“He said it was his belief that it was lawful to drive after using medicinally prescribed cannabis so long as he was not ‘under the influence’ … that advice was wrong … [and] from an internet chat forum” Smith v Marshall [2024] TASMC 12: www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

“This case demonstrates the importance of opening [traffic infringement] letters … even if the contents of the letter are potentially unwelcome. A missed opportunity to dispute liability may lead to an outcome more severe than … in the penalty notice.” www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

"Landmark settlement of $50m from Meta for Australian users impacted by Cambridge Analytica incident ... the largest ever payment dedicated to addressing concerns about the privacy of individuals in Australia" www.oaic.gov.au/news/media-c...

"Attitudes toward Voluntary Assisted Dying for people in prison in Australia" New article (first online 29 Nov 2024) in Death Studies by @UniofAdelaide's Oscar Williams, Anna Chur-Hansen and Gregory Crawford www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Netherlands man lists OpenAI as his legal representative in trademark proceedings. “The defendant's arguments on the similarities between the brands and signs have been fully drawn up by Chat-GPT.” (Translated by Google Translate) www.ie-forum.nl/artikelen/ve...

“There comes a time in the life of a statutory provision when a particular construction becomes so well settled and for such a long time, that the contrary construction becomes unarguable, however attractive it might have been” [2024] UKSC 42 (11 Dec) supremecourt.uk/uploads/uksc...

“[The defendant’s] conduct in refusing to cooperate and telling police to “fuck off” and “shut the fuck up”, was not an “obvious” breach of the peace or a reasonable basis upon which to determine that harm was imminent.” Donnelly v Lester [2024] ACTSC 393: www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

“Telstra has paid a penalty of more than $3 million for failing to comply with emergency call rules during a technical disruption at its Triple Zero emergency call centre.” www.acma.gov.au/articles/202...

“Charge 1 on the indictment involves conduct by you in Melbourne on one day relating to a consignment of 16 pallets of toilet rolls in a container which had left Malaysia by ship…” DPP (Cth) v Koo [2024] VCC 1995: www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

“Measuring success in the ACT’s Drug and Alcohol Sentencing List” | new from ANZSOG’s Sophie Yates (@sophieyates.bsky.social), Lorana Bartels and Meredith Rossner anzsog.edu.au/app/uploads/...

Alternative Law Journal cerebrates 50 years as Australia's leading law reform journal. We publish critical scholarly articles on law, social justice, human rights, critique of the legal system, innovative & alternative practice & community legal education #Auslaw journals.sagepub.com/home/alj

“In 2019 … Maurice Blackburn commenced … a class action, against … the Uber group … [by] participants in the taxi and hire car industries in Victoria … Without admission of liability, Uber agreed to pay $271.8 million to settle the proceedings” www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

Interesting new issue of the (open-access) journal @LawTechHum, on “the latest developments in data-driven approaches to law, and its impact on legal practice, education and systems.” Edited by Rónán Kennedy and Brian Barry lthj.qut.edu.au/issue/view/140 🧵 of article abstracts below

WA Court of Appeal notes that the requirement for sentencing courts to specify the discount for assisting authorities only applies to “future” assistance, so courts can’t apply one discount for *both* past and present assistance. GRL v WA [2024] WASCA 146: www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

The QLD Law Reform Commission has today published a background paper for its review of QLD’s strangulation offence. Consultation paper due mid-2025. www.qlrc.qld.gov.au/__data/asset...

“successful evaluation [by the Centre for Innovative Justice] of the legal services set up [by Victoria Legal Aid] to support the first five specialist family violence courts in Victoria … in line with international best practice” www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/best-practic...

“Doing Time for Men’s Crimes: How Male Violence is Driving Record Numbers of Women into Australia’s Prisons” | new @TheJusticeMap report released today justicemap.org.au/wp-content/u...

“How should the justice system respond when a judge commits a crime?” | Prof Marilyn McMahon, Dean of Deakin Law School, speaking with Damien Carrick on the Law Report. www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

“Corrupt police misconduct … has significant social consequences. It undermines public confidence in the police force, erodes the morale of honest police officers and can encourage other police to ignore similar behaviour.” DPP v Symes [2024] VCC 1836: classic.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/vic...

We are launching our End of Year Appeal. If you value our service please consider making a donation secure.austlii.edu.au/cgi-egate/co...

Legal profession (professional misconduct) Khosa v Legal Services and Complaints Committee [2024] WASCA 148: www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

Statute of limitations Basile v Pugh [2024] VSCA 280: www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

Sentence appeal (manifest excess, standard sentence) Kwag v The King [2024] VSCA 279: www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

Suppression orders (open justice) Legal Profession Conduct Commissioner v Belperio (No 2) [2024] SASCA 133: www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

Bankruptcy Ritson v Ryan [2024] QCA 236: www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

Conviction appeal (jury directions) R v CDI [2024] QCA 232: www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

Sentence appeal (manifest excess) R v Thompson [2024] QCA 233: www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

Sentence appeal (self-rep) Getawan v Queensland Police Service [2024] QCA 234: www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

Admin law (costs) Health Ombudsman v du Toit [2024] QCA 235: www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

Conviction appeal (jury directions, right to silence) Hampton v The Queen [2022] NTCCA 7: www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

Conviction appeal (extension of time to appeal) Kwu v R [2024] NSWCCA 199: www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

Permanent stays Burton v R [2024] NSWCCA 213: www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

Bhatt v R [2024] NSWCCA 214: www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

Ashell Homes Constructions Pty Ltd v Kobus [2024] ACTCA 32: www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...

For all my fellow law nerds, I’ll be trying something new on this platform. One of my favourite things to do is catch up on recent judgments around the country. I’ll be screenshotting catchwords with links to recent apex courts’ decisions in each State/Territory.

So this is Bluesky. Looks vaguely familiar…