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Smith v Blanch [2025] NSWCA 188
In this decision of the Court of Appeal, the Court has made a careful analysis of the procedure of making an Apprehended Personal Violence Order (‘APVO’), what is meant by ‘intimidation’, and the circumstances in which a finding will be sufficient for the making of an order.
State of NSW v Dennis [2025] NSWCA 118
This is a civil appeal, but readers of this column need not fear – the consequences of the decision are wide-reaching and important for police powers in criminal matters. The Court of Appeal has found that for the purposes of the power to arrest a person without a warrant, it is the actual, subjecti
Commissioner of NSW Police v Murphy [2024] NSWCA 311
Here the Court of Appeal has held it is not permissible to revoke an existing Apprehended Violence Order in order to avoid automatic legislative consequences, including a prohibition on holding a firearms licence. Nor will it be permissible to extend the order if the main reason it is being extended
Wild v Meduri [2024] NSWCA 230
This is a rare civil case which has important consequences for criminal lawyers. In the shadow of a debate which has been playing out over whether conversations in affidavits need to be in the first person or not – ideally they should, but it depends on the witness’ memory – the NSW Court of Appeal
Bugmy v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) [2024] NSWCA 70
This decision overturns a single-judge decision which graced these pages in August last year: Bugmy v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) [2023] NSWSC 862. Here, the Court of Appeal determined that an officer who has formed a belief, on reasonable grounds, that a person has failed (or is about to
Wass v Director of Public Prosecution (NSW); Wass v Constable Wilcock [2023] NSWCA 71
In this decision involving a plaintiff who wanted to regain his firearms licence, the Court of Appeal has held that it is not possible to apply to ‘revoke’ an expired Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (‘ADVO’).
Landrey v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) [2022] NSWCA 211
In this case the Court of Appeal has, in the course of dispatching a constitutional challenge to the committal regime, provided useful insights into aspects of the committal process. In particular, the Court has made observations about when and for what purpose witnesses can still be called, and pro
McNab v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) [2021] NSWCA 298
In this decision the Court of Appeal has held that the District Court appeal jurisdiction requires an appellant to establish ‘error’ – even if it is unhelpful to describe the jurisdiction as being ‘error-based’. More to the point, the error might simply be that the magistrate should not have been co
Lunney v Director of Public Prosecutions [2021] NSWCA 186
In this decision, the Court of Appeal has held that in a District Court appeal against conviction, the issues to be considered by the judge are those raised by the parties. If the appellant does not raise for consideration a point that requires a review of the whole of the evidence, then a judge wil
Lacey (a pseudonym) v Attorney General for New South Wales [2021] NSWCA 27
In this decision the Court of Appeal has held that the Local Court (and so the Children’s Court) has power to impose a conditional permanent stay of proceedings – potentially including, at least in these circumstances, the power to order that the matter must be stayed unless heard by a female magist
Wany v DPP [2020] NSWCA 318
This decision adds another chapter to each of two ongoing areas of controversy: the exact nature of District Court appeals, and the content of the test when considering an Intensive Correction Order (‘ICO’). Here the Court of Appeal has determined that it is an error, when considering a sentence app
Robinson v State of New South Wales [2018] NSWCA 231
In this decision (which, admittedly, deals with the tort of wrongful arrest), the Court of Appeal has determined that an arrest is only lawful if it is exercised for the purpose of commencing criminal proceedings. It is not a legal exercise of the power to arrest a person in order to investigate whe
Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) v Kmetyk [2018] NSWCA 156
This twin pair of appellate judgments significantly alters the previously-accepted state of affairs in relation to stays of disqualifications pending an appeal. The Court of Appeal has (twice) provided an interpretation of legislation which means that an appellant who lodges a severity appeal will n