute Director, Dr Andrew Dyer, explain why Kathleen Folbigg's pardon points to the need for a Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in Australia. 

6PR interviewed Professor David Hamer about how pardons work in the Australian legal system. Listen here. 

CNN interviewed Dr Andrew Dyer about the possible establishment of a CCRN. See here.

Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, 12 - 13 June 2023

Authors: Dr Carolyn McKay, Associate Professor Dorris de Vocht, Dr Lisa Flower & Dr Christine Peristeridou.

The rapid uptake of remote communication technologies in criminal justice during the COVID-19 pandemic has piqued interest in the potential for virtual criminal proceedings. While some courts are winding back pandemic-induced remote appearances, other courts are embracing the new norm and seizing the opportunity for further digitalisation. We suspect that in many jurisdictions, the future of criminal justice is increasingly looking hybrid or even virtual.

However, what are the implications of expanding remote modes in criminal procedure? Modernisation and efficiencies are worthy aspirations but how are they to be balanced against procedural justice safeguards, human rights measures and access to justice principles? How are the different justice actors impacted: judicial officers, prosecutors, defence lawyers, complainants/victims, suspects, accused people and the broader community? Are digitalised proceedings positive for some and detrimental to others? Is the suitability of digitalised justice dependent on the type of offences, age or capacity of individuals, whether pre-trial or trial procedures, adversarial or inquisitorial modes?

To address the many legal, procedural, ethical and social issues raised by the accelerating use of technologies in courts and for legal conferencing, we - four academics from four different universities - have established an international collaboration:

· Dr. Dorris de Vocht, Associate Professor, Tilburg Law School, Department of Criminal Law (The Netherlands),

· Dr. Christina Peristeridou, Assistant Professor of European Criminal Law at Maastricht University (The Netherlands),

· Dr. Lisa Flower, Associate Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology, Lund University (Sweden), and

· Dr. Carolyn McKay, Senior Research Fellow, University of Sydney Law School, Co-Director, Sydney Institute of Criminology (Australia).

On 12-13 June 2023, we held a symposium at Maastricht Law School in the Netherlands to gather multidisciplinary perspectives from international scholars with the aim of developing a collaborative research agenda for the post-pandemic era. The research agenda will serve to fill the gaps in knowledge and adopt a forward-thinking approach, tempered by critical engagement and close attention to the demands of fairness. With this in mind, we are developing a website as a hub for collaboration and repository for proposed research.

The symposium was an energising and inspiring event that revealed synergies between scholars as well as subtle differences in approaches across countries. We commenced with a keynote speech from Professor Jenia Iontcheva Turner, SMU Law School, Dallas, Texas: ‘What lessons can be learned from the COVID experience’. This was followed with 4 panel sessions:

· The dynamics of the trial: courtroom interactions in a virtual session

· The outcome of the trial: judicial decision-making

· The fair trial context: systemic due process values

· The endless potential of technology in the courtroom: how to move forward

Invited guest speakers and approximately 50 people attended onsite and online from countries including Australia, Belgium, England, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and United States. The keynote speech and panel presentations were followed by questions from the onsite and online audience raising issues on several important topics such as: the impact of videolinks on different constitutional and procedural rights, the potential and perceived effects of remote justice on courtroom emotions, empathy and credibility assessment, and the future of immersive virtual technology (such as avatars) in the courtroom. Given the great success of this pilot symposium, we are now moving forward with plans for another event in late Spring 2024 at Lund University, Sweden.

Should you wish to find out more and/or to be placed on the mailing list of the website, please contact: Dr. Carolyn McKay, Co-Director, Sydney Institute of Criminology on carolyn.mckay@sydney.edu.au 

For further information regarding the symposium, please see: https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/events/symposium-virtual-criminal-trials

Judith Cashmore, Peiling Kong and Meredith McLaine have published a new study: Children’s Participation in Care and Protection Decision-Making Matters, Laws 2023 12(3) 49. Read it here.

Institute member, Professor David Hamer, co-authored a journal article titled, 'The Logic and Value of the Presumption of Doli Incapax (Failing That, an Incapacity Defence)' with Thomas Crofts. Read it here. 

Institute Member, Zahra Stardust, co-authored a chapter titled, 'Archetypal Sluts: Payment of Sex Workers as a Condition of Consent' in 'New Directions in Sexual Violence Scholarship: Law, Power and Change'. Read it here. 

Dr Stardust also co-authored a paper titled, 'High Risk Hustling: Payment Processors Sexual Proxies and Discrimination by Design' in The City University of New York Law Review. Read it here. 

