Blog

Lawyer Questions Police Chopper Value

A Gold Coast criminal lawyer says funding for initiatives like drug rehabilitation would have a more positive effect on crime rates than a police helicopter.

Both major political parties have promised to continue funding the helicopter, which is being trialled on the Gold Coast at ratepayers’ expense.

Bill Potts Appears for Boys Charged With Theft of SeaWorld Penguin

Bill Potts appears in the Southport Magistrates Court for 2 men charged with stealing Dirk the Penguin from SeaWorld.

Lawyer Casts Doubt Over Police Killers Crackdown

ABC online A Gold Coast criminal defence lawyer has questioned the effectiveness of introducing tougher penalties for killing police officers. Queensland Parliament last week passed new laws, which will increase the non-parole period for murder from 15 to 20 years. Anyone who reoffends or kills a police officer would face a lengthier jail term. Solicitor Bill Potts says the laws appear to be an emotional response to the death of Detective Senior Constable Damian Leeding last year. “Adding five years to a non-parole period for the killing of a police officer is simply going to have no effect by way of deterring people but appears...

Moves to Drug Test Students

PARENTS on the Fraser Coast might face the prospect of their kids undergoing random drug tests in the future if moves by The Southport School on the Gold Coast to test their students are successful. Prominent criminal defence lawyer Bill Potts said the whole area was a potential legal minefield. “There’s a real fear the school authorities have not thought this through,” he said. “If the school finds evidence of drugs in a student’s system, does the school notify the police? “Does it then become an arm of the police and if it does not report the student to police, is the school thus...

Crime Levy Passes Queensland Parliament

The State Government says it expects to raise more than $12 million a year by charging convicted criminals a court levy. New laws passed in Parliament last night will force convicted offenders to pay $300 for Supreme and District Court matters. The levy in the Magistrates Court will be $100. Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie has told the House it will be imposed on top of other court penalties. “There is provision for the offender levy to be paid on the day of the court, or registered with the State Penalties Enforcement Registry (SPER),” he said. “By utilising SPER the government is expecting to collect in excess...

Reporting Cuts Would Delay Justice: Lawyer

A Gold Coast lawyer says court proceedings will take much longer to complete if jobs are cut at the State Reporting Bureau (SRB). SRB staff have told the ABC they are deeply concerned about a News Limited report suggesting 200 jobs will be outsourced. It is understood management is urgently seeking confirmation of the cuts from the Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie. SRB is responsible for recording court proceedings and providing transcripts to lawyers, juries and the public. Gold Coast lawyer Bill Potts says scaling back the service would severely impact the delivery of justice. “Trials, which cost anything up to $30,000 to $50,000 will be delayed,”...

Police Face Legal Minefield in Deciding on Ashby Investigation

Queensland police are negotiating a legal minefield to assess whether to launch a full criminal investigation into a complaint by stood-aside Speaker Peter Slipper that the former staffer pursuing him for sexual harassment where he had sex with two underage males nine years ago. In Queensland, sex with minors is an offence carrying a maximum of 14 years in jail, but police have received only a “third-party” complaint from Mr Slipper about his former aide James Ashby’s alleged dealings. The Liberal National Party turncoat wrote to Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson in late June to relay the claims about Mr Ashby’s alleged...

Ex-Lover Rammed at High Speed

DARREN Muscat fell in love at the age of 21 and was jilted by a cougar twice his age. His 44-year-old lover left him for an older man and Muscat got angry and sent her 49 text messages in one afternoon. He stalked her and her new partner, waited on the Peak Downs Hwy for them to drive past, and then he rammed them several times at high speed, trying to force them over the Eton Range. Muscat spent 67 days in custody after the Eton Range incident before he was let out on bail with a special condition that he received psychological...

Drug Importer’s Jail Cell Hell

EXPOSED to beatings, sexual assault and threats while cramped in a third world jail cell with eight other prisoners, Stephen Ploderer was living a nightmare. The 37-year-old was a world away from his Sunshine Coast home waiting to be returned to Australia to face drug importation charges. Ploderer was arrested in Malaysia in 2010 after Australian police discovered his attempt to import almost 1kg of amphetamine from the Netherlands through the post. The former commercial diver and Fraser Island oyster farmer pleaded guilty in Brisbane Supreme Court this week to importing and possessing a marketable quantity of a drug. Justice Peter Applegarth said the...