Criminal Law - Crimes Act 1900

Crimes Act 1900
Letter of Advice
JANUARY 6, 2020
Student Credentials
University

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Letter of Advice
Calibri Law and Associates
5th Avenue, Park Street,
NSW, Australia.
6th January 2020,
Mr. XYZ Turnbull,
895, Datsun Street
NSW, Australia.
Dear Mr. Turnbull,
We have gone through your files and information that you specified. Concluding from that, I
have some advice for you. In order to proceed, I would like to clarify a few things
beforehand.
Firstly, there is a difference between Murder and Manslaughter
As per the definition mentioned in the Section 18 (1) of Crimes Act 1900,
Source: Section 18 (1) of Crimes Act 19001
In general, a murder is when an act of killing or harming another individual is caused with a
though or goal of harming another or the intentional act of killing someone is said to be a
1 Sydney Criminal Lawyers, "Murder | Section 18 Crimes Act 1900 NSW", Sydney Criminal Lawyers
(Webpage, 2019) <https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/criminal/legislation/crimes-act/murder/>.

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murder. Whereas, an act where a person is harmed unintentionally or without prior planning
or intention to kill or harm the other person that is known to be an act of manslaughter2.
Manslaughter as an offence can be easily described as an act where wrongdoing or the
criminal act to be precise without the actual desire to execute, or a murder without wild
absence important to human life. This infers while an individual may have played out the
showings that achieved a death, it can't be shown that they expected to do all things
considered. The most outrageous discipline for the charge of homicide in New South Wales
is 25 years' confinement. Various disciplines consolidate fines, protections, suspended
sentences, or smaller prison sentences. The ordinary sentence as presented by the legislation
of the country, a manslaughter expense in the mid-extent of sincerity is around seven years.
Now, the question that arises, is that how the intention of an individual can be proven?
Intention of an individual can be proved by various evidences that can be or shall be in favour
with the accused in order to be released. Firstly, the prosecutor has to prove that the case filed
against the accused is a genuine one, and after that the burden of proof relies upon the
defendant as to prove the innocence of the accused in this case. Here, the defendant has to
provide certain evidences in favour of the accused so as to prove that the intention behind the
accused’s act was not to harm the individual in any way3.
The second most important thing to understand is Provocation.
Provocation is something that instigates another to commit an act4. When an individual is in
some or other manner is provoked to commit a murder or is instigated in any manner to
commit the crime that was not intended to take place. Mr. Turnbull here in this case, the
provocation or the reasons that provoked Mr. Turnbull to commit the mistake of inflicting
harm up on the other individual5. As specified in Section 23 of the Crimes Act 1900, in case
the individual or the accused by any means happens to prove that the criminal act was caused
without any intention or any bodily harm can be punished as manslaughter6. Hence, Mr.
2 Erin Pearson and Adam Cooper, "What's The Difference Between Murder And Manslaughter?", The Age
(Webpage, 2019) <https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/what-s-the-difference-between-murder-and-
manslaughter-20190327-p51878.html>.
3 Crimes Act 1900, "CRIMES ACT 1900 - As At 4 December 2019 - Act 40 Of 1900", Www5.Austlii.Edu.Au
(Webpage, 2019) <http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ca190082/>.
4 Australian Capital Territory Current Acts, "CRIMES ACT 1900 - SECT 13", Australian Capital Territory
Current Acts (Webpage, 2020) <http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/act/consol_act/ca190082/s13.html>.
5 [2016] NSWSC 847
6 New South Wales Consolidated Acts, "CRIMES ACT 1900 - SECT 23Trial For Murder--Partial Defence Of
Extreme Provocation", Www5.Austlii.Edu.Au (Webpage, 2019)
<http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ca190082/s23.html>.

