Good Behaviour Bond Without Conviction for Fail to Answer Bail

This is a case study on failing to answer bail and related charges at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, where the client received a good behaviour bond without conviction after voluntarily surrendering to police and demonstrating significant rehabilitation.

What is alleged to have occured?

Our client was facing charges on four (4) separate briefs that were more than a year old. The offences included drug possession, breaches of Family Violence Intervention Order, shop thefts, and 2 charges of Fail to Answer Bail. As a result of being in transient accommodation and not wanting to deal with the matters, he had not attended court and warrants had been issued for his arrest. The client had later reached a turning point in his life and determined that he wanted the matters dealt with so that he could move forward. He approached the police of his own initiative and had all warrants executed and was bailed to appear at court.

What happened at court?

Amelia Ramsay acted on the client’s behalf at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.

We advised the client of a number of options that would improve his chances of getting a good result at court including regular drug screens, character references, demonstration of family support, and continued counselling. The client was able to produce twice-weekly drug screens for more than 3 months. Further, he obtained some excellent character references that were forwarded to our office to ensure that they were appropriate for court purposes.

The client’s psychologist also provided a very supportive letter. The client’s partner and mother were at the final court hearing when a plea in mitigation was conducted. All of these factors contributed to an excellent outcome that the client was able to achieve by the end of the case.

What was the result?

The matter proceeded by way of a consolidated plea of guilty to the 4 briefs before the court. Considering all the submissions made, his Honour was satisfied that our client had made a concerted effort to turning his life around and this was reflected in the penalty imposed. He was fined for the counterfeit notes found in his possession and was sentenced to a good behaviour bond without conviction for Fail to Answer Bail and the rest of his charges.