Doogue + George

Without Conviction Outcome for Family Violence

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This is a case study on a without conviction outcome for family violence. Our client was charged with Criminal Damage, Make Threat to Kill, Recklessly Cause Injury, Assault With a Weapon, and several charges of Unlawful Assault. The complainants were members of his family.
The facts were that after a prolonged period of drinking, our client started fighting with his 18-year old son, whom he had employed in the family business. During a heated argument between our client and his son, it was alleged that our client assaulted his son with a broom and had damaged furniture. It was further alleged that he made threats to kill and threats of serious injury to his son and his wife.

The client had no criminal history.

Video footage of the incident was taken and it depicted our client in an intoxicated state. In the aftermath of the offence, the client consented to a Final Intervention Order and his family insisted that the police allow him to return home. The client also sought out and participated in counselling to address alcohol dependency.
 

We represented the client at the Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court. Overall the charges were:

During case conference negotiations, all of the serious indictable offences were withdrawn (Make Threat to Kill and Recklessly Cause Injury). Of the 11 offences our client originally faced, only 3 charges remained as a result of extensive negotiations with the police. The matter was prepared as a plea in mitigation and a report from the client’s counsellor was obtained.

Submissions were made to the magistrate and evidence placed before the court which showed that the client’s family had forgiven the client for his behaviour. Another matter of significance was that our client had agreed to comply with a condition of his Intervention Order that he not consume alcohol in the family home.

The client also had an excellent employment history and the magistrate had regard to the out-of-character nature of the offending by the client. The magistrate was also impressed with the steps our client had taken to address the cause of the offending – his alcohol abuse.

In the end, the client received an aggregate fine of $1,000, without conviction, for the family violence offences. And because it was a non-conviction outcome, his prospects of having his Working with Children card reinstated was enhanced greatly.
 
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 27/07/2018