What are your rights when pulled over by police?
A couple of weeks ago, here in the Northern Rivers, police set up a roadside blitz, covering every on/off ramp on the highway heading north from Ballina, Byron, Mullumbimby, through to Tweed Heads (plus the usual testing in places such as Lismore and Lennox Head). It’s reported that during the blitz, more than 100 drivers […]
You can be charged with drug supply, without actually selling drugs
In the news this week – a New South Wales man has confessed to trading cocaine for secret and unlawful access to a gym to work out during the Sydney Covid-19 lockdowns. Police arrested the man after an investigation that included surveillance and the interception of more than 25,000 text messages and phone calls. He […]
Supplying a prohibited drug in New South Wales
I bet that if you asked any parent what their greatest worry is, most would say their teenagers getting into trouble with drugs makes it into the top three concerns. A group of New South Wales high school parents are coming to terms with an even worse scenario this week – the news that a […]
Driving Under The Influence (DUI)
The celebrating season is here … so leave the car at home It’s no secret that drink driving continues to be a prominent road safety issue across New South Wales, despite the multi-millions of dollars that the State Government pours into education and law enforcement year after year. Every year hundreds of people die, or […]
New study shows police presence at music festivals can lead to drug overdoses
A new survey — purported to be the largest of its kind — suggests that a strong police presence at music festivals is a key factor in people ‘loading up’, that is taking all their drugs before entering festival gates, which can have serious consequences, potentially leading to illness and in some cases even death. […]
Drug policy is changing for the better in New South Wales
Recently the New South Wales Government has mooted that it’s considering making changes to drug policy and drug laws, to give some drug users ‘second chances’. This is really good news. Traditionally, the New South Wales Government has taken a hardline punitive approach to offences relating to drug use and drug possession. Currently, under Section […]
The rise of solo legal practitioners … and what that means for clients.
The 5th annual National Profile of Solicitors report has recently been released and it shows an interesting trend in the legal profession: Solo practitioners are on the rise. According to the report, out of the 16,393 private law practices registered across Australia, sole practitioners make up 82 per cent. One of the key drivers behind […]
Splendour In The Grass – Local Court Appearances
Byron Bay Local Court to be busy with Splendour In The Grass offences A high-visibility police operation took place at the four-day Byron Bay festival – Splendour In The Grass – with 350 drug detections and a “record ammount” of more than 3kg of illicit drugs seized, predominantly MDMA tablets and to a lesser extent […]
NEW LAWS: From 20th May 2019
Drink driving and drug driving – going to court PENALTIES FOR LOW RANGE DRINK DRIVING (s110(1) of the Road Transport Act) THESE PENALTIES APPLY UNLESS YOU TAKE THE MATTER BEFORE THE COURT where you may argue that no conviction (no loss of license and no fine) is the appropriate penalty, once the Magistrate understands (i) […]
The top 5 categories of offences in the NSW local courts, in 2017
If you have a court attendance notice for the local courts of NSW, here are some 2017 statistics that hopefully leave you feeling less-alone. I’ve selected these 5 groups of offences because together they comprise the bulk of the work of the NSW local courts. In 2017, there were 16,418 people who faced a local […]
5 Things To Do if you’ve been charged with drink or drug driving offence
1. Don’t leave it too late to decide if you want the services of a lawyer A good result, in ANY court matter, is all about the preparation – and the more time you have, the better prepared you will be. For example, you will need great references that support your submissions; and to […]
Triple J Hack interview
Listen to our Local Court Lawyer, Sally McPherson, share her expertise on the Byron Bay court Splendour In The Grass day – on Triple J’s Hack (it’s the 1st story up after the ‘headlines’). Press play button to listen:
Splendour In The Grass Legal Hotline
THE LOCAL COURT LAWYERS have a SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS legal hotline: 0413 310 008 If you’re charged with an offence at Splendour In The Grass, you’ll likely be appearing in the Byron Bay Local Court on August 21 or 22. THE LOCAL COURT LAWYERS – we are experts in all local court matters, because […]
Schoolies Legal Hotline
THE LOCAL COURT LAWYERS have a SCHOOLIES legal hotline: 0413 310 008 If you’re charged with an offence at Schoolies, you’ll likely be appearing in the Tweed Heads or Byron Bay Local Court. If you’re not from here, you’ll need to plan to return to Tweed or Byron for your court date. 24/7 Schoolies Tweed/Byron […]
SCHOOLIES – How to stay out of trouble
I asked two police officer friends of mine: “how can Schoolies have fun but avoid the police?” Here’s what they said: 1: “Don’t fail the attitude test” (as my police friend described it). If the police approach you, just be pleasant. They added: “the rude one’s, the one’s who are drunk and obnoxious and carry-on, […]
6 Tips on: How To Find a Good Lawyer
1: A “good lawyer” is a lawyer experienced in providing legal advice in the area of law you require, who also has a good reputation. For example, you consult a lawyer, with a good reputation and experience in family law, if you are going through a divorce. Your search should include terms like: “family lawyer […]
Driving with the presence of cannabis or amphetamine in an oral fluid sample
This is colloquially known as a “s111 offence”, because that’s the section of the Roads Transport Act that renders driving with the presence of a drug, in your saliva, an offence. But not any drug…… read on. The mobile drug testing (“MDT”) units are limited to testing only for cannabis (pot, weed, green, hash, mull, […]
5 Tips so Splendour In The Grass isn’t a pain in the A–!
If you’re going to Splendour In The Grass at Byron Bay this July, here are some tips from the Local Court Lawyers to ensure you have the best festival ever (with no regrets): 1. Bring your GOOD VIBES: leave your bad vibes with your ex-. An alcohol and drug induced bad attitude wrecks SPLENDOUR for […]
Byron Bay local court lawyer?
Facing an appearance in the Byron Bay Local Court? If the bright lights you saw at SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS turned out to be red and blue…….. you may need a Byron lawyer to represent you in the Byron Bay local court. The police presence at Splendour in the Grass is renowned – particularly for drug, […]
Nimbin MardiGrass – now you need a lawyer?
Nimbin MardiGrass…… a magnet for mobile drug testing (MDT) and cute police dogs not being so cute, if you ended up with a Court Attendance Notice for Lismore Local Court. If you went into the weekend on a high, but now find yourself on a downer you didn’t expect, we’ll handle the court appearance. We […]