Institute member, Dr Ben Mostyn's PhD, titled, 'Australia, the United Nations, and the War on Drugs: Examining Australia’s Support for the 1988 Drug Convention', was shortlisted for The Australian Legal Research Awards. See here. 

Institute member, Professor Murray Lee, commented on the topic, 'Private security guard numbers are increasing. What's behind the trend', published by ABC News. Read here. 

ABC Radio Canberra also interviewed him about workplace safety and risk liability.

Dr Justin Ellis was invited to speak at the first of three think tanks on Policing in the Metaverse, with focus on criminal law responses and law enforcement. See here. 

What can New South Wales learn from the standalone human rights legislation already introduced in Victoria, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory, as well as current developments at the federal level? How would a NSW Human Rights Act work to improve the development of policy and legislation and the delivery of government services? What are the benefits of parliamentarians leading a community-wide conversation about a Human Rights Act for NSW? 

Institute member, Nicholas Cowdery AO KC, has been invited to speak at a panel discussion, on the topic, 'A Human Rights Act for NSW: What is it and why do we need one?'. The event is hosted by The NSW Society of Labor Lawyers, New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties and Australian Lawyers for Human Rights to explore the benefits of a legislated human rights framework for New South Wales. Register here. 

Dr. Allan McCay is the Deputy Director of The Sydney Institute of Criminology and an academic Fellow at the University of Sydney's Law School.

He is a member of the Management Committee of the Julius Stone Institute of Jurisprudence at the University of Sydney and also an Affiliate Member of the Centre for Agency, Values, and Ethics, at Macquarie University.

In connection to his work on neurotechnology, criminal law and human rights, he has been named as one of the most influential lawyers of 2021 by Australasian Lawyer. He is also a member of the Minding Rights Network which is an international group of scholars who are working on addressing the challenges to autonomy, mental privacy and mental integrity coming from emerging technologies.

Dr McCay has co-authored a new paper on neurotech/ AI/ regulation with Michael Bain: The Neural Democratisation of AI, AI & Society (forthcoming) 2023. Read it here

Dr McCay has also published an article titled, 'Neurotechnology and human rights: developments overseas and the challenge for Australia' in the Australian Journal of Human Rights. Read it here. 

Online event: June 27 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm AEST

Dr McCay will join Dr Ash Watson from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S) in conversation about AI, neurotechnology and the future of law.

Probing the porous boundaries between machine realities and imagination, the series features leading scholars from the humanities and social sciences who are changing what – and how – we know about emerging technologies.

The 2023/24 Criminal Law CPD Series, presented by the Sydney Institute of Criminology, is an innovative educational program made up of 8 recorded webinars.

Our series covers a wide range of criminal law topics, including criminal procedure, evidence law, and criminal advocacy. Led by experienced legal professionals, our webinars are designed to help you stay up to date with the latest developments in criminal law and earn your mandatory CPD points.

A new webinar will be released each month from April to November and will include a quiz to test your comprehension of the material being discussed.  

Register now for the full series or individual webinars and enjoy the flexibility of watching at your own pace from any location at any time.  

Information for lawyers and barristers
If this educational activity is relevant to your professional development and practice of the law, then you should claim 1.5 MCLE/CPD points per seminar attended.

Practitioners are advised to check with the CPD governing body in their jurisdiction for the most accurate and up-to-date information. Find out about interstate accreditation.

Cost: Full series (8 x webinars) = $300 
Individual webinar(s) = $50

Non-consensual sexual offence law reform in Western Australia

Substantive Law 

Dr Andrew Dyer -  Available now

The Attorney-General of Western Australia has asked that State’s Law Reform Commission to review Western Australia’s sexual offence laws. In December 2022, the Commission published a Discussion Paper that deals with the law relating to sexual consent and the operation of honest and reasonable mistake of fact in non-consensual sexual offence proceedings. This seminar will consider the various reform options. 

Vulnerable witness advocacy

Practice Management and Business Skills, Ethics and professional responsibility

Philip Hogan -  Available now

This seminar will discuss the definition of a vulnerable witness in the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW) and the provisions in the Act that allow for the use of pre-recorded evidence and provide for other alternative means of giving evidence. The seminar will particularly consider the way a complainant’s evidence is adduced in the Child Sexual Assault Program operating in some NSW courts. There will also be some discussion of Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) provisions that may be relevant to the evidence of a vulnerable witness. Finally, the seminar will cover relevant provisions of the Equality before the Law Bench Book and some findings of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. 

Digital vulnerability: Vulnerable individuals and remote access technologies in justice

Ethics and professional responsibility. Professional skills. Practice Management. 

