Lara Bingle and the right to privacy
Model Lara Bingle is suing footballer Brendan Fevola over his alleged distribution of a revealing photograph.
The snap shows Bingle in the shower, clearly unhappy about having her picture taken.
It’s been confirmed the pair shared a brief relationship three years ago when Bingle was 19 and while Fevola was already married.
According to Wikipedia, Bingle was born on June 5, 1987 in the delightfully named Yowie Bay and is “best known for appearing on Fingal Spit in the controversial 2006 Tourism Australia advertising campaign So where the bloody hell are you?”
Bingle is no stranger to legal action.
In May 2006, she sued EMAP Australia, who allegedly published photographs of the model without her permission in Zoo Weekly. (more…)
Prosecuting on flimsy evidence
It was good to see a senior legal figure like Robert Richter QC comment in The Sunday Age on the Theophanous case. The headline sums it up: If the facts don’t add up, there should be no case.
Charge the passengers of hoons
You often hear that emergency services personnel dread attending car accidents and informing families about fatalities.
They are no joy for journalists either.
You sort of become hardened after a while, but it’s never easy to write about a life being lost, especially if it was a young man speeding.
Nothing can restore a young life to family and friends. (more…)
First impression of coronial inquest
I attended part of a Coroner’s inquest today for the first time.
It was in relation to a newborn baby who died in October 2006 from a streptococcal infection seven hours after her birth.
The mother, who went full term, had earlier tested negative to the bacteria at 39 weeks, which was why no antibiotics were given.
However, she had a very long labor and only delivered the baby 43 hours after her waters broke. (more…)
Letter from the police
I received a letter from the police today stating that my vehicle had been involved in a collision on or about 5pm April 19 at Kilburn.
That was news to me because I was in Queensland at the time and my vehicle was locked in a long-term car park in Melbourne!
The letter went on to say it’s a legal requirement to report accidents to police as soon as possible or within 24 hours at the latest unless there are exceptional circumstances. (more…)
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: (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. (more…)
