Alex Nelson, Barrister-at-Law
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Alex Nelson is a Queensland Barrister with chambers in Brisbane and Beenleigh working in criminal law and commercial litigation.
Alex knows that preparation and planning are the keys to success. You can trust him to read the brief thoroughly, to know the facts and apply them to the law achieving the best possible outcome for the client.
- Criminal Law
- Commercial Litigation
- Legal Costs Assessment submissions
- Proven results with Not Guilty verdicts in
- Murder,
- Manslaughter,
- Rape and other sexual offences,
- Grievous Bodily Harm and other assaults
- Excellent sentencing results
- Successul in appeal hearings
Alex was first admitted to practice as a lawyer in New South Wales in 1998.
He was enrolled as a Solicitor in the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1999 and was called to the Bar in Queensland in March 2010.
Alex’s first role as a lawyer was in the Australian Army as a Legal Officer. After resigning his commission, he continued as an Army Reserve Legal Officer for several years while he worked at Roberts Liu & North, a Townsville firm of solicitors (now Roberts Nehmer McKee) where he undertook work in the general commercial and property law fields followed by Suthers Taylor Lawyers in Townsville where he undertook work in commercial litigation. Alex then went on to establish his own firm in Townsville where he undertook, and supervised several employed solicitors in family law, criminal law and commercial litigation for 8 years before being called to the bar in Brisbane in March 2010.
Alex has presented papers at the following Queensland Law Society seminars:
- Running a Family Law File, 4 November 2010
- Structuring and Delivering a Killer Plea, 15 February 2011
- Third Parties in Family Law Property Proceedings, 21 June 2011
Alex is a member of the following organisations:
- Queensland Bar Association
- Queensland Law Society (Associate Member)
- Law Council of Australia (Family Law Section)
- Family Law Practitioners Association Queensland
- Caxton Legal Centre
- Queensland Public Interest Law Clearing House
- Prisoners Legal Service Inc
- Legal Aid Queensland panel of Barristers
If you are looking for a Brisbane Barrister for criminal defence work or for commercial litigation, contact Alex Nelson.
If you are looking for expert advice and assistance in relation to a legal costs assessment, contact Alex Nelson.
Recent Results
April 2012 District Court, Brisbane - Nolle Prosequi on fraud
April 2012 District Court, Brisbane - Nolle Prosequi on Unlawful of Motor Vehicle
February 2012 District Court, Brisbane - acquittal for rape, Nolle Prosequi on Indecent Dealing
January 2012 Supreme Court, Brisbane - acquittal for Murder and acquittal for Manslaughter
Getting
to Not Guilty
This guide is
intended to inform and assist those who have been charged with an indictable
offence that will be dealt with in the Supreme Court or the District Court in Queensland.
Of course, this
guide can only give a brief overview of what is involved and it is no
substitute at all for the years of study and experience that a good criminal
lawyer brings to the table when they take into account all of the circumstances
of your individual case. It may
perhaps provide an insight into selecting the right lawyer and providing them
the right information to conduct the most effective defence.
Picking the Right Lawyer
What should
become apparent from this short guide is that every person charged with a
serious offence needs to be selective when they choose the team lawyers that
will represent them in the Supreme Court or the District Court in
Queensland. Making the wrong
choice could have disastrous long term consequences, not only in relation to
the costs incurred but also for the ultimate outcome.
Some lawyers
claim to be specialists in a whole range of fields of the law. The truth is, if their practice
involves a mix of conveyancing, personal injuries, commercial law, family law
and crime, they simply cannot keep abreast and be specialists in each of those
areas. It is much more likely that
that they are not specialists in any of them. That is not to say that those lawyers should be overlooked;
their broad knowledge and experience may have a practical benefit in the
conduct of the case; it just means that care needs to be taken in the selection
of the other part of the legal team. In the superior courts, there is almost always a team comprised of a
solicitor and a barrister. At
least one of them should have specialist criminal knowledge and both the time
and inclination to direct the other part of the team in what needs to be done
to provide an effective defence.
