James Marcus is a PhD graduate from the Adelaide University Law School and practises as a barrister at Len King Chambers, Adelaide. James works primarily in the fields of criminal and disciplinary, administrative and regulatory law. James' main area of research is the granting and exercise of power and the relationship between the exercise of power and the rights of the individual, particularly when such powers abrogate fundamental rights. James' thesis examined instances of abrogation of common law and statutory rights and protections by the State and the justifications proffered for such abrogation. The thesis explains how the use of coercive power plays out in the practice, how this differs from the stated purpose of such power and ultimately, whether in the context of the use of coercive power at the expense of individual rights, the end can be said to justify the means. The thesis also makes recommendations as to how such powers and safeguards can be improved in practice.