Steven Rotumah

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Charge:	Assault (Including Battery)
Sentence:	Good behavior bond
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	2006
Year Convicted:	2007
Year Cleared:	2008
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Australia
County or Region of Crime:
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	One of the Bermagui Five co-defendants. Four of the defendants aboriginal were convicted in 2007 of affray (brawling) and one of affray and assault following a late-night fight that erupted when a group of white men in three cars set upon them in the front yard of the aboriginies homes at Bermagui on the NSW South Coast in October 2006. They were sentenced to good behavior bonds allowing their release provided on them not committing any other offenses. In December a New South Wales Supreme Court judge quashed all their convictions on the basis that their statements relied on to convict them were invalid because they were obtained in violation of rules intended to ensure the reliability of police statements by aborigines.
Conviction Caused By:	Statements obtained by the police in violation of the law protecting aborigines from interrogation without an attorney present.
Innocence Proved By:	New South Wales Supreme Court Justice overturned the convictions of all five co-defendants on the grounds that their statements relied on to convict them were invalid because they were obtained in violation of rules intended to ensure the reliability of police statements.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:
Information Source 1:	"Convictions quashed because police broke rules, Sydney Morning-Herald, December 15, 2008"
Information Location 1:	http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/12/14/1229189446298.html?feed=fairfaxdigitalxml
Information Source 2:	"Police unfairly targeted Aborigines in racial brawl, court told, Sydney Morning-News, March 12, 2008"
Information Location 2:	http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/police-unfairly-targeted-aborigines-in-racial-brawl-court-told/2008/03/11/1205125911488.html
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Go to Database Search Page

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Steven Rotumah

Charge:

Assault (Including Battery)

Sentence:

Good behavior bond

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

2006

Year Convicted:

2007

Year Cleared:

2008

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Australia

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Statements obtained by the police in violation of the law protecting aborigines from interrogation without an attorney present.

Innocence Proved By:

New South Wales Supreme Court Justice overturned the convictions of all five co-defendants on the grounds that their statements relied on to convict them were invalid because they were obtained in violation of rules intended to ensure the reliability of police statements.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Convictions quashed because police broke rules, Sydney Morning-Herald, December 15, 2008"

Information Location 1:

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/12/14/1229189446298.html?feed=fairfaxdigitalxml

Information Source 2:

"Police unfairly targeted Aborigines in racial brawl, court told, Sydney Morning-News, March 12, 2008"

Information Location 2:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/police-unfairly-targeted-aborigines-in-racial-brawl-court-told/2008/03/11/1205125911488.html

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Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: