Ep 22 - Ron Ubers, Drink Driving, Police Custody Officers, Making a Murderer, the Good Samaritan Law

Prima Facie a podcast about law, order, and legal issues.

An unsworn police employee was stopped in Glen Waverley recently, allegedly driving in excess of the prescribed concentration of alcohol. What happens if you’re stopped for drink driving? What happens if you simply refuse to undergo a breath test? A new type of police employee has recently been introduced in Victoria. The role of a Custody Officer is to supervise, manage and care for people in police custody. This job has traditionally been done by sworn police. In legal terms, how are cells at a police station different to an actual prison? ‘Serial’ – ‘Making a Murderer’ – law and order podcasts and television documentaries are all the rage. But in an age of being able to stream anything to your phone from anywhere, Australian courts still prohibit cameras and sound recording. Could a podcast like ‘Serial’ ever be made in Australia? And is the American justice system inherently fairer and more transparent than in Australia, simply because it provides unfettered access to journalists, researchers and news outlets? We also discuss the “Good Samaritan” law. If you stop to help someone in a medical emergency, and end-up causing more harm than good, are you protected from civil action? How does this law affect emergency services workers? And last but not least, an unlikely hashtag: #ronubers