Congratulations to TC Beirne School of Law PhD student Betheli O'Carroll who received the inaugural 2015 BEL Research Awards for a Research Higher Degree student. The award recognises Betheli’s outstanding contributions to research in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law.
Betheli's research analyses whether the Australian and New Zealand criminal laws relating to fitness to plead realise the human rights of persons with disabilities. Her PhD project title: ‘Do the Australian criminal laws relating to fitness to plead realise the human rights of persons with cognitive impairments?’ has potential to make a major contribution in the field of disability law. Betheli has published a number of articles in this area, and has been cited by the New South Wales and Victorian Law Reform Commissions, as well as by the Office of the Public Advocate (Qld). During her candidature, Behteli has received a number of awards including th Owen Fletcher Postgraduate Research Publication Award 2013 for her paper titled ‘Intellectual disabilities and the determination of fitness to plead in the magistrates’ courts’ (2013) 37 Criminal Law Journal 51 and a University of Queensland Graduate School International Travel Award to present her research at the XIIIth International Conference of Forensic Mental Health Services, Maastricht, 19 – 21 June 2013.
Publications:
- Betheli O’Carroll, Book review of Australian Feminist Judgments: Righting and Rewriting Law (forthcoming Griffith Law Review)
- Betheli O’Carroll, ‘Double standards: Standards of proof for persons found unfit for trial’ (2015) 22(4) Journal of Law and Medicine 871.
- Betheli O’Carroll, ‘Lawyers' experiences with fitness to plead to summary offences’, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology. Prepublished February 19, 2015, DOI: 10.1177/0004865815570678.
- Betheli O’Carroll, ‘Intellectual disabilities and the determination of fitness to plead in the magistrates’ courts’ (2013) 37 Criminal Law Journal 51.
