The Charges:
1x charge of fraud to the value of $41,000
Court Attended:
Southport District Court
Attendance Date:
11 June 2018
Overview of Case:
Our client was charged with fraud. Our client was an aged carer and worked with the complainant as her carer. Our client withdrew $41,000 from the complainant’s account and used the money for her alcohol and gambling addiction. She had no prior criminal history.
Outcome:
The Crown handed up comparative cases and submitted that our client should receive a term of 2.5 years imprisonment to be released after serving 10 to 12 months in custody. Our client followed our advice and obtained a pre-sentence report and also was able to pay full restitution to the complainant. Our counsel submitted that the Court should take our client’s mental health issues and the full restitution into consideration and reduce the sentence. Our client was sentenced to 2.5 years in custody. She was ordered to serve 3 months of actual imprisonment with the remainder to be suspended thereafter for a period of 3 years.
The Matter:
Driving a Motor Vehicle Without a Driver Licence (Demerit Point Suspended) | Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 Section 78(1)(b)&(3)(b)
Court Attended:
Holland Park Magistrates Court
Attendance Date:
June 2018
Overview of Case:
Our client was charged with driving without a driver licence whilst being suspended due to loss of demerit points. The maximum penalty for this offence is ordinarily 40 penalty units or 1 year’s imprisonment or 60 penalty units or 18 months imprisonment if you have committed the offence while disqualified, by any court order. Further, in addition to the penalty he faced, our client was facing a 6 month automatic disqualification due to the offence. Our client was previously placed on a one point ‘good behaviour’ option through the Queensland Department of Transport. Following this, he lost two additional points off his licence and instructed us that he never received a notification in the mail advising him of same. Months passed by and our client was under the impression that he still had his licence and the one point afforded to him by the Department of Queensland Transport. He was later pulled over by Police and charged with Unlicenced driving.
Outcome
We represented him in court and successfully negotiated his matter with Police Prosecutions. The result of these negotiations had Prosecutions remove the circumstance of aggravation on his charge (surrounding driving without a licence due to demerit points) and instead simply charged him for driving unlicenced. As a result, the Magistrate was able to reduce his disqualification from 6 months to only 3 months with a small fine. Our client was very happy with the result.
Talk to our experienced traffic lawyers today for a positive outcome for your matter.
The Charges:
Offence of driving while under the influence
Penalty:
Any person who, while under the influence of liquor or drugs, drives a motor vehicle, tram, train or vessel is guilty of an offence and liable to a penalty not exceeding 28 penalty units or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 9 months.
Court Attended:
Southport Magistrates Court
Attendance Date:
June 2018
Overview of Case:
Our client was charged with using his tinny boat whilst having illicit drugs in his system. This was his third drug driving offence in 5 years which made his matter even more serious. Upon a further look of his criminal history, we noted that he was also in breach of a wholly suspended term of imprisonment at the time of committing the offence and accordingly, was facing being taken into custody for his breach. Our client instructed that he wished to finalise his matter by pleading guilty and provided us with his instructions.
Outcome:
We provided him with expert legal advice and details of preparations he should complete prior to attending court to assist in obtaining the best possible result. We appeared with him before the Southport Magistrates Court and represented him, making detailed submissions of his behalf. Our client received a small fine and no action was taken in relation to his suspended sentence. The offence did not have an automatic licence disqualification attached and accordingly, we argued that our client be permitted to keep his licence. Our submissions were successful and our client can continue using both his car and boat licence. This was a excellent result.
The Charges:
- Breach of Bail
- Breach of Community Service Order
- 8 x Contravention of Domestic Violence Order
- Stealing
Court Attended:
Southport Magistrates Court
Attendance Date:
June 2018
Overview of Case:
In this matter, the client was charged with the above offences. The client had an extensive criminal history, which included numerous contravention of domestic violence orders, failure to report when on Bail, stealing and other such offences. The client was only 26 years of age and so had committed numerous crimes in a relatively short period of time.
Further complicating this matter was the fact that the client had been diagnosed with an adjustment disorder and was of no fixed address, and was currently unemployed, meaning that they were unable to afford the medications they were required to take to control their mental health issues.
Outcome:
When this matter was heard, the Police Prosecutions were seeking a 12 month custodial sentence, based on the client’s extensive criminal history and frequency of offending. We were able to successfully argue for the client to be immediately released from custody and for the client to receive a 12 month Intensive Corrections Order instead of a term of imprisonment. This meant that the client does not have to serve any further time in custody and is able to access the support services they need to assist them in preventing further offences.
For legal assistance on a criminal matter, contact our experienced lawyers today. We strive to achieve the best possible outcome for each of our clients.
A probation order is an order in which you are released on upon sentence in a magistrates court. It can be anywhere from 6 months to 2 years.
While on probation, you will be required to comply with a set of requirements such as:
- Reporting to a probation office upon your release.
- Not committing further offences.
- Participating in any programs which your officer requires you to do.
- Getting permission to leave the state.
- Notifying the probation office if you change your address
If you don’t agree to a probation order, the magistrate will sentence you to another form of punishment such as a term of imprisonment.