It is not
uncommon for an accused person to select their lawyer based upon public
perception of which law firm is the best. Scratch a little deeper and make some enquiries of your own. Those reputations may have been earned
a long time ago by people that have since died, retired, moved on to other
firms, moved into management or moved onto more lucrative clients, leaving their
inexperienced juniors to handle new clients. Find out which individual lawyer will have carriage of your
matter and ask for details of that individual’s experience in criminal law jury
trials.
Once the legal
team has been selected, monitor their work and reconsider your position if
changes occur to the defence team. Solicitors move from one firm to another, sometimes the barrister that
was briefed has a conflict. When a
member of the legal team changes, re-evaluate the skills and experience of the
lawyers you are left with.
At the Police Station
If you have been
arrested, then the chances are that you will need to secure the services of a
lawyer quickly. Most lawyers will
tell you not to give a police interview – ever. Unfortunately, its not always that simple.
If the offence
is one that you are ultimately going to plead guilty to, then co-operating by
taking part in a police interview goes a long way to mitigate or lessen the
punishment that will be imposed. It is usually the case that if you have not participated in a record of
interview at the beginning of the criminal law process, you will probably never
be asked to do so at a later time. As well as the benefits that come from making confessions or admissions
during an interview, special sentencing discounts can be attracted where a
person makes a confession or admission about an offence not otherwise known to
police or where they provide evidence against another person that is likely to
lead to their conviction.
Even if you
intend to plead not guilty and go to trial, participation in a recorded
interview might have some long term benefits. If it is played at the trial, and they usually are, they
provide an opportunity for the jury to see and hear your version of events
without you having to get into the witness box and give evidence which has some
serious downfalls.
Then again, sometimes,
a record of interview should simply not be given. One answer does not fit all. Your criminal law team should apply their minds to your
factual scenario, to you personality, education and experience and to the
likely course of your matter before they give you advice to act either way.
Committal
Historically,
committals were an opportunity to test and explore the evidence without the
risk of the jury hearing information that might be damaging and a magistrate
could refuse to commit a charge if it did not have a reasonable likelihood of
conviction.
The committal
process has been significantly curtailed in Queensland and it is now necessary
to make an application in order to cross examine a prosecution witness at a
committal. If the application is
granted, cross examination will usually be limited.
Alibi and Experts
If you intend to
lead evidence of an alibi, that you were somewhere else for example, then you
are required to give notice in writing to the Director of Public Prosecutions
of the name and contact details of the alibi witness (section 590A of the
Criminal Code). That notice has to
be given not later than 14 days after the committal. If it is not given, then you might be prevented from calling
the alibi witness at your trial.
Section 590B of
the Criminal Code requires you to give notice of the name of any expert you
intend to call to give evidence as well as details of any finding or opinion
the expert proposes to give evidence about. This notice has to be given in writing as soon as it is
practicable to do so.
Disclosure
As soon as the
committal brief is delivered, an assessment should be made of the disclosure
that has been provided.
The brief will
contain the written statements of the witnesses that the prosecution intend to
rely upon to prove their case. It
should also include a copy of each exhibit intended to be relied upon, such as
photographs, reports, analysis certificates etc.
The question for
the defence team to determine at that point in time is often what has not been
provided. If something fundamental
is missing, then it might justify a submission being made against the committal
of one or more charges. If it is
not so fundamental, then it is a matter that would warrant a request being made
for further disclosure.
Some often
fruitful areas for further disclosure by the prosecution include:
· Police notebooks and official
diaries;
· Applications for search
warrants or for post search approval orders;
· Digital recordings (hand held);
· Criminal history of a
prosecution witness;
· Copies of statements that the
prosecution took but do not intend to rely upon;
· The brief given to a
prosecution expert;
Subpoenas
There are limits
on the disclosure that must be given by the prosecution, beyond which it is
necessary to conduct your own investigations. Thinking about the nature of the case, it is sometimes
fruitful to have a subpoena issued requiring a person to produce documents,
such as:
· Queensland police for material
not directly relevant to the charge;
· Queensland Health
· Child Safety;
· Telephone companies;
· Organizations holding CCTV
footage The list of
possible recipients is almost endless and depends upon the nature of the case
against you and the nature of your defence.
