Case Studies Flashcards
Case Study: Dietrich vs. The Queen (1982)
o On 17 December 1986, Olaf Dietrich arrived in Melbourne after a trip to Thailand
o Arrested the next day by the Australian Federal Police and was alleged to have imported seventy grams of the drug heroin
o He claimed in court the drugs had been planted by the Police
o Charged in County Court of Victoria on four charges relating to drug trafficking under the Customs Act 1901 (Cth)
o During the trial he had no legal representation
o Applied for assistance from the Legal Aid Commission of Victoria, but they would not represent him unless he agreed to plead guilty to all charges
o He was convicted in the Victorian County Court of three out of four charges brought against him
o Appealed his convictions to the Supreme Court, refused to hear his appeal
o He appealed to the High Court of Australia
o A majority of judges in the High Court decided that Dietrich had the right to a fair trial, and that the lack of legal representation meant that the original trial was unfair
o Dietrich later changed his name to Hugo Rich and received a life sentence for the murder of a security guard in 2009
Why Was The Dietrich vs. The Queen (1982) Case Significant?
o The Dietrich case established the right to have legal representation when charged with a serious criminal offence
o This case changed the way Legal Aid works in Australia because poor people charged with a serious criminal offence must be given legal representation or the judge can stop the trial
o This enforces the rule of law principles of fair trial and equality of treatment before the law
Case Study: R v Sussex Justices; Ex part McCarthy (1924)
o In 1923 McCarthy, a motorcyclist was involved in a road accident and convicted of dangerous driving o A clerk to the magistrates was also a solicitor who represented the person suing McCarthy in a separate civil case arising from the accident
o Although the magistrates did not consult the clerk for his opinion -> McCarthy’s conviction was overturned
Novak Case 10/01/2022
E.g. 10/01/2022 - Novak case that went to the High Court of Australia has set a new precedent as anyone who has views that could cause unrest in the Australian population could be denied visas
Case Study: R v IG (2019)
- Children’s Court Case
R v IG (2019) in this case IG was 14yo and engaged with sexual intercourse with another minor who was less than 2 years younger than them. The court made the decision to allow retrospective laws which allow intercourse between minors if there is less than 2yr age gap.
Case Study: EPA v Gardner
This was the first time someone was given a criminal conviction in NSW - set a new precedent for future cases to come. Before this ppl had only been charged with civil charges e.g. fines or conditions
Case Study: Mabo v Queensland (1992)
Mabo v Queensland was responsible for removing the 17th century doctrine of terra nullius (no man’s land) which was used to justify European settlement. The High Court decision not only rewrote the bedrock of national land law, but also acknowledged Indigenous Australians as the original inhabitants of Australia. The case, spanned 10+ years, revolved around the Meriam People’s campaign to take legal ownership of their lands on the island of Mer in the Torres Strait. The QLD Govt at the time was extremely opposed (hence why Mabo appealed to the High Court). 2 of the original 5 claimants died before the case’s conclusion but the High Court ruled 6:1 in favour of the Meriam People. This in turn led to the Native Title Act in 1993 (which we’ll look at more closely in the next syllabus dot point) which allowed Indigenous people across Australia to claim traditional rights to unalienated land.
Case Study: Thorne v Kennedy (2017)
This is the case of Thorne (pseudonym name) who met an Aust millionaire online, quit her job, left her family & travelled all the way from Eastern Europe to marry him only to be told 4 days before her wedding that she must sign a prenup then and there or the wedding would be called off and she would have nowhere to go & no money to get back home.
This case set a new precedent regarding prenuptial agreements It established a new precedent in prenup laws → the idea that if a party feels coerced into signing a prenuptial agreement and does not have a lawyer look over the paperwork before signing the agreement can be deemed null and void
Case Study: R v Charlie Limbiari Jagamara (1985)
Limbiari pled guilty to the manslaughter of another Indigenous Australian who he believed had had an illicit association with his wife. He stabbed the man with a spear in the shoulder. Under IA customary law, he was within his rights to stab the man but under Australia’s Common law he was not – Australian law takes precedence
Case Study: Queen v GJ (2005)
The accused received a 24-month sentence with 23 months suspended for a conviction of sexual intercourse with a minor and aggravated assault – he pled guilty to both charges - the issue was he believed he was allowed to under customary Indigenous law but Australian statute law takes precedence
Case Study: McMahon v Bowman (2000)
McMahon v Bowman (2000) – Bowman shouted insults to his IA neighbour and because public could have heard was ordered to pay $1500 + McMahon’s legal costs
