National Criminal Lawyers - Criminal Lawyers Penrith

Being charged with an Assault charge in NSW can have devastating consequences on a person employment and travel privileges. Assault charges are serious offences that can affect a defendant in serious and unique ways. Assault charges can arise in several differing circumstances and each case deserves a specialized and focused approach. The Crimes Act 1900 is the Act which sets out the laws which apply in NSW. Suffice to say it is a complex set of laws. What is an Assault? Assault is an act where a person intentionally or recklessly causes another person to apprehend immediate and unlawful violence. It is not always the violence itself, but the actual fear of that violence which is the crux of the offence of assault. Types of Assault Assaults are divided into – “common assaults” and “aggravated assaults”. Common Assault ·       Common assault is found under s 61 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) and are usually dealt with by a Local Cour...

National Criminal Lawyers (“NCL”) often gets asked by their clients, “ what if I lost my case because my lawyers were bad in Court” ? This article discusses the right of appeal from the District court or Supreme Courts to the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA) by raising “ incompetence of counsel ” as a ground of appeal. Background An appellant who appeals against his or her conviction on the basis of an allegation that defence counsel was incompetent must demonstrate that counsel's conduct caused a miscarriage of justice. It is the miscarriage of justice that is the basis of intervention by the CCA. That is because the Court only has jurisdiction conferred by statute, namely, section 6(1) Criminal Appeal Act 1912, which provides: (1) The court on any appeal under section 5(1) against conviction shall allow the appeal if it is of opinion that the verdict of the jury should be set aside on the ground that it is unreasonable, or cannot be supported, having regard ...