TRAFFIC LAW IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA addresses the specific provisions of traffic legislation in Western Australia. It provides commentary on the Road Traffic Act and other relevant legislation. The book sets out the basic principles from the time of an offence through to sentencing and appeal. Every aspect is outlined in chronological order with the implications of legislation explained and case law developments discussed. It is a quick and easy guide, full of practical tips for police officers, prosecutors, defence counsel as well as self-represented litigants, dealing with matters from driving and vehicle offences and police procedures to preparation and conduct of matters in court.
There has been a dearth of longitudinal attention to the prosecution of ‘road traffic deaths’ in Australia and worldwide, surprising given more than 50 million people have died or been killed to date. Globally, the ‘road toll’ is estimated at 1.35 million per year. Almost all of those deaths are attributable to some form of human error. A Lesser Species of Homicide examines the shifting nexus where human error, fault, act or omission meet the question of criminal liability. In the first study of its kind in the world, Kerry King examines how parliaments, prosecutors, police and the courts have responded to deaths occasioned by the use of motor vehicles from the mid-twentieth century to the present, including the extent to which the community and judiciary have been prepared to label driving conduct culpable. She explores how our weddedness to the residual notion of ‘accident’, to speed, drink-driving, risk, masculinity and the broader driving culture, have intersected with the tenets of intention, negligence, dangerousness and carelessness to affect judgments about drivers’ conduct. Drawing on hundreds of cases, King carefully traces the construction of offences and case law while observing key emerging themes, including approaches to multiple fatalities, outcomes in cases involving vulnerable road users, the difficulties with prosecuting intoxicated drivers and, most importantly, trends in charging standards and sentencing. For rigour, one Australian jurisdiction, Western Australia, has been chosen as the site of inquiry, yet there is little evidence to suggest that the trends explored herein are peculiar or exceptional. The status quo elsewhere in Australia and overseas appears remarkably similar. A Lesser Species of Homicide seeks to explore how and why deaths on the road have been treated as a species apart.
Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this convenient resource provides systematic information on how Australia deals with the role religion plays or can play in society, the legal status of religious communities and institutions, and the legal interaction among religion, culture, education, and media. After a general introduction describing the social and historical background, the book goes on to explain the legal framework in which religion is approached. Coverage proceeds from the principle of religious freedom through the rights and contractual obligations of religious communities; international, transnational, and regional law effects; and the legal parameters affecting the influence of religion in politics and public life. Also covered are legal positions on religion in such specific fields as church financing, labour and employment, and matrimonial and family law. A clear and comprehensive overview of relevant legislation and legal doctrine make the book an invaluable reference source and very useful guide. Succinct and practical, this book will prove to be of great value to practitioners in the myriad instances where a law-related religious interest arises in Australia. Academics and researchers will appreciate its value as a thorough but concise treatment of the legal aspects of diversity and multiculturalism in which religion plays such an important part.
