Tag: lawyer
  • Chris Nyst, Criminal Law

Can Police Just Randomly Stop and Search Me?

At festivals like Splendour in the Grass and Greazefest, music lovers have become accustomed to seeing police routinely searching people suspected of having drugs in their possession. In certain circumstances police are entitled to do that, but it’s not just open season. Police are not entitled to just randomly stop and search people for no good reason. Unless a police officer has an actual search warrant, then they’re not entitled to detain and search a person except where they suspect on reasonable grounds that person has drugs in their possession.
  • Brendan Nyst, Criminal Law, International, Opinion

Trial of the Century

I was just a kid when OJ was publicly apprehended by the LAPD. I knew little of the man known as ‘The Juice’, and had no understanding of his place in the psyche of 20th century USA. I had no idea he was so revered by the American public, or why, and had no inkling of the bloodshed that had defined LA’s racial divide in the decades preceding the case. I merely saw another celebrity on trial.
  • Chris Nyst, Litigation, Sport

The Candyman Can

Our perhaps most flamboyant and controversial client, the Gold Coast’s own Candyman, tobacco franchising supremo Mr Travers Beynon, had a win this week in the Supreme Court when Justice James Douglas froze $250,000 in sponsorship funds paid by his company Freechoice Australia to the Lucas Dumbrell V8 racing team, ahead of this weekend’s Townsville 400. As well, Justice Douglas ordered the Dumbrell team to remove the Candyman’s decals from its cars and account for all of their assets ahead of a major damages action launched by Freechoice, to be heard later this year.
  • Chris Nyst, Opinion, Sport

Ali RIP

Over the weekend, a great hero passed away. Muhammad Ali was not just a giant of the sport of boxing, he was one of the most influential characters 20th century, one whose dynamic personality was an integral part of the winds of change that swept through the post-war period.
  • Chris Nyst, Criminal Law

Sex and the Sleepy

Life is a risky undertaking that involves an endless series of perilous decisions. Some turn out triumphant, others disastrous.
  • Chris Nyst, Criminal Law, Domestic Violence

Between Main and Dessert

“So what did you think of the Baden-Clay decision?” It was the question I’d been dreading all night. As soon as it hit the dinner table seven pairs of accusing eyes turned my way, waiting for the slightest slip-up. “Well…”
  • Criminal Law

Scary Stories – Making A Murderer – Wrongful Conviction

This summer many of us became budding couch detectives and expert criminologists, all from the air-conditioned comfort of our very own lounge-rooms, as we sat glued to the TV screen and on the edge of our seats, watching the rivetting Netflix series Making a Murderer. Without giving away too much for those who haven’t finished the series, Making a Murderer is a documentary treatment of the true crime story of Steven Avery, a man convicted of sexual assault and attempted murder, and then exonerated and freed from prison after serving 18 years for the crime. But the story doesn’t end there, and - SPOILER ALERT - the next shocking turn of events has left many people stunned and outraged over the terrifyingly capricious and sometimes sinister workings of the American legal system, leaving many scratching their heads and asking 'could what happened to Stephen Avery happen here in Australia?'
  • Brendan Nyst, Litigation, Opinion, Politics

Big Dog Says “Goodnight” – Queensland Lockout Laws

The hottest of hot topics in this state for the past couple of weeks has been the government’s push to implement stricter lockout laws, and tighten the rules around sales and service of alcohol. Premier Palaszczuk has made clear her willingness to die in the ditch over the issue, and without doubt her declared motives for so doing are admirable. She’s determined to reduce the instance of alcohol-fuelled violence on our streets, and who could argue against that?
  • Opinion

Ocean Road Magazine Summer Issue 2016 – Chris Nyst Interview

I am thrilled to see that the current 2016 Summer Issue of the prominent lifestyle publication Ocean Road Magazine features as its cover story our own founder and principal Chris Nyst. Ocean Road is a high quality quarterly publication that celebrates the many wonderful aspects of the Gold Coast region – it's fabulous restaurants and fashion outlets, inspiring architecture, world-class events, unparalleled lifestyle and, not least of all, its incredible characters, of whom Chris is certainly one. The publishers have done a terrific job of showcasing Chris's life and achievements, and it is well worth a read. You can check it out at by clicking here.
  • Family Law

Stolen Children – Custody And International Child Abduction

Family law disputes often involve haggling over tens or hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of property, sometimes even more. With that much money at stake, things can get nasty. But without doubt the most bitter family law battles of all invariably are not the ones that concern dollars and cents, but the ones that revolve around custody and access to the children of the marriage. In the context of marriage breakdown the most terrifying prospect for any parent is the threat of international child abduction by a spouse and unfortunately, in recent decades, Australia has witnessed an alarming rise in the incidence of such abductions, spawned by the growing ease and affordability of international travel, the increasing proliferation of bi-cultural marriage, and the rapid escalation of the divorce rate.
  • Chris Nyst, International, Opinion, Politics

The Hero Of Palmyra

The armed militants of Daesh, pillaging and plundering their way across the Middle East, proclaim themselves heroes of Islam. But heroes come in all shapes and sizes.
  • Chris Nyst, Criminal Law, International, Opinion

New Fix For Serial Junkies

If you're hooked, as I am, on the phenomenally popular podcast, Serial, crank up those earphones and get ready for a new round of infuriating twists and turns.