In the District
Court, subpoenas to produce documents require an Order from the court before
they can be issued. An order is
not required in the Supreme Court, unless the Registrar refuses to issue it for
some reason.
Keep in mind
that if you want to use any of the documents produced on subpoena, then you
have to be able to “prove” them. Usually that means that one of the witnesses has created or at least
written upon the document, or they might be the keeper of the document. If not, then you may need to subpoena
an appropriate person to attend and to give evidence about the documents you
want to enter into evidence.
You might also
need a subpoena to attend to give evidence for a witness that you want to come
along and give evidence on your behalf, just to make sure that they attend.
Subpoenas to
attend usually do not need an Order in either court, unless the Registrar
refuses to issue it for some reason.
Character Evidence
Obtaining the
criminal history of a prosecution witness was mentioned earlier and their most
obvious use is to attack the credit of the witness so that the jury are less
likely to believe them. Again,
thought needs to be given to the nature of the case to be answered, but often
the kind of criminal history that will have the most impact is the kind that
goes to their honesty – so look for fraud, stealing and other dishonesty
offences. If it is intended to
suggest that a prosecution witness is in fact the perpetrator, then perhaps
convictions for similar offences might be relevant.
Subpoenas were
also mentioned earlier and often they are issued to secure information that
goes to the credit of a prosecution witness. Similar considerations would then apply.
Keep in mind
that if the character of a prosecution witness is attacked, then the character
of the accused is open for similar scrutiny if he or she gives evidence. The usual rule that an accused’s
criminal convictions or past bad behaviour cannot be disclosed will not apply.
It is a
balancing act and careful consideration needs to be given before you launch an
attack on a prosecution witness’s character.
Pre-Trial Issues
A pre-trial hearing
may be required for many different reasons including applications:
- to exclude evidence which is
inadmissible, or which is admissible but should be excluded in the judge’s
discretion;
- to stay the prosecution either
temporarily or permanently;
- for further disclosure;
- for particulars of the
charge/s;
- for the issue of subpoenas;
- for leave to adduce certain
evidence at the trial, such as sexual history, the identity of a notifier to
Child Safety etc;
- for directions on the conduct
of the trial;
- and the list goes on…..
At the Trial
At the appointed
time for the trial, the Accused is in the dock and the lawyers are at the bar
table. The jury panel is brought
in and then the following steps occur:
- Arraignment. The Accused stands and each of the
charges are read to him or her with a plea, usually not guilty, being made to
each of the charges in turn;
- Jury Selection. Once the jury has been selected, the
prosecutor reads the name of the witnesses to be called and the jurors are
asked of there is any reason they cannot be impartial.
- Opening Address/es. The prosecution open their case but
telling the jury what it is about and a summary of the evidence that each of
the witnesses is expected to give. Defence can seek leave to give an opening statement; see R v Nona [1998] 1998 QCA 312.
- The Crown Case. The prosecutor will case each of the
prosecution witnesses to give their evidence. The defence then cross examine each of them in turn and there
is a limited right for the prosecutor to ask further questions on matters
arising from the cross examination.
- No Case to Answer. After the prosecution has closed its
case, the defence can make a submission that there is no case to answer.
- Giving Evidence. If a “no case” submission is not made,
or if it is rejected, then the Accused is asked whether they intend to give
evidence or to adduce evidence from other witnesses.
- If they do, then an opening address can be given and then witnesses
for the defence are called to give evidence, to be cross examined and if
appropriate to be re-examined. If
evidence is led of the Accused’s good character, or if the defence has attacked
the character of a prosecution witness, then the Accused bad character and
their criminal history can be exposed by the prosecution. A consequence of the Accused calling
evidence in Queensland is that they lose the right of making the last address.
- If the Accused does not adduce any evidence, then the trial moves
straight to closing addresses and the prosecutor has to go first, with the
Accused getting the right of last address.
