No Body-No Parole Prisoner: Meaning of Remains
In Armitage v Parole Board Queensland (2023) 17 QR 297, the Queensland Court of Appeal reviewed the Parole Board’s decision to issue a ‘no cooperation declaration’ for a ‘no body-no parole prisoner’, where the victim’s…
Read moreGrievous Bodily Harm: Disfigurement Remedied by Treatment
In the matter of R v Lovell; Ex parte Attorney-General (Qld) [2015] QCA 136, the Court of Appeal considered whether a disfigurement subsequently medically repaired is capable of amounting to ‘serious disfigurement’ under the definition…
Read moreAiding Death: Criminal Responsibility, Causation, and Consent
In Carter v Attorney-General (No 2) [2014] 1 Qd R 111, the appellant, a heroin user, aided the deaths of two persons who expressed a wish to die. The Court of Appeal considered whether s…
Read moreMobile Phone: Misuse of a Restricted Computer
In Cobb v Queensland Police Service (2023) 3 QDCR 123, the Court held that a mobile phone constitutes a “computer” for the purposes of s 408E of the Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld) — unauthorised…
Read moreLawyer Admission: Academic Misconduct and Plagiarism
In the matter of Re: AJG [2004] QCA 88, the applicant sought admission as a solicitor, despite having engaged in substantial academic misconduct (plagiarism), during Practical Legal Training (PLT).
Read moreFalse Imprisonment: No Reasonable Means of Escape
In Burton v Davies [1953] QSR 26, the defendant’s actions of driving at high speed preventing the plaintiff from leaving the vehicle, constituted false imprisonment—as the plaintiff had no reasonable means of escape.
Read moreSentencing Unlawful Stalking: Leaving Defamatory Notices
In R v Morris [2010] QCA 315, the Court of Appeal considered whether the applicant’s sentence for unlawful stalking for posting defamatory notices—implicating the complainant as a murderer, was excessive.
Read moreUnlawfully Transmitting a Serious Disease (HIV): Intent
In R v Reid [2007] 1 Qd R 64, the appellant appealed their conviction of unlawfully transmitting a serious disease (HIV) with intent to do so, contrary to s 317(b) of the Criminal Code (Qld).…
Read moreNegligence: Professional Discretion and Vicarious Liability
In Queensland v Masson [2020] HCA 28, the High Court considered whether the State was liable in negligence for its paramedic’s omission to promptly administer Adrenaline to Masson, who sustained severe brain damage after an…
Read morePreventative Detention: No Body-No Parole Prisoner
In this special case Cherry v Queensland [2025] HCA 141, the High Court was questioned on the constitutional validity of Queensland’s “no body-no parole” law. The plaintiff relied on the Kable principle, arguing that ss…
Read moreUnlawful Killing: Intent to Murder
In R v Willmot (No 2) [1985] 2 Qd R 41, the Queensland Court of Criminal Appeal considered whether the jury were misdirected on the element of intent in a murder conviction under s 302(1)…
Read moreWilful Murder: Sane or Insane Automatism?
In R v Falconer (1990) 171 CLR 30, the High Court determined that evidence for a sane automatism defence was improperly excluded at trial, allowing Falconer’s appeal for the wilful murder conviction of her husband.
Read moreConstructive Murder: Whiskey Au Go Go Fire
In Stuart v The Queen (1974) 134 CLR 426, the High Court considered constructive murder (also known as felony murder), clarifying that conviction requires proof of an unlawful act endangering life, not intent to kill,…
Read moreUnderstanding Private Nuisance: Elements and Case Law
The tort of private nuisance is defined by the High Court in Hargrave v Goldman, per Windeyer J at 60, as ‘an unlawful interference with a person’s use or enjoyment of land or some right…
Read moreVicarious Liability: Employee Tortious Conduct
In CCIG Investments Pty Ltd v Schokman [2023] HCA 21, the High Court unanimously held that the employer was not vicariously liable for its employee’s drunken behaviour as it was not within the “course or…
Read moreDouble Jeopardy: Prosecution and Punishment
In Pearce v The Queen (1998) CLR 610, the defendant was indicted on two charges from a single incident. The High Court held there was no double prosecution, as each offence required proof of…
Read moreBreach of Confidence: Ex’s Revenge and Publishing Explicit Content
In Wilson v Ferguson [2015] WASC 15, the Supreme Court of Western Australia held that the defendant breached his obligation of confidence by posting sexually explicit images of the plaintiff on Facebook. The plaintiff was…
Read moreGrievous Bodily Harm: Defence of Provocation
In Kaporonovski v The Queen (1973) 133 CLR 209, the High Court upheld the Queensland Criminal Court of Appeal’s decision that the provocation defence under s 269 did not apply to s 320 (grievous bodily…
Read moreMedical Negligence: Duty to Warn of Risk in Spinal Surgery
In this failure to warn case, Wallace v Kam (2013) 250 CLR 375, the High Court unanimously dismissed the appeal holding that Dr Kam was not liable for Wallace’s neurapraxia, as Wallace would have proceeded…
Read moreUnrequited Love: Unconscionable Conduct
In Louth v Diprose (1992) 175 CLR 621, the High Court upheld the trial judge’s decision that Louth’s actions constituted unconscionable conduct. Louth manipulated Diprose’s “emotional dependency” on her, to acquire property benefiting herself.
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