Presenters

John Sutton, Director, John Sutton Associates
John is the Principal of John Sutton Law. He is a Law Society of NSW Accredited Specialist in criminal law, the only one in Orange and one of three on the Central West. Prior to setting up John Sutton Law, John was one of the Directors of J Sutton Associates based in Sydney, and before that the national practice director of a major law firm and the national executive director of criminal law with staff in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, and, for a period, in Perth. John commenced his legal work as a police officer for the Metropolitan Police Force in London. In 1992, he joined the NSW Police Force and spent many years as a police prosecutor. He commenced private practice, mainly in criminal law, in 1999. In 2005, John worked in the Victorian Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, prosecuting corrupt Victoria Police Drug Squad officers, in what was known as the Underbelly Drug Wars. John has now moved to the Central West of NSW with a practice based in Orange and surrounds. Over his legal career, John has advised thousands of clients on criminal and criminal related matters.

Dr Michael Robertson, Director and Clinical Consultant, Independent Forensic Consulting
Dr Robertson is a nationally recognised expert in the effects of drugs and alcohol, including the effects of drugs on driving, with over 30 years of professional experience. He prepares reports and testifies in all Australian States and Territories and the Asia Pacific region across all Courts levels. Dr Robertson is able to assist in a range of matters where drugs or alcohol may play a role, including Criminal Law, Family Law, Personal Injury and Medical Negligence. In relation to traffic matters, Dr Robertson's early research in relation to the involvement of drugs in driving led to the implementation of roadside drug testing in Victoria and then throughout Australia. Dr Robertson routinely provides assistance in relation to determining blood alcohol concentration at the time of an incident, including where post-incident alcohol consumption is involved, the level of driving impairment that may occur at various blood alcohol concentrations and the impact of drugs including illicit and prescription medications, and whether the breath or blood testing has been performed correctly. Having previously been the Chair of the recent updates of the Standards Australia Urine Drug Testing Standard and the Oral Fluid Standard, he is currently the Chair of the Standard Australia’s technical committee (CH-039) that is responsible for the ‘Detection and Analysis of Drugs in Specimens of Human Origin’, providing advice to industry on the proper method of undertaking these types of tests across Australia and New Zealand.