First time on the (court) bench
The resident magistrate has a worthy program in which he invites community members to sit with him on the bench. Today it was my turn.
I am probably more familiar with court procedure than most of his guests, but I found it interesting to compare what happens here with what I have seen in Kalgoorlie and Myrtleford.
There were far fewer indigenous defendants than Kalgoorlie, but many cases involved people from the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum, which was also true in WA and at Myrtleford.
I can’t believe as many people turn up for court as they do in casual clothes, work gear or jeans/track suits.
Here’s a memorised summary of some highlights from my 90-minute session: Read more
When decades-old charges go to court
We have been following a jury trial for the past few days involving an 80-year-old man charged with sex offences which the prosecution alleged occurred 40 years ago involving his niece, who was a child at the time.
The man was found not guilty.
This type of trial troubles me for several reasons. Read more
Murder mystery
I feel quite drained at the end of this working day. A lot of my time was spent dealing with the investigation into a suspicious death.
A tradesman on a remote job was taking a leak in the bush when he discovered human remains concealed beneath a pile of wood near Menzies in the northern Goldfields.
He came into our office today and provided photos of the grisly find.
Earlier, one of my staff had called me aside to say he suspected whose body it might be. Read more
Car park warning
I start each work day with a smile thanks to lawyers who have an office at the back of our building.
Their private car park has a sign warning “offenders will be prosecuted” if they dare to park an “unauthorised” vehicle.
These guys normally defend people, but mess with their car park and they’ll turn Queen’s evidence in a blink.
Israeli art scam
The Kalgoorlie Miner this morning exposed a scam in which foreigners are selling “original” artworks door to door.
Young people, believed to be Israeli or Iraqi (odd mix), claim to be art students earning a living.
I’ve personally had two different sellers knock on my door in the past six months. Read more
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