Brooke Winter Solicitors can assist you with traffic law matters. If you’ve been charged with drink driving, contact us for a free initial phone consultation. We’ll assist you to understand your options.
The Charges:
Parenting proceedings – Interim Hearing
Court Attended:
Federal Circuit Court of Australia in Brisbane
Attendance Date:
May 2018
Overview of Case:
This was a case where we were instructed the day before an Interim Hearing. There had been several court events prior to our involvement and the matter was proceeding by way of Interim Hearing to determine what time, if any, the father should spend with the children. Complicating this matter was that one of the children was highly autistic and we had not had an opportunity to view any subpoenaed material.
The Father was seeking immediate time with the children, however our client was opposed to this due to concerns as to how the Autistic child would be able to cope as they had not had any contact with the father for several years.
Outcome:
We were able to successfully argue that it was not in the Autistic child’s best interests to spend any time with the Father and that any time spent with the father should be subject to the child’s treating counsellor’s recommendations. We were able to argue for supervised visits with the other child, to be done at a contact centre at the Father’s expense.
We were also successful in arguing that the Father should undergo regular Carbohydrate Deficiency Transferrin tests to measure his alcohol intake, as he had a documented history of alcohol abuse and violence when on the alcohol.
If you need any assistance with a family law or domestic violence issue, contact the experienced team at Brooke Winter Solicitors.
The Charges:
2 counts of Obtaining a Financial advantage for Self, due to having misrepresented their income to Centrelink during two separate periods.
Court Attended:
Southport Magistrates Court
Attendance Date:
April 2018
Overview of Case:
The client was charged with two counts of obtaining a financial advantage for self, each charge of which carries a maximum penalty of 12 months imprisonment and up to an $18,000 fine per offence. This related to the client misreporting their income over two separate periods totalling approximately 18 months. During this time, the client obtained overpayments of in excess of $16,000. The misrepresentations were discovered by way of a tip-off from the public.
The client presented with a criminal history, however, the most recent offence was in excess of 25 years prior and had no like offences.
Outcome:
In sentencing the client, the Court took into consideration that the client had pleaded guilty at the earliest possible opportunity, showed genuine remorse, the lack of any like offences in their criminal history and the relatively minor amount of money involved.
The client was sentenced to three-month imprisonment with immediate parole, with a parole period of 18 months. The client was required to enter into a Bond to be of good behaviour and was ordered to repay the monies to Centrelink in addition to court costs.
If you need help with a fraud or other criminal offence, contact Brooke Winter Solicitors for advice on your matter.
The Charges:
2x Charges of indecent treatment of a child under the age of 12
Court Attended:
Ipswich District Court
Attendance Date:
28 May 2018
Overview of Case:
Our client was charged with 2 charges of indecent treatment of a child. The maximum penalty for each offence was 14 years imprisonment. These charges, imprisonment is not a sentence of last resort.
The matter proceeded to a trial. We conducted a pre-record of the charges and the complaint child and two further child witnesses were cross-examined.
Outcome:
After carefully constructed cross-examination of the complainant child was conducted by our Counsel, the Crown conceded that they had no evidence to proceed with the charges and subsequently withdrew both charges the following day, without the matter having to proceed to trial.
Allanah Patron helps victims of domestic violence every day and understands the sensitive nature of these matters.
Domestic violence can range from physical, emotional, psychological and mental abuse, and includes things like stalking, intimidation, harassment, or anything that causes you to fear for your safety.
Learn more about Domestic Violence law and get advice on Domestic Violence Orders.
The Charges:
Court Attended:
Southport Magistrates Court
Attendance Date:
March 2018
Overview of Case:
In this case, the client had been charged with numerous charges as a result of driving off from several petrol stations without paying for the fuel. These offenses also occurred while the client was subject to a suspension of their drivers license. Most of the offenses occurred over three month period and were the result of the client being depressed after having separated from their spouse in rather unfortunate circumstances.
While on bail, the client was grappling with depression and voluntarily admitted themselves to the Mental Health ward of their local hospital. While they were in hospital, they did not report to the police station in accordance with their Bail undertaking and were subsequently charged with the offences of failing to report in accordance with their bail undertaking.
Outcome:
The client plead guilty to all charges and extensive submissions were made to the Court about the client’s circumstances and the events which had lead to the offending behavior. Given the number of offences, the client was looking to be sentenced to a term of imprisonment, however the client was before the court with a clean criminal record. As a result, we were able to successfully submit to the court that a period of 12 month’s probation and 60 hours community service was appropriate, as well as having to pay restitution for the fuel that had not been paid for. The client was also disqualified from holding a driver’s license for 5 years.
Comment from our client:
The client could not believe that we had been able to keep them out of prison and was more than happy with the outcome.
Do you need legal help?
If you are facing multiple criminal charges, expert legal help could keep you out of prison or greatly reduce your sentence. Call Brooke Winter Solicitors today on 1300 066 669 or contact us online.
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Criminal Law, Traffic Law and Domestic Violence related matters anywhere in Australia
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