This is a case study on a sentence of diversion for Unlawful Assault.
The offending in this case occurred in the early hours of the morning in Melbourne CBD. There was a CCTV footage of the incident although it did not capture the start of the altercation. It was alleged that after a scuffle between our client and the complainant, the client punched the complainant to the face causing a swollen bloodied nose.
The client had no priors for assault-related offences although he has very old drug charges. He was also employed in a senior management role in a well known Melbourne establishment.
Shaun Pascoe provided legal representation at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court.
The matter was listed for case conference several months after the date of the alleged offending. During case conference discussions with the prosecution, the prospect of the matter finalising as a diversion was canvassed. The prosecution was persuaded that it was an appropriate case for diversion and the matter then set down for a diversion hearing.
In preparation for the diversion, several quality character references were obtained. During submissions at the diversion hearing, our client's excellent employment history, the circumstances of the offending, and his good character as evidenced by the references were raised for the magistrate's consideration. His Honour was eventually persuaded to grant a diversion for the Unlawful Assault and this consequently meant that our client could avoid any disclosable outcome for the offence.
Shaun Pascoe
Shaun is an Accredited Criminal Law Specialist and a partner of the firm. Shaun runs the Heidelberg branch of Doogue + George.He is an experienced criminal law solicitor and works hard to achieve the best possible outcomes for his clients. Shaun handles indictable and summary criminal offences and is an expert at criminal defence for both contested and non-contested cases.
Visit Shaun's profile to read more about his background and experience.
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 17/07/2018