Dr Carolyn McKay - Available 29 June 2023 

This seminar will focus on the use of remote access technologies, such as audiovisual links, when working with vulnerable individuals in the justice system, and the developing concept of ‘digital vulnerability’. The seminar will draw on Dr McKay’s current Australian Research Council (‘ARC’) funded research and examine the multiple layers of vulnerability that individuals may experience while involved in legal matters. It will present preliminary findings from initial fieldwork interviews with lawyers and judicial officers that reveal critical perspectives on the impacts of digitalisation on vulnerable people in the justice system. While the research project and findings centre on the criminal justice system, many of the issues are equally relevant to legal practitioners working with vulnerable people in civil matters. 

Assessing witness credibility: Is it possible to tell whether someone is lying or telling the truth?

Substantive law. Professional skills.

Associate Professor Helen Paterson - Available 27 July 2023

Witness testimony can be extremely influential in legal investigations and trials; however, sometimes witnesses lie. Such deception can be detrimental to due process, and can result in miscarriages of justice. Thus, it is important for legal personnel and factfinders to be able to determine whether someone is lying or telling the truth. This interactive seminar will discuss research investigating behavioural and content indicators of deception. It will help legal practitioners understand the difficulties in discriminating liars from truth-tellers as well as the evidence base for various lie detection techniques. 

Should Deceptive Sex Always Be Rape? Dr Andrew Dyer - Substantive Law

The Role of the Crown Prosecutor in NSW Mr Brett Hatfield Practice - Management and Business Skills, Ethics and professional responsibility

The Reliability and Credibility of Eyewitnesses Associate Professor Helen Paterson - Substantive Law

Ethical Practice for Junior Criminal Law Barristers Ms Talitha Hennessy - Ethics and professional responsibility

Myths, Misconceptions and Mixed Messages: An Early Look at the New Tendency and Coincidence Evidence Provisions Professor David Hamer - Substantive Law

Advocacy in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal Mr John Stratton SC - Professional Skills

The Work of the Mental Health Review Tribunal Judge Paul Lakatos SC - Professional Skills

Current Issues in Criminal Justice (CICJ) provides detailed analysis of national and international issues by a range of outstanding contributors. It includes contemporary comments, with discussion at the cutting edge of the crime and justice debate, as well as reviews of recently released books.

CICJ accepts submissions on a rolling basis.

Editor: Dr Justin Ellis, member of the Sydney Institute of Criminology

You can access current and previous issues of Current Issues in Criminal Justice here.

If you have a book suitable for review by CICJ, please email the books editor, Celine Van Golde

celine.vangolde@sydney.edu.au

Michael Kirby: Health & human rights
6.30pm–7.30pm Tuesday, 27 June. 
Michael Kirby and Geraldine Doogue will join in conversation for the 2023 David Cooper Lecture.

Esteemed jurist and legal scholar Michael Kirby has tirelessly advocated for equal access to healthcare over his lengthy career. As a pioneering AIDS activist, member of the WHO’s Global Commission on AIDS from 1988 – 1992, and respected legal mind, Kirby’s focus in recent years has also included decriminalising homosexuality and sex work, and reducing the cost of life-saving medications. Register here.

Webinar: Visas to Empower Migrant Workers to Address Exploitation

22 June 2023; 1:00-2:30PM GMT

Labour exploitation cannot be stopped unless migrant workers can report abuses without fear of losing their visa or being deported. Governments can solve this problem by developing visas and other migration policy solutions that empower migrant workers to safely enforce their labour rights. Register here.

This webinar will cover a global discussion on innovations in migration policies that can enable migrant workers to remain in the country of employment and recover unpaid wages without risking their immigration status. 

Public Lecture: Reparative Encounters with Law: Navigating Emotions in LGBTIQ Rights and Reforms

Associate Professor Senthorun Raj, Manchester Metropolitan University

Date: Wednesday 19th July at 6.15pm-7.30pm, University of Melbourne Parkville Campus & Zoom 

Law reform debates about the rights of LGBTIQ people produce and crystallise emotions related to state regulation of sex, gender, and sexuality. In countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, emotions have been central to repairing the stigma, discrimination, and inequality faced by LGBTIQ people. See here for details. 

Algorithmic Justice Symposium - The Centre for Law and Social Justice, The University of Newcastle 

14 July 2023; 9:30 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. 

The University of Newcastle is hosting an Algorithmic Justice Symposium on Friday 14 July at the University of Newcastle Sydney Campus at 55 Elizabeth Street (online options available). The University of Sydney's Emeritus Professor Terry Carney is delivering the keynote address.  

