Our client was charged in relation to two driving incidents.
What is alleged to have occured?
In the first incident, he was charged with Drink Driving and Careless Driving, when he got behind the wheel after he had been drinking at a BBQ and reversed into a fence. When the police attended, they suspended his licence on the spot. In the second incident, the client was charged with Driving Whilst Suspended.
What happened at court?
Amelia Ramsay represented the client at the Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court. The charges were:
The matter proceeded by way of consolidated plea to the two briefs. The prosecution withdrew the alternative drink driving charge and a plea was entered on the remaining charges.
We made detailed submissions regarding the client’s personal circumstances and exemplary driving record. As a truck driver, the client has been driving every day for at least 25 years, during which time he has never been charged with an offence that required him to appear before a court.
The client had been experiencing trouble with his daughter which contributed to him getting behind the wheel. After his licence was suspended and as the only breadwinner, the client felt that he had to continue driving in order to support his family. It was in these circumstances that he was caught driving suspended.
All these matters were presented to the court along with character references that we had assisted the client to obtain.
What was the result?
The magistrate was persuaded by our plea and accepted our submissions. He acknowledged that this case of Drink Driving and Careless Driving deserves a lenient outcome and he agreed not to impose more than the minimum disqualification period of 19 months. In addition to this, he also agreed to back date the disqualification. The client was fined an aggregate amount of $200 for all charges.
Amelia Ramsay
Admitted to practice in 2013, Amelia performs her work with care and professionalism ensuring clients understand the Court process, their charges and that they receive the best possible outcome.Since joining Doogue + George, Amelia has represented clients in a broad range of indictable offences including, manslaughter (one-punch laws), foreign incursion and terrorism related offences, importation of drugs, cultivation of drugs, and sexual offences. Her work has included trials in the County and Supreme Court, plea hearings and contested committals as well as appeals to the Court of Appeal. Amelia works closely with barristers including briefing Queen’s and Senior Counsel. Amelia also appears regularly at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court and suburban courts as a solicitor advocate.
View Amelia Ramsay’s profile.
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 07/05/2018
