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We acted on her behalf at the Moorabbin Justice Centre.
The client came in to see us with her bank statements and letters from VicRoads to confirm what information she had received regarding her licence and car registration. We advised her about the prospects of raising a defence of honest and reasonable mistake of belief regarding both charges. Whilst in both circumstances, she honestly held the belief that she had her matters in order. It is also a question as to whether it was reasonable in the circumstances.
In respect of her licence suspension, unfortunately our client had not updated her records and therefore was not in receipt of her mail. The inevitable conclusion was that it was not reasonable in the circumstances. We were able to discover that she had made payment of her registration however had incorrectly entered the account details and the funds were not received under her name. They were returned into her account without her even realising.
Therefore we advised the client that she could raise a defence in respect of the registration charge. This required taking the matter to a hearing. Because of the potential risks and costs in a hearing, our client decided on the day to plead guilty to the charges of Driving Whilst Suspended and Driving an Unregistered Motor Vehicle. We explained the circumstances to the presiding magistrate as well as tendered letters in support of her good character.
- 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 26/09/2018