Articles:

The Covid-19 pandemic, lockdowns and stay-at-home orders have had an interesting effect on crime rates across Western Australia.

Edith Cowan made an inaugural address to Parliament a century ago. Her tireless work furthering the rights of women and children formed an important legacy, one which continues to underpin the Western Australian Justice System.

The Australian Federal Government intends to implement vaccination certificates or ‘vaccination passports’ as a requirement for international travel, though this may flow on to affect domestic travel, attendance at events or even shopping centres. How will they work and are they legal?

At the start of this month, the Western Australian government’s newly legislated drink and drug driving offences came into effect. Here’s what you need to know.

A recent investigation by the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) regarding an incident with a young offender and WA police has brought the use of 'chokeholds' by police when making arrests into the spotlight and what constitutes excessive force.

The pressure is mounting on the State Government to find solutions to the backlog in Western Australian courts, in particular, criminal trials. A range of options are being considered such as the use of technology which is important because there is a legal maxim that says, “Justice delayed is justice denied”.

A Tamil Family has become the international face of Australia’s shameful treatment of asylum seekers. The family has been granted a temporary reprieve in Perth after being locked up on Christmas Island for two years, but their future still hangs in the balance as their legal battle to stay in Australia continues with the Federal Government.

The defamation law suit brought by the former Attorney General Christian Porter against the ABC has ended after a settlement was reached between the national broadcasting network and Christian Porter. It is understood that no financial payments were made to Mr Porter by the ABC. So what happened?

Last month former police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty by a 12-member jury of second-and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter for the killing of George Floyd whose death sparked global riots against racial injustice and police brutality. Activists and advocates for “Black Lives Matter” have called the verdict a pivotal moment for…

More than 70 organisations have endorsed a report which calls for the Western Australian Government to raise the age of criminal responsibility. Across Australia, including in WA, children as young as ten years of age can be held criminally responsible, meaning that children this age can currently be prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to juvenile detention.

Cannabis law reform is taking time in Australia. In Western Australia, drug laws are tough though the Cannabis Intervention Requirement Scheme aims to protect first time or younger users of cannabis from prosecution.

Under these laws persons convicted of homicide offences who refuse to cooperate with police and law enforcement authorities to disclose the location of their victim's remains will not be eligible for parole.

Coercive control has been called ‘intimate terrorism’ and is said to occur when a person exhibits control over another person. Discussions about implementing coercive control laws have been sparked by recent events, but some concerns have been raised and lawmakers must proceed with caution.

The national campaign ‘March 4 Justice’ saw about 3000 people gathered in the CBD protesting violence against women, inspired by the sexual assault allegations surrounding the Federal Government. It is clear that change must occur.

Since the Attorney General (AG) Christian Porter admitted that he was the man at the centre of historical sexual assault allegations by a woman who has since committed suicide, there has been a lot of pressure on the Federal Government to conduct an independent inquiry.

In the past few weeks five women have come forward with serious allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment while working within the Liberal Party.

The Royal Commission’s final report makes more than 100 recommendations, primarily aimed at restoring faith in the criminal justice system.

The Family Violence Legislation Reform Act 2020 was passed into law by WA’s parliament in June 2020 – and some major changes will come into force on 1 October 2020.

Some clients who come to the Law Offices of Andrew Williams charged with drug-related offences are unaware of the very serious and fragile predicament that they face.

In this article we explain what the new phones laws in Western Australia means for anyone caught using their phone while driving and what the penalties are.