Kyle McDonald

Appearance and advice work

Kyle is available for trial, appeal and advisory work in all criminal and quasi-criminal forums. He's regularly briefed to advise on detailed technical cases such as road safety (covering culpable and dangerous driving, drink and drug driving and speeding offences), firearms, sex offender registration, computer offending, domestic animals, animal cruelty, and health offences.

He's appeared in the Court of Appeal (led and un-led), all Victorian criminal courts, IBAC and ACC, and the Coroner's Court.

He also appears in and advises on police torts cases.

He was briefed by Victoria Police in the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants (junior counsel to Brendan Murphy QC, with Morgan McLay), and one of team led by Claire Harris QC for the Department of Health in the COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry. He appears for and opposed to local government and prosecuting agencies in prosecutions and appeals. He also appears in public interest immunity claims and Open Courts Act applications.

Writing and training

Kyle is a:

• co-author of Summary Offences Victoria (with Janine Gleeson)
• contributing author to Road Safety Law Victoria
• contributing author to the Springvale Legal Service's Lawyers Practice Manual

He's been an occasional instructor at the Leo Cussen Institute's Practical Training Course and Australian National University's Becoming a Practitioner intensive component of the Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice.

Kyle was one of 12 junior counsel participating in Victoria Legal Aid's Trial Counsel Development Program for 2012/2013, holds an Indictable Crime Certificate from the Victorian Bar, and became an Australian Advocacy Institute accredited advocacy coach in 2012.

Background

Kyle is particularly interested in the effect of information technology and computer-forensics in litigation and criminal law. He blogs at www.summarycrime.com about developments and practice in summary criminal law.

Before coming to the Bar, Kyle worked for 10 years as a prosecutor for Victoria Police, appearing in the Magistrates’ and Children’s Courts. He instructed in advocacy, evidence and legal research at the Research & Training Unit of Victoria Police’s prosecutions division, and was a contributing author to the prosecutors manual then used by Victoria Police.

He had short-term placements at the Victoria Police Legal Policy Unit and with the Victorian Government Solicitor's Office. This experience gives Kyle a detailed understanding of police policy and procedure, and intimate familiarity with  police thinking.

Kyle also served in the RAAF active reserve as an Operations Officer and Unit Security Officer at No. 21 Squadron.