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Turnbull shall have the benefit of the doubt as in his case, as in order to prevent being
charged with a murder until and unless the prosecution has some definite evidences to prove
their point and with that Mr. Turnbull can be charged with murder7. Although there is a huge
possibility that Mr. Turnbull can be proven innocent to the act of murder as the intention
behind the act can be proven to be an innocent ones as there was no intentional interest in
order to commit a murder and was solely based upon provocation by the another or the
deceased8.
In this case, specific proofs need to be specified as to the location of crime, the method and
the other information or the background of the criminal act in detail as to prove the innocence
of Mr. Turnbull9. Every small detail as to the location where he was and how the instigation
occurred or what exactly took place at that moment everything needs to be covered.
Source: Crimes Amendment (Provocation) Act 2014 No 13 extreme provocation is
something that has a whole section dedicated to it as Section 2310.
Way being paved by the guidelines of ODPP in order to take a decision in a case.
Thirdly, the last but not the least important issue at hand is the guidelines. These guidelines of
ODPP’s Prosecution provide a framework alongside which the criminal prosecutions are
conducted. These are basically a set of rules or can also be regarded as common principles
according to which, the criminal prosecutions are initiated as well as conducted. Principles as
such are quite helpful in order to guide the community as well as the prosecutors about the
procedure or the reasons behind the actions that have been taken by the court. These do not
just apply to Judges, but also public prosecutors, police or the law enforcement officers,
informers as well as jurors also have to abide by these guidelines. In certain scenarios as such
in the case of the police it provides what kind of protocols need to be followed and also
7 Supreme Court of New South Wales, "R V Turnbull (No. 25) [2016] NSWSC 831 (23 June 2016)", Austlii
(Webpage, 2019) <http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/nsw/NSWSC/2016/831.html>.
8 Austlii, "Turnbull V R [2016] NSWCCA 109 (10 June 2016)", Supreme Court Of New South Wales - Court
Of Criminal Appeal (Webpage, 2016)
<http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/nsw/NSWCCA/2016/109.html>.
9 'R V Turnbull (No. 26) - NSW Caselaw' (Supreme Court New South Wales, 2016)
<https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/5769ea6de4b058596cb9c94e> accessed 8 January 2020.
10 NSW Government, "Crimes Amendment (Provocation) Act 2014 No 13", Legislation.Nsw.Gov.Au
(Webpage, 2020) <https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/2014/13/sch1>.

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advices to the police is provided regarding how an investigation needs to be carried out.
Similarly, the Guideline 27 states the legality of an evidence now be it obtained in any
manner, even hypnosis or EDMR or even a disputed evidence. Guideline 24 discusses the
aspect where the accused can opt for being prosecuted by the judge only and no other people
are involved in the decision making such as jurors, also section 132 of the Criminal
Procedure Act 1986 is somewhat related to the same. Guideline 25 discusses how a jury has
to be selected, do’s and don’ts all of them are discussed under in it11.
All of these guidelines provide assistance in decision making and taking proper action when
required so that no laws or rules shall be broken in the time of need and an apt decision or
judgement shall be passed.
Thank You,
Yours Sincerely,
XYZ Middha.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
11 ODPP, "Prosecution Guidelines | The Office Of The Director Of Public Prosecutions", Odpp.Nsw.Gov.Au
(Webpage, 2019) <https://www.odpp.nsw.gov.au/prosecution-guidelines-0>.

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Cases
R v Turnbull (No. 26) [2016] NSWSC 847
Secondary Sources
Websites
Austlii, "Turnbull V R [2016] NSWCCA 109 (10 June 2016)", Supreme Court Of New South
Wales - Court Of Criminal Appeal (Webpage, 2016)
http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/nsw/NSWCCA/2016/109.html
Australian Capital Territory Current Acts, "CRIMES ACT 1900 - SECT 13", Australian
Capital Territory Current Acts (Webpage, 2020)
http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/act/consol_act/ca190082/s13.html
Crimes Act 1900, "CRIMES ACT 1900 - As At 4 December 2019 - Act 40 Of
1900", Www5.Austlii.Edu.Au (Webpage, 2019)
http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ca190082/
New South Wales Consolidated Acts, "CRIMES ACT 1900 - SECT 18Murder And
Manslaughter Defined", Www5.Austlii.Edu.Au (Webpage, 2019)
http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ca190082/s18.html
New South Wales Consolidated Acts, "CRIMES ACT 1900 - SECT 23Trial For Murder--
Partial Defence Of Extreme Provocation", Www5.Austlii.Edu.Au (Webpage, 2019)
http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ca190082/s23.html
NSW Government, "Crimes Amendment (Provocation) Act 2014 No
13", Legislation.Nsw.Gov.Au (Webpage, 2020)
https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/2014/13/sch1

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ODPP, "Prosecution Guidelines | The Office Of The Director Of Public
Prosecutions", Odpp.Nsw.Gov.Au (Webpage, 2019)
https://www.odpp.nsw.gov.au/prosecution-guidelines-0
Pearson, Erin and Adam Cooper, "What's The Difference Between Murder And
Manslaughter?" The Age (Webpage, 2019)
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/what-s-the-difference-between-murder-and-
manslaughter-20190327-p51878.html
Supreme Court of New South Wales, "R V Turnbull (No. 25) [2016] NSWSC 831 (23 June
2016)", Austlii (Webpage, 2019)
http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/nsw/NSWSC/2016/831.html
Sydney Criminal Lawyers, "Murder | Section 18 Crimes Act 1900 NSW", Sydney Criminal
Lawyers (Webpage, 2019)
https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/criminal/legislation/crimes-act/murder/
'R V Turnbull (No. 26) - NSW Caselaw' (Supreme Court New South Wales, 2016)
<https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/5769ea6de4b058596cb9c94e> accessed 8
January 2020.