Dee Giannopoulos
This is a real case study by one of our lawyers. The person who is in charge of this area in the firm is Dee Giannopoulos. Dee is a Director and LIV Accredited Criminal Law Specialist at Doogue + George, recognised by Doyle's Guide as a Leading Criminal Defence Lawyer in Victoria (2026). She has 13 years of experience in serious indictable matters including sexual offences, pre-charge investigations, and complex County Court proceedings.
View full profile →This is a case study on trafficking drugs at the Kyneton Magistrates’ Court, where diversion was granted for a 19-year-old after the prosecution was persuaded she deserved a second chance.
What is alleged to have occured?
Our client was a young lady in her late teens who lived with her parents and brother. Her mother had a severe gambling addiction and her father also dabbled while also having a drug addiction. The family home that they owned was eventually lost due to the debt they found themselves in. The family moved to a rental property and struggled to make ends meet as the father could not work.
The client worked full time and her younger brother studied whilst undertaking a pre-apprenticeship. Her father began to traffick in cannabis to support the family. Twelve months after the trafficking activity has taken place, a search warrant was executed at the property and a significant amount of cannabis and money was seized. Our client, her father, and her brother were charged with trafficking in cannabis (by her own admission of having taken money twice for two small amounts of cannabis) and dealing with property suspected of being proceeds of crime amounting to thousands of dollars in cash at the house.
What happened at court?
Dee Giannopoulos acted on the client’s behalf at the Kyneton Magistrates’ Court for the charge of Trafficking.
The prosecution were not sympathetic to our client’s position at all: that she was trying to help the family with finances by working full time to pay the rent at 19 years of age. She ultimately fell into her father’s illegitimate business by servicing two people who came to the house looking to buy cannabis. She was such a young offender and deserved a second chance.
The matter was booked in for a contested hearing and the prosecution was ultimately persuaded to recommend our client for diversion.
What was the result?
The magistrate heard submissions from Ms Dee in relation to why our client was a perfect candidate for diversion despite the trafficking drugs charge, and why she ought be afforded an opportunity to avoid a record. The magistrate eventually agreed and granted the diversion.
Our client has no criminal record, can put this mistake behind her, and will be able to work in any career she pursues as well as travel overseas without having an impediment of a prior court matter for drug possession or trafficking.
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 09/01/2018
