Latest updates to Criminal Procedure (NSW)
Key updates include:
Bail - Juvenile bail limited unless “high degree of confidence” they will not commit a serious indictable offence while on bail
In R v TW [2024] NSWSC 1504, Rothman J noted that s 22C of the Bail Act 2013 (NSW) requires the courts to deal more stringently with young offenders than offenders over the age of 18 and questioned the validity of s 22C if it conflicts with the principles of equal justice. See [3.45].
Bail - Where an adult accused must show cause why their detention is not justified
A person released to bail on a “show cause” offence must be subject to electronic monitoring unless the bail authority is satisfied “sufficient reasons exist, in the interests of justice, to justify not imposing the condition”: Bail Act 2013 (NSW), s 28B. Electronic monitoring provided by private agencies must meet minimum standards: Bail Act 2013 (NSW), s 30A; Bail Regulation 2021 (NSW), reg 31G. See [3.40].
Bail - Video link applications for bail – Right to appear in court at first appearance
Arrangements for centralized NSW-wide bail courts on weekends and holidays are discussed at [3.250] and [3.420].
Detention and questioning – NSW - “Unofficial” and “preliminary” questioning – body-worn video and other situations
Otherwise inadmissible evidence which is unfairly prejudicial to the accused contained in a body-worn video may, if admitted by consent, still lead to a miscarriage of justice: Holmes v The King [2024] NSWCCA 233 at [139].
A more detailed summary of this release is available at [S25.10].
Criminal Procedure (NSW) provides in-depth practical and procedural knowledge on how to approach your criminal case in New South Wales, from the moment of arrest to appealing a sentence decision (including remedies if no conviction results). Topics discussed in the service are: arrest, charging, bail, detention and questioning, search warrants, telephone interception and surveillance devices, pre- and post-arrest directions and searches, identification material, taking and using body samples, body cavity searches, mentally ill / intellectually disabled persons, summary procedure, committal procedure, pre-hearing procedure, hearings (conduct of defence / conduct of prosecution / witnesses / role of judges and magistrates / jury and verdicts), sentencing and appeals.
The Criminal Law Practice Area on Westlaw has many services that are designed to complement each other to provide the breadth of coverage of a single compendium but with the in-depth analysis that specific focus areas will allow. In addition, the Alert and the reports series will also enable practitioners to keep up to date with pertinent caselaw. When taken in its entirety, the Criminal Law Practice Area will furnish subscribers with a full picture of Criminal Law in the respective jurisdictions without the necessary restrictions of single services. The Criminal Law Noticeboard is specifically geared for specialists in the area and will deliver news items of interest and significance written and curated by in-house editors. To subscribe to the Criminal Law Practice Area on Westlaw, contact Thomson Reuters.
Beverley Schurr BA (Sydney) LLB (UNSW) served as a Magistrate in the Local Court of NSW for twenty years and is currently an Acting Magistrate.
Before her appointment, Ms Schurr was a solicitor with Legal Aid NSW practising in all NSW criminal jurisdictions. She was also at times a research officer with the Criminal Law Review Division of the NSW Attorney General's Department, a member of the Criminal Law Committee of the NSW Law Society and the author of a guide to criminal appeals decisions published by the NSW Public Defenders Chambers.
Ms Schurr has been the author of the Criminal Procedure (NSW) service since its launch in 1996.