This is a case study on failing to register a dog, a dog at large (daytime) and dog attack causing serious injury or death resulting in a withdrawal of all charges.
What is alleged to have occurred?
Our client was facing multiple criminal charges involving a former partner’s dog that was housed at a private residence in a suburb of Melbourne. The dog was unregistered when it escaped the property and killed another dog. Our client’s former partner arranged for relatives to take the dog away soon after the incident occurred.
What happened at court?
The charges our client faced at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court were:
- Fail to register a non-dangerous dog over 3 months old with Hume City Council.
- Dog at large (daytime)
- Dog attack causing serious injury or death
- Failed to notify council that the dog was missing
- Failed to notify council of change of ownership
- Fail to notify the change of place where the dog is kept, and
- Failing to produce a dangerous dog, hindering or obstructing an officer by failing to produce the dog.
The Magistrate indicated that she was minded to deal with the matter by way of an unconditional dismissal pursuant to section 76 of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) which allows that a court, on being satisfied that a person is guilty of an offence, may (without recording a conviction) dismiss the charge/s. However, the prosecution opposed this course.
Our client then chose to plead not guilty to the charges. As the charges may be dealt with summarily, the matter was listed for contested hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.
What was the result?
Ultimately, our lawyers successfully argued that the dog belonged to the client’s former partner and, as the dog was obtained prior to the commencement of the relationship, the care of the animal was the responsibility of our client’s former partner. Further, our client was not aware that the dog was unregistered, and therefore the dog was not in their effective care or control. These matters were argued by our lawyers in ongoing discussions with the prosecutors that took place throughout the court process and in the lead up to the contested hearing that had been listed.
By the time the matter was at the contested hearing stage, the prosecution had changed their views about the matter and applied to withdraw the charges. Accordingly, the Magistrate struck out all charges.
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 01/11/2024
