Doogue + George

Community Correction Order for Multiple Driving Offences

Published · Updated

This is a case study on a sentence of Community Correction Order for multiple driving offences.

Our client was charged with 12 driving offences including Driving an Unregistered Vehicle, Driving Whilst Under the Influence of Drugs, and three counts of Driving Whilst Disqualified against section 30 of the Road Safety Act 1986 (Vic). The offences were committed within four months of each other.

The maximum penalty for these offences are:

  1. Driving Whilst Suspended – 2 years imprisonment or a fine of around $38,000;
  2. Driving While Under the Influence of Drugs (first offence) – 3 months imprisonment or a fine of around $4,500; and
  3. Driving an Unregistered Vehicle (first offence) – 4 months imprisonment or a fine of around $5,500.
Our client lost his driver’s licence for drink driving in 2015. He was ordered to complete a VicRoads-approved safe driver’s course before he was eligible to apply for his driver’s licence.

Unfortunately for him, he completed a course which was not approved by VicRoads. Therefore, he just took the risk and continued to drive without a driver’s licence. Adding to our client’s woes was the fact that he had received suspended gaol sentences and community based orders for driving offences in the past.

Normally, magistrates will look at a person’s criminal prior history when sentencing them and make a note of the previous penalties previously imposed for similar offences.
 
We represented the client at the Moorabbin Justice Centre. For this case, we were able to secure a sentence of Community Correction Order for multiple driving offences. The charges the client was facing were:

This case was unusual because our client had a sympathetic personal story to tell, despite the fact that he was at a serious risk of receiving a gaol sentence. We had to ensure that he understood the key points to our client’s past so that he could relay it to the magistrate in a lucid manner so as not to compromise its impact. This showed that it is vitally important to carefully listen to your client’s instructions and to give them an opportunity to explain their past without interrupting them or cutting them short.

Unfortunately, our client did not provide us with any character references or helpful material that could be relied on during the plea. Therefore, the success of the plea rested solely on our ability to find positive patterns in our client’s criminal history (for example, our client performed well on community-based sentences) and emphasise the steps our client had taken in the past 12 months to improve his life.

After hearing our plea submissions on behalf of the client, the magistrate placed our client on a Community Correction Order for the multiple driving offences – which is an alternative to a gaol sentence. If you are charged with driving offences, you should not underestimate the court’s power to impose an immediate prison sentence. We suggest that you call us to discuss your matter because we are experienced in preparing people to put their best case forward.

Elements of Driving Disqualified:

  • The accused drove.
  • The accused drove a motor vehicle.
  • The accused drove on a highway.
  • The accused was disqualified.


DISCLAIMER: This is a real case study of an actual case from our files. Details pertaining to the client have been changed to protect their privacy. The sentence imposed and the charge have not been altered. These case studies are published to demonstrate real outcomes and give an indication of possible tariffs in Court. We do not guarantee a similar case on these charges will get the same result. Please note that we post results at our discretion, therefore while many case studies are average results, others are notable for their exceptional outcomes. PUBLISHED 03/09/2019