Recent content by DaleCooper

Mate, read through my post again, alongside the Barristers Rules. The Rules make it clear that barristers can refuse a brief if they're not available or the client can't pay their rate. The Rules don't stipulate that they have to charge a reasonable rate, and can't inflate their rate if they...

No, no compensation. As for proof: first, the police can't charge someone without evidence. Second, the strength of the Crown case is relevant to bail - even on serious charges where there is a presumption against bail, if the Crown case is weak, this improves the prospect of bail. Third...

The cab rank rule is a myth - applies in principle, but not in practice... If a barrister doesn't want to take a brief, they simply say that they're not available on the dates when the matter is listed in court. Or, if it's a privately-funded matter (not Legal Aid), they will quote a higher...

7 months is nothing - most murder cases take multiple years to get to trial. I don't know what the court calendar's like in WA, but I've had clients who were on remand for 4 years. Yes, it sucks. But most of them end up getting convicted, and that time counts towards their sentence. We hold...

My response above relates to evidence held by the DPP once the case goes to court. I assumed that was what ambit's post was asking about. AFAIK the DPP didn't lose any evidence in the Rayney case - correct me if I'm wrong. The issue was that the police investigating the case didn't obtain...

The judge makes HER or his decision (mate, we've had female judges for decades now - get with the program) based on: - Submissions from the prosecutor about the appropriate sentence/range (based on previous cases of a similar nature, any aggravating factors present). - Victim impact...

I respectfully disagree. A lot of things that can result in a mistrial are out of the hands of the barristers involved. For example, if a juror goes and posts about the trial on their facebook or instagram, or a couple of jurors decide to go visit one of the sites and 'reconstruct' the events...

I'm an ex-criminal defence lawyer, and I don't think this can be said for the majority of the criminal bar. Barristers have a financial incentive to go to trial rather than convince their clients to plead. They get paid significantly more for doing a trial than they do for a plea of guilty. No...