Molly Hayter

Oct 10, 2024 | stacklaw.com.au | George Koimanos |Molly Hayter |Geoff Baldwin |Chris Clarke

Bankruptcy a formal option to provide relief from creditorsI am drowning in debt. I can’t possibly meet all the bills that have piled up. My business was hit by Covid lockdowns, then the high cost of materials and I can’t continue. If I declare I am bankrupt, will that solve my problems? Will my debts be wiped? Does my tax bill disappear? Do I lose my home, my car, my work tools, all my investments and savings? As a bankrupt, can I put all those debts behind me and just start again with a clean slate?

Jan 31, 2024 | mondaq.com | Molly Hayter

It has been reported that the Australian Border Force searched more than 40,000 mobile phones and other data storage devices of travellers entering the country in just five years. During 2021, border officials demanded passwords to examine 822 mobile phones belonging to people entering the country, sometimes copying data while holding the phones for lengthy periods.

Sep 12, 2023 | mondaq.com | Molly Hayter

Before you could be called up for jury duty to decide the guilt or innocence of an accused, the fate of the person before the court was usually decided by a priest in the belief that God would intervene on behalf of the innocent. In the past there was no presentation of evidence. Confessions could be extracted by torture. Women accused of witchcraft were thrown into lakes. If they floated, they were decreed to be witches and executed. If they sank, they were innocent.

Jun 27, 2023 | mondaq.com | Molly Hayter

One of the strangest defences that has been used in criminal trials is that the accused was asleep or sleepwalking when they committed the offence. Mens rea in the context of sleepwalking The legal term mens rea refers to criminal intent, requiring a person to have awareness or knowledge that they are doing wrong in order to be convicted of a crime.

Jun 27, 2023 | mondaq.com | Molly Hayter

Mental health impairment and "not criminally responsible" verdicts In a recent court case, a man set a fire to a stranger's house and laughed and cheered as the victim inside burned to death. The judge found that he had a mental health impairment and was not criminally responsible for murder. There was clear evidence Harley Thompson, 28, threw petrol into the Bomaderry house and lit the fire. He yelled abuse, threatening to kill the man if he came out of the burning house.