Stanley Hill Elkins

14/11/2025

Interesting legal precedents aside, just pay the fine. There are no demerit points for parking fines. There is no risk to your licence. Cry to your friends about how poor you are after paying the fine and have them shout you a drink or two. And then move on.

13/11/2025

There is a far bigger story to the judgment of Playford City Council v Mathie. Ms Mathie argued that she didn't double park. Rather, she was stuck in a line of traffic outside a school and she couldn't overtake the stationary vehicles in front because that would require driving on the wrong side of the road. The Court of Appeal ultimately agreed with her, finding that she had a "defence" under Australian Road Rule 165, namely that she stopped to comply with another Road Rule; not overtaking unless safe.

The Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal took this case on a technical journey that went far beyond Ms Mathie's argument; that she didn't commit the offence. Ms Mathie's argument was upheld by the Court of Appeal. And this will change the way that Council's prosecute parking fines. Until this case, for reasons unclear to me, Councils has never advised unrepresented defendants that they may have a defence. They now have an obligation to let unrepresented defendants know about ARR165.

Ms Mathie so strongly believed that what happened to her was unfair that she was willing to fight the charge. She said to me "be the change". And indeed she has been the change. This case is a huge win for the little guy against a powerful and well funded prosecution authority. Representing Ms Mathie while she was taken on a wild ride through the justice system has been one of the great honours of my career.

Karen Stanley. SHE Legal

07/08/2025

For better or for worse, privately owned e-scooters are now legal on SA roads and footpaths. Read here what you can and can’t do.

Strict rules apply to riders of these devices, and breaking the law can result in fines, demerit points and even imprisonment. Here’s what you need to know before clearing a space in your garage for your newest ride.

02/08/2025

You can’t have all three. Most people choose cheap, which ends up very expensive if it’s slow and/or poor quality.

29/05/2025

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24/03/2025

Can’t miss us if you tried!

15/03/2025

The thoroughly marvellous Laura Elkins talks us through the recent changes to the Family Law Act in this month’s Law Society of South Australia Bulletin. Read here:

March 2025 edition of the Bulletin

14/01/2025

Overwhelmingly, the calls we are getting are from people who have been fined for having their phones resting on their lap.

Under the law, “use” includes being “held by, or resting on, any part of the driver's body”. This has been the law for several years, but it is only now being publicised because of mobile phone cameras.

If the camera clearly shows a mobile phone on your lap, you will be found guilty. Ignorance of the law is not a defence. It is far cheaper to pay the fine, incur three demerit points, and learn a painful lesson.

If the demerit points will result in a licence disqualification, you have a few options available. All of those options involve electing to be prosecuted and taking the fine to court. But going to court is expensive and there is some risk.

Engaging a lawyer is far more expensive than paying the fine. But if your licence is at risk, call us to find out what options you have.

Check out Karen Stanley’s interview where she discusses what can and what can’t be defended.

EXCLUSIVE: There is mass confusion surrounding South Australia’s new mobile phone detection cameras.

Adelaide’s top traffic lawyer says she is being inundated with complaints from angry motorists claiming they have been wrongly fined.

Download the 7NEWS app: https://7news.link/7NEWSapp

12/01/2025

Gosh, it’s been a while. I’ve been busy doing all kinds of lawyering things. And in amongst the lawyering, Stanley Law has expanded and rebranded.

I’m really excited to announce that Laura Elkins, the best damn family lawyer I know, has joined me and Naomi Hill and we are now Stanley Hill Elkins.

Naomi and I are very proud of what we have achieved by fighting the good fight for our clients. It’s really humbling to have clients place complete trust in us with their lives and livelihoods. We think we have served our clients well. So it’s time to expand that same ethos into Family Law, which is Laura’s main practice area. She’s also a pretty phenomenal criminal lawyer!

The three of us worked at the same law firm 10 years ago and, while we did our own things for a while, we still collaborated on family/criminal law crossovers. It was almost inevitable that we would eventually join forces.

We are a team. We are friends. We love what we do. I hope you never need us. But if you do, you know where to find us.

27/04/2023

My interview today on 5AA about the SE Freeway truck/bus fines

Karen Stanley, founder of Stanley Lawyers spoke with Matthew Pantelis who says bus and truck fines are back on the SE Freeway.