Vale Judge Peter Zahra SC
Former Senior Public Defender and much loved and respected colleague of many.
The postal details for the Public Defenders have changed.
Effective immediately the Public Defenders no longer has a DX service.
All Sydney CBD postal correspondence should be addressed to:
The Public Defenders Level 23, 1 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010
For regional Public Defenders' Chambers see details here
Legal Aid commissioned expert report on the risk COVID-19 poses to pregnant women, in particular incarcerated women. Written by Professor Caroline Homer, Co-Program Director, Maternal and
Child Health at the Burnet Institute and an Emeritus Professor of Midwifery at
the University of Technology Sydney.
Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020
This Act commences 27 March 2021. For a guide to significant changes and procedural flow charts for Unfitness to be Tried and Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Defences see below under Popular Resources
Public Defenders response to COVID-19 crisis
There are two new features on our web site: firstly a one-stop resource page for criminal lawyers and secondly a platform for collecting lawyers’ experiences of what is and is not working, and problems with, the emergency procedures.
Why we are collecting feedback
We are seeking to collect and maintain an objective record of the experiences of criminal lawyers under the temporary emergency procedures to inform the profession, the courts and the government about:
1. how the emergency procedures are, and are not, working during the crisis;
2. how the emergency procedures are impacting upon the rights of accused persons including the right to a fair trial;
3. how any procedures are affecting the safety of lawyers and others employed in the criminal justice system; and
4. how any procedures are affecting the safety of people in custody.
This information will be important to the ongoing management of the crisis and to addressing any proposals to extend any of the emergency measures into ongoing practice after the crisis