Ophelia Hollway
This is a real case study by one of our lawyers. The person who is in charge of this area in the firm is Ophelia Hollway. Ophelia is a Senior Associate and LIV Accredited Criminal Law Specialist at Doogue + George. She has defended a wide range of allegations including sexual offences, drug offences, corporate crime, and driving matters, and served as instructing solicitor in the Coronial Inquest into the Death of Kumanjayi Walker.
View full profile →This is a case study on driving under the influence and reckless conduct endangering serious injury at the Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court, where the client received a community corrections order without conviction.
Our client was facing multiple traffic offences including the following drink driving charges:
- Driving Under the Influence
- Exceed Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol 49(1)(b)
- Exceed Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol 49(1)(f)
What is alleged to have occured?
She was found to have a blood alcohol concentration of 0.2%. Part of the allegations against her include that she was driving with her son in the car and that she nearly missed a telephone pole due to erratic driving. The other non-drink driving charges filed against her were Reckless Conduct Endangering Serious Injury and Dangerous Driving.
She pleaded guilty to both Exceed PCA and Reckless Conduct Endangering Serious Injury charges. We acted on her behalf at the Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court.
What happened at court?
We made submissions to the court detailing the circumstances of our client at the time of and after the offending. She was suffering from a psychiatric illness and had already undergone rehabilitation following the offence. A recent failed relationship has also been causing her sustained episodes of depression. We tendered a psychiatric report to support these mitigating factors including several character references from family members.
It was also highlighted that our client had no history of any criminal offending.
What was the result?
We were successful in avoiding a term of imprisonment. Our client received a Community Corrections Order, without conviction, and a licence disqualification for 24 months.
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 20/03/2020