This symposium will reflect on the advances and challenges of algorithmic intervention in the broader context of justice innovation.

Casual Research Assistant - Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies, The University of Sydney 

Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies is looking for a casual research assistant. The successful candidate will work on an ARC project investigating children's experiences of parental immigration detention. The position will initially be for 12 months. 

To express your interest, please send your resume and a brief cover letter addressing the above requirements to Dr. Michelle Peterie at michelle.peterie@sydney.edu.au 

Australian Human Rights Commission 

The Australian Government is seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified people for appointment as the Age Discrimination Commissioner, the Disability Discrimination Commissioner and the Race Discrimination Commissioner. See here. 

Policing and Generalist Solicitor - Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander identified role; Redfern Legal Centre

Redfern Legal centre are recruiting for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander lawyer with 12 months experience to contribute to our innovative and dynamic policing and generalist practices. For more details, see here. 

Senior Researcher - The Law and Justice Foundation of NSW

Applications close: 17th July 2023

Are you an experienced social researcher, interested in applying your diverse range of skills to support access to justice for the people of NSW? The Foundation is an independent statutory body that addresses the legal needs of the community by creating, harnessing and sharing quality evidence. See here. 

NSW Women's Advisory Council 

Applications close: 12 July 2023 

The Council plays a key role in advancing gender equality in NSW by advising the NSW Government on issues affecting women and girls across the state.

The Minister for Women is currently seeking applications to appoint up to 12 members to the NSW Women’s Advisory Council, which plays a key role in advancing gender equality in NSW. See here. 

Nominations for NSW Premier's Awards; NSW Public Service Commission  

Application close: July 2023 

NSW Premier’s Awards celebrates excellence in the delivery of public services to the NSW community by the public sector, and not-for-profit organisations and private businesses in partnership with public sector agencies and departments.

For award categories and more details, see here. 

Call for Papers: Law and Society Association of Australia and New Zealand

Deadline for Submissions: 25 August 2023 

The Law and Society Association of Australia and New Zealand (LSAANZ) is inviting socio-legal scholars and others working at the intersections of law and society to submit panel and abstract proposals for its 2023 in-person conference: Voice, Resistance, and Repair: Law and living together. Find more details here.

Call for Submission: Criminology Research Grants 2023; Australian Institute of Criminology 

Applications close by 11 July 2023 

The Australian Institute of Criminology encourages applications from organisations or collaborative teams with a demonstrated capacity to deliver high quality criminological research outcomes. 

Applicants are required to submit a detailed proposal for a criminological research project that will make a valuable contribution to knowledge and address policy-relevant needs in the area of crime and criminal justice.

Projects to be supported through this Approach to Market are criminological research that is relevant to the public policy of the Commonwealth, the states, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory and activities related to that research (including, for example, the publication of that research). 

For more details, see here. 

2024 Global Domestic Violence Conference: Equality for all, Justice for all - ICS Australia 

Paper Submission/Abstract Deadline: June 30, 2023

ICS Australia is now calling for papers and present an exciting opportunity for grassroots community-controlled organisations, researchers, governments, NGOs and academics to submit their entry to be included in the conference agenda! The 2024 Global Domestic Violence Conference and 2024 Asia - Pacific Juvenile Justice Conference are a prelude to the much larger 2025 Global Coalition Against Domestic Violence & Juvenile Justice Conferences planned to be held in the South Pacific.

For more details, see here. 

Advocacy program - The Law Institute of Victoria

The Law Institute of Victoria (LIV) has partnered with the Honourable George Hampel AM KC to deliver a six-part workshop that provides practitioners with structured advocacy training. Suitable for practitioners of all experience levels and across all jurisdictions, the workshop is delivered in person at the LIV across six sessions.

Each session will focus on different fundamental principles and techniques. See here. 

A New York Judge is considering what sanctions to impose on a lawyer who spectacularly misused ChatGPT. And Australia's only Indigenous federal judge Matthew Myers wants more First Nations people to use the family law courts to get the best outcome for their children.

With Damien Carrick and: 

Prof. Lyria Bennett Moses – Director, UNSW Allens Hub for Technology, Law and Innovation

Judge Matthew Myers – Judge, Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia

Kirsty Maylin – Indigenous Family Law Liaison Officer

Crime Interrupted; Australian Federal Police

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Casefile Presents are back with season 2 of Crime Interrupted.

This series provides detailed insight into how Australian Federal police interrupts the most serious of crimes.

Season 2 of Crime Interrupted will showcase counter terrorism, child care fraud and more.

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