- Closing Addresses. The order in which closing addresses
are given has been dealt with above. The closing address is the opportunity to bring everything together in
one logical, convincing story to show the jury why they should have a
reasonable doubt about the Accused’s guilt. It is the opportunity to point out to the jury all of the
inconsistencies in the prosecution case, to remind them of things aid or done
by prosecution witnesses that reduce their reliability, to point to evidence
that supports a legal defence to the charge/s.
- Summing up. The trial judge gives the jury
directions about matters of law affecting their deliberations. Sometimes this includes warnings about
the evidence of prosecution witnesses. The trial judge then gives a summary of the competing arguments for the
prosecution and for the defence before sending the jury out to deliberate on
their verdict.
The Verdict (incl sentencing)
Finally of
course there is the verdict of the jury. In Queensland it must be a unanimous verdict – all jurors must agree on
guilt or they must all agree on not guilty. For most charges in Queensland (not those carrying life
sentences) a jury that has been deliberating for 8 hours (not including breaks)
can be directed to reach a majority verdict in which only 1 juror may dissent.
Once a verdict
is reached, the jury is brought into the court room and they are asked to
confirm that their verdict is unanimous. They are then asked in relation to each charge whether the verdict is
guilty or not guilty.
If the verdict
is not guilty, then the Accused is discharged and is free to go.
If the verdict
on one or more charges is guilty, then the trial judge will usually proceed
directly to sentencing – so be prepared just in case.
Picking the Right Lawyer
It should be
apparent from this short guide that selection of the right lawyer from the
outset can have a big impact upon how successful you are at the trial. If the lawyer that you select does not
do the necessary ground work, or does not know the many rules of practice and
evidence that can affect the trial, it could have disastrous long term
consequences for you, not only in relation to the costs incurred but also for
the ultimate outcome.
Getting to a
verdict of not guilty usually takes a lot of preparation and a lot of knowledge
about criminal law, practice and evidence.
Alex Nelson
Barrister-at-Law
Level 15 Quay Central
95 North Quay
Brisbane Qld 4000
Telephone: 0402 227 498
Facsimile: 1800 768 690
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Contact me with an enquiry?
alex@alexnelson.com.au
Ph: 0402 227 498
Fax: 1800 768 690
Level 15 Quay Central
95 North Quay
Brisbane Qld 4000
PO Box 12471 George Street
Brisbane Qld 4003
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Available over Christmas, new year, December and January.
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Tax. Have you received a Directors Penalty Notice from the Australian Taxation Office. The timeframes are short and you may need a tax barrister to assist in dealing with the Directors Penalty Notice, opposing the Directors Penalty Notice or making an application for remission or waiver of the tax debt.
Defamation. Have you received or do you want to make a complaint about defamation? The words “defamation” and “slander” get bandied about a lot but the law relating to defamation is quite complex and extraordinarily expensive so the advice you receive has to be accurate.
Family Dispute Resolution. Are you about to commence family law proceedings in relation to children? You will need to participate in a Family Dispute Resolution conference. Alex can assist with advice, planning and representation at those conferences. Alex has appeared in hundreds of Family Dispute Resolution conferences and almost all of them have resolved to his client’s absolute satisfaction. Where his client was not happy with the outcome, it simply was not settled.
Family Law. Are you already involved in parenting or property proceedings in the Family Court of Australia or the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia? Alex regularly appears in interim hearings for parenting orders and procedural hearings for property matters and he is able to use his experience to the client’s benefit, quickly identifying the issues in dispute as well as the issues that will be likely to attract the Court’s attention and decide the outcome. Getting early and accurate advice is essential. Leaving the planning to the last minute will mean that you lose the chance to issue much needed subpoenas or to raise important issues in your affidavits material.
De facto property. Are you involved in, or worried about being involved in, de facto property proceedings in the Family Court of Australia, Federal Magistrates Court of Australia, Supreme Court or District Court? Alex has extensive experience in these matters as has a particular interest in the often related but overlooked questions of whether or not a de facto relationship actually existed and, if it did, when it came into being and how long it actually lasted. It is often the case that proper consideration of these issues are overlooked. get the right advice and get it early.
Statutory Demand for payment of a Debt; Alex has prepared and appeared in numerous applications to wind up a company and to oppose applications to wind up a company.
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