Criminal Law Symposium
Issues covered include:Sentencing, Post Sentence Supervision Orders, R v Pell, Defacto Reversal of the Burden of Proof in Sex Cases, Forensic DNA Databases, Dementia, Ethical Issues, Practice Management & Business Skills
Description
Join an expert panel including Robert Richter QC, Post Sentence Authority Board Members, several eminent silk, a forensic scientist and leading barristers and solicitors while you catch up on how to keep your practice at the forefront of success for 2020. From post sentencing orders to forensics and dementia as well as procedure in the courtroom, you’ll leave equipped with the information and skills your clients will expect of you.
Attend the full day and earn 7 CPD units including:
4 units in Substantive Law
1 unit in Ethics & Professional Responsibility
1 unit in Practice Management & Business Skills
1 unit in Professional Skills
Session 1
Critical Criminal Law Updates
Chair: Robert Richter QC, Crockett Chambers; Preeminent Criminal Law Senior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2019
9.00am to 10.00am: Recent Developments in Sentencing
- Application of the standard sentence scheme
- Interpretation of s10A ‘special reason’ for prescribed minimum sentences
- Examination of relevant legislation and case law
Presented by Julia Munster, Senior Public Defender, VLA Chambers, Victoria Legal Aid; Accredited Specialist in Criminal Law
10.00am to 11.00am: Providing Advice to a Client who has Been Made Subject to a Post Sentence Supervision Order
Post sentence supervision orders are growing in number. The scheme now covers serious violent offenders as well as serious sexual offenders and recent changes have seen the emergence of a variety of different residential facilities and treatment regimes. You need to be aware of these changes in order to properly advise and manage your client’s expectations and, perhaps more importantly, advise you clients on what they can do to help progress on their orders, such as moving to less restrictive conditions (i.e. residence) or potentially transitioning off their order.
This presentation will equip you with the necessary knowledge on how post sentence supervision orders operate in practice, discussing the following:
- Court Orders
- Detention and Supervision Order Reports
- Coordinated Services Plans
- The role of the Post Sentence Authority in providing independent oversight to the scheme through coordinated service plans and the issuing of directions
- Correction Victoria’s role in the day to day supervision and management
- An overview of the available treatment services
- The various residential facilities that exist including; their location, restrictions and overall purpose
A variety of cases studies will be used to illustrate an offender’s progress through the system and their experience with the various service providers.
Presented by Michele Williams QC, Chair, Victoria Post Sentence Authority
Discussion Panel with Audience Participation & Engagement
Presented by Jeremy Cass, Full Time Member; Victoria Post Sentence Authority
11.00am to 11.15am: Morning Tea
11.15am to 12.15pm: The Impact of R v Pell in the Context of a Defacto Reversal of the Burden of Proof in Sex Cases
- An analysis of the judgement of the Court of Appeal in the Pell case
- Analysis of the impact of changes in legislation in the last 20 years, in so far as they impact on the ability to defend sex allegations
- Has the system gone too far and overcorrected past problem so far as allegations of sexual abuse are concerned?
Presented by Robert Richter QC, Crockett Chambers; Preeminent Criminal Law Senior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2019
12.15pm to 1.15pm: Expanding Forensic DNA Databases in Criminal Cases
Familial DNA profiling in Australia was announced during September 2018. This technique enables a search of potential relatives of a person who has had their DNA profile entered on a police database But that DNA profile only partially matches the crime scene DNA. Family members (such as parents, children, or siblings) of a convicted person may thus become suspects when a crime has DNA evidence. Discuss the widening genetic net of persons during a criminal investigation including:
- First Australian case prosecuted through familial DNA searching in 2015
- Example of familial DNA searching case at trial in Australia
- DNA phenotyping: predicting appearance from a crime scene DNA profile
- ‘Race’ based DNA dragnets
- Ancestry DNA/genealogical or long range familial DNA searching
Presented by Jane Moira Taupin, Independent Forensic Scientist
Session 2
CPD Compulsory Units for Criminal Practitioners
Chair: Robert Richter QC, Crockett Chambers; Preeminent Criminal Law Senior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2019
Professional Skills
2.00pm to 3.00pm: Medicine, Criminal Law and Dementia: A Mirror on Paternalism, Human Rights and Decision-making
With an ageing population, the incidence of dementia concerns have increased. This has been mirrored in the criminal justice system. Increasingly, lawyers are expected to have greater awareness and appreciation of a wide range of neurodegenerative conditions, which may have implications for a defendant’s fitness to stand trial, culpability and sentencing. The over 65 years age group is now the largest growing sector in the custodial setting, suggesting dementia is also highly relevant post-sentencing.
- Examine structural societal ageism which denies elders with dementia their human rights
- Become equipped to meet the combined medical and legal needs of persons with dementia
- Discuss justice at end of life
Presented by Dr Joseph Ibrahim, Head, Health Law and Ageing Research Unit, Department of Forensic Medicine, Monash University
Ethics & Professional Responsibility
3.00pm to 4.00pm: Ethical Issues Affecting Criminal Lawyers
- Lawyer X
- Legal professional privilege
- Paramount duty to the court
- Uniform Conduct Rules
- Particular traps for criminal lawyers
Presented by Brind Zichy-Woinarski QC, Green’s List
4.00pm to 4.15pm: Afternoon Tea
Practice Management & Business Skills
4.15pm to 5.15pm: Practice Management 101: Tips to Ensure Success
- Hints for practice management at a micro level: how to successfully manage multiple matters at once, what works for me, what works for others in my firm and colleagues in other firms
- How to work within court procedures, policies and services to manage your matters efficiently
- Using your network and your colleagues to maximise efficiency and improve results for your clients
- Striking a ‘work-life’ balance: what I’ve learned from twenty years in criminal law
- How to deal with mistakes and disasters when things go wrong because they will - on a spectrum from ‘mildly” to ‘horribly’
Presented by Nicole Spicer, Senior Lawyer & Consultant, Stary Norton Halphen; Accredited Specialist in Criminal law
Venue
RACV City Club
Level 2, 501 Bourke St
Melbourne 3000
VIC
Australia
Parking Information
Parking is not included in your registration. Here are some options below. RACV City Club Car Park.
Directions