Cases and authorities

Criminal law - sentence - murder - accessory before the fact - robbery - level of culpability - plea of guilty for one offender - parity of sentence - Victim Impact Statement - sentencing principles

Practice and procedure - Alleged contemnor unable to furnish instructions or to attend on hearing of motion for contempt

Succession - Family Provision - Claims by four adult daughters - Proceedings brought out of time - Extension of prescribed period - Financial and material circumstances of Plaintiffs - Competing claims of beneficiaries.

Criminal Law - sentence - murder - multiple gunshot wounds - attempted suicide by offender - prior relationship between deceased and offender - relevance of victim impact statements - sentencing principles

CRIMINAL LAW - Sentence - supply heroin - substantial commercial enterprise - applicant in a managerial role - whether sufficient discount for plea of guilty, remorse and assistance to authorities - whether unwarranted disparity from sentence passed upon co-offender - whether any lesser sentence warranted in law

CRIMINAL LAW - SENTENCE - supply prohibited drug - where refusal to give weight to prospects of rehabilitation - where earlier decision of Court of Criminal Appeal accepted Applicant's subjective circumstances extraordinary - whether sentencing judge failed to give appropriate recognition to subjective circumstances.

Evidence of complaint in sexual cases - inconsistent verdicts

Workers Compensation - Limitation Period - Election to commence proceedings under the Workers Compensation Act 1987 - Where order granting leave to commence proceedings set aside on appeal

LEGAL PRACTITIONERS - Barristers - Removal from Roll - Failure to lodge Income Tax Returns - Whether declaration should be made as to fitness and propriety for legal practice.

Cost assessments - appeal from panel - misdirection - substituted agreement - effect of ss 208C and 208D.

LANDLORD & TENANT [51] [86] [88]- Retail lease- Rent review- Retail tenancy dispute- Upon application Court must transfer the proceedings if the dispute may be effectively dealt with by the Administrative Decisions Tribunal- Opinion of counsel that mediation will be unsuccessful not sufficient to prevent transfer to Tribunal- Inappropriate for court of equity to make findings of fact- Issues relating to waiver, relief against forfeiture and economic duress discussed.

appeal on question of costs - powers of tribunal to award costs - in such circumstances as it thinks fit - is a decision on costs the deciding of a question with respect to a matter of law.

Corporations Law. Application to set aside statutory demand. Application out of time. Application for leave under s459S refused as not material to solvency. Proceedings dismissed.

supplementary judgment - out of pocket expenses - costs of second cross-claim

Medical negligence - psychiatric registrar - Patient suffers psychosis with extreme violence - apprehended by police, taken to hospital - assessed as not mentally ill or mentally disordered person - meaning of "continuing condition" - meaning of "for the time being" - adequacy of assessment - relevance of history - nature of criteria under ss 9 & 10 Mental Health Act 1990 - whether liability in tort for negligent failure to detain - patient killed brother's fiancee whilst insane five hours after release

Striking out of Statements of Claim - no reasonable cause of action - futile exercise - abuse of process.

Criminal law - conviction appeal - appellant convicted of murder of fellow inmate at Junee Correctional Centre - whether the directions given on the approach that the jury should take to the evaluation and assessment of the evidence of prisoner informer witnesses were adequate - whether the directions given on the approach that the jury should take to the assessment of the evidence of witnesses who might reasonably be regarded as accomplices were adequate - whether the trial judge erred in directing the jury that warnings regarding the potential unreliability of prison informers applied to evidence favourable to the accused by such informers - whether the trial judge erred in admitting the evidence of admissions allegedly made by the appellant to the police prosecutor at a bail hearing - whether such alleged admissions made during the course of official questioning - whether evidence of such alleged admissions unfair to the appellant as he was not given the opportunity by the police prosecutor to adopt or deny the alleged admissions - whether his Honour erred in allowing evidence of witness declared unfavourable to go to the jury - whether his Honour's directions on DNA evidence involved the error known as "the prosecutor's fallacy" - whether appropriate directions given in relation to defence case that, on the whole of the evidence, a fellow inmate named Johnson may have murdered the deceased - whether the verdict of the jury was unreasonable having regard to the evidence.

Succession - Wills - son charged with murdering parents and sister - where son sole beneficiary under his parents' joint will - forfeiture rule - whether son entitled to access funds from his father's estate to defend committal proceedings - Administration of estates - incomplete administration - whether Court has power to make orders under Pt 68 Supreme Court Rules - "emergency" situation - public policy considerations

Negligence - service of alcohol in a hotel - accident caused by inebriation - liability of hotel.

defamation - third further amended statement of claim - costs

defamation - determination of related matter under s7A - vendetta allegation - costs

defamation - imputations

PERSONAL INJURY - Re-assessment of damages.

