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Documentary / Crime
A look inside one of the world's busiest local courts, Sydney's Downing Centre, and the drama that arises when people face the justice system.
An inside look at the machinations of Australia’s busiest local court sees Sydney’s top Magistrates dealing with a violent street brawl that has a surprising outcome, a long running stoush between neighbours and a father of three facing graffiti charges.
Sydney’s top Magistrates dole out punishment for a spate of alcohol-fuelled crimes. Two British backpackers have violently attacked a café owner, an attractive mortgage broker has driven over-the-limit for the third time, while a drunk day at the races ends up in a man urinating on a poker machine.
People from all walks of life end up in Australia’s busiest local court. A drug addict, two disrespectful twenty-somethings and a priest who has been charged during a protest appear before the Magistrates. Before the law all are treated equally.
Sending a defendant to jail is never an easy decision for Magistrates in Australia’s busiest local court. Three defendants are now before them on serious charges, including a king hit and a robbery. The Magistrates’ judgments could change lives forever.
Sydney’s busiest local courts are home to heartbroken parents supporting errant children as they face the full weight of the law. A young man has attacked police at Mardi Gras, a budding athlete has been caught possessing ice, and a man on a second drink driving charge is read the riot act.
Drug offences account for almost twenty percent of all cases before Australia’s busiest local courts. Drug related crime has landed a housewife and a plumber before the courts on serious charges. The balance between rehabilitation and punishment is a tricky one.
Over half the defendants who appear in Australia’s busiest local court will re-offend within ten years. Today four serial offenders tread a familiar path to the court as they appear before the Downing Centre’s frustrated Magistrates.
Drink driving is an endemic problem around the world and in NSW alone 20,000 people are charged with the offence. Magistrates in Sydney’s busiest court have minimal tolerance for drink drivers, especially for repeat offenders. This time three drink drivers suffer the consequences of their actions.
In Australia’s busiest local court a surprising number of defendants choose to do without a lawyer and instead represent themselves. A young driver, a homeless man and a law-abiding grandmother decide to argue against their charges without legal assistance.
Sydney’s hardworking Magistrates reveal the difficult deliberations handing down a sentence to a young man caught for a second time with cocaine. Meanwhile a Sydney cabbie is disputing his first traffic fine in twenty years driving, and a man faces a serious sentence after being caught with a crossbow.
No cast information available.
Damages is an American legal thriller television series created by the writing and production trio of Daniel Zelman and brothers Glenn and Todd A. Kessler. The plot revolves around the brilliant, ruthless lawyer Patty Hewes and her protégée, recent law school graduate Ellen Parsons. Each season features a major case that Hewes and her firm take on, while also examining a chapter of the complicated relationship between Ellen and Patty. The first two seasons center around the law firm Hewes & Associates. Later seasons center more on Patty and Ellen's relationship as Ellen begins to distance herself from Hewes & Associates and begins an independent career.
Rafferty's Rules was an Australian television drama series which ran from 1987 to 1990 on the Seven Network. Rafferty's Rules was one of the first programs undertaken by the Seven Network's then new in-house drama unit, going into production in May 1985 as "a 15-part courtroom drama". The program had started out as a pilot episode, recorded in early 1984 with the actor Chris Haywood in the lead role. When the pilot episode was remounted later in 1984, Chris Haywood wasn't available and the lead role was re-cast to John Wood. This second recording was eventually broadcast as the program's first episode.
John Thaw dons the silks as barrister James Kavanagh Q.C., one of the most highly respected criminal advocates in London, commanding admiration from colleagues and opponents alike. However, all this has come at a price as his dedication to work has taken its toll on his private life… Going beyond traditional courtroom dramas, “Kavanagh Q.C.” uncovers the pressures of legal battles and the problems of defining the truth, providing a compelling representation of the euphoric ups and costly downs of success and failure in the legal world.
Thrifty, folksy and cantankerous, Matlock charges a premium for his services but is worth every penny: This renowned attorney, always clothed in his trademark light-gray suit and driving his signature Ford Crown Victoria, has an uncanny knack for finding overlooked clues and exposing murderers in dramatic courtroom scenes.
Sex In Court is a British factual entertainment series which premiered on E4 on 29 March 2007. It takes a look at bedroom politics within modern relationships. The pilot features mother of two Rachel, who brings her husband Guy to court over a clash of lovemaking styles. Each episode sees people put on trial by their partner, or ex-partner. In a formal, court-like atmosphere, each party will be thoroughly cross-examined by a judge. Due to its nature E4 will air this programme after the watershed. The theme of the programme is very similar to Playboy TV's Sex Court.