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW - procedural fairness - Inquiry established by University to investigate allegations of scientific misconduct and/or scientific fraud against professor - whether University amenable to judicial review - whether Inquiry bound to afford procedural fairness to professor - standards of procedural fairness - whether evidence informing an inquiry's conclusions must be provided to affected person - whether Inquiry discharged obligations of procedural fairness

PROTECTED ESTATES ACT - application for change of manager

Administrative law - appeal from Appeal Panel of Administrative Decisions Tribunal - ambit of jurisdiction of Appeal Panel - question of fact not law

defamation - substantial truth - contextual imputations - s13 - the unlikelihood of harm - fair protected report - qualified privilege - damages - aggravated damages - falsity of the imputations - failure to make enquiries - conduct of the litigation

CORPORATIONS - duties of directors - whether director owes comprehensive fiduciary duty to individual shareholder - no facts pleaded to show ascendancy, influence, vulnerability or reliance - CORPORATIONS - statutory derivative action - whether available when company in liquidation - s.237 criteria - meaning of "best interests" - court's powers as to costs - possibility of order as to costs (or for security for costs) immediately proceedings brought - CORPORATIONS - leave to proceed against company in liquidation - applicable section where winding up sourced in s.446A

PRACTICE & PROCEDURE - plaintiff's Notice to Produce issued to company in administration, partly complied with by administrator - Court decides it would be oppressive to require further answer - creditors resolve to execute deed of company arrangement - Plaintiff then serves Notice to Produce in identical terms, in anticipation of challenging creditors' decision and deed - whether second Notice to Produce should be set aside

CORPORATIONS - voluntary administration - directors' statutory duty to assist administrator - whether owed to individual creditor - administrator's duties - whether owed to individual creditors

CONVEYANCING - Land Titles under the Torrens System - Mortgages, Charges and Encumbrances - Whether Side Deed effected mortgagee's power of sale - Whether mortgagee's exercise of power of sale inpugned for impropriety - Whether injunction should issue

Criminal Law - sentence appeal - voluntary disclosure - special circumstances - guilty plea - utilitarian value

Possession of prohibited drugs - whether sole or joint - whether alternative cases or prosecution may press both possibilities - appropriate directions - change of prosecution case - whether defence prejudiced

Criminal law - sentence appeal - sexual offences - protective custody - special circumstances

PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE - Solicitor's duty to warn - Duty to warn of the risks of settling with one joint tortfeasor and persisting against the other joint tortfeasor - dangers of hindsight judgment. ND

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE - drug offences - special circumstances

CRIMINAL LAW - appeal against severity of sentence - sexual intercourse without consent - plea of guilty - Form 1 consideration - whether error in consideration of Form 1 offences - whether sentence manifestly excessive.

Corporations Act. Application to set aside statutory demand. Affidavits filed out of time raising new matters, not allowed. No matter of principle.

Extension of time to commence proceedings - ss 60C & E - quadriplegic collapsed rugby league scrum - hooker

Plea of guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm while in the company of other persons

Negligence - master and servant - duty of care - electric shock - res ipsa loquitur

CRIMINAL LAW - Crown Appeals - Inadequate sentences - Mitigation of sentence - Principles applicable when offender of average intelligence.

Criminal law - Appeal against sentence - Assault with intent to rob whilst armed with a dangerous weapon - Robbery whilst armed with a dangerous weapon - Plea of guilty - Assistance to authorities - Quality of assistance - Discount for utilitarian value of plea - Discount for assistance given to authorities - Disqualification from holding a motor vehicle driver license - No power to impose disqualification for life for other than habitual traffic offenders - Longer period of disqualification - Period

Possession - Summary Judgment

Appeal decision of CTTT - adjournment application

Crown appeal - aggravated kidnapping - subjective circumstances - remarks on sentence - characterisation of role of respondent - respondent's purpose in participation - pleas of guilty - assistance to authorities - reduction in sentence - value of assistance - s44(2) Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999

CRIMINAL LAW - appeal against severity of sentence - plea of not guilty - use offensive weapon with intent to prevent lawful apprehension - drive in a manner dangerous - steal motor vehicle - drive whilst unlicensed - whether sentencing judge took proper account of pre-sentence custody - error in assessing maximum penalties - whether sentences imposed were individually and in combination manifestly excessive.

appeal against severity of sentence - young offender - plea of guilty - discharge of loaded pistol with intent to do grievous bodily harm - subjective circumstances - rehabilitation - sentence to be served in a detention centre

Criminal law - sentence - plea of guilty to an offence of break, enter and steal - appeal against sentence - whether setting of fire to be taken into account as an aggravating circumstance - whether De Simoni principle relevant - whether appropriate discount was given for plea of guilty - principle of rehabilitation - whether special circumstances exist