Criminal Law Offences
By “criminal law” we mean here all those alleged offences that are not traffic incidents, these being offences charged under acts such as the Crimes Act, Misuse of Drugs Act and the Summary Offences Act.
At ActiveLegal we understand the struggles that come with facing a criminal charge – particularly for a first-time offence. Our team can help you through this process and put your mind at ease. Our collective knowledge and resources are here to help you achieve the best possible outcome for your situation, We’ve, with repeated success, represented clients in cases involving:
Common Assault;
Assault with a Weapon;
Male Assaults Female;
Indecent Assault;
Cannabis and other drug charges;
Theft, Fraud, and other dishonesty charges;
Shoplifting;
Burglary; and many more …
If you have been charged with any of the above criminal offences or even any not listed here, then give us a call – we can help.
For information on Assault or Family Violence offences please click here.
For information relating to Sexual Offending please click here.
Below is a general summary of what you may expect during the criminal case procedure.
You may well be in serious danger of going to jail! Do not go to court and plead guilty at your first appearance.
First Criminal Law Offence
This is definitely the best position to be in – charged with a first offence instead of your tenth. Generally the opportunities for getting you off without a conviction are greater. It can sometimes be done without having to fight the case through to a trial. You may be eligible for a relatively informal process known as diversion or it might well be that we can plea-bargain your case and resolve it at what’s known as a case review hearing.
Diversion
Diversion is a process where the police and the defendant agree that if the defendant completes an undertaking(s) then the charge will be withdrawn. For example, it might be that you promise the police that you will attend counselling for an addiction problem and/or do some community work and/or make a charitable donation, etc. It is generally only possible to get diversion once in your life.
Eligibility for diversion depends on your circumstances. It will usually only be available when:
It is a first offence, or for example, your previous offending was different and/or long ago;
The offence does not carry an automatic disqualification of licence; and
The offence is on the less serious end of the spectrum.
Case Review Hearing
A Case Review Hearing (“CRH”) is a relatively informal court hearing in front of a judge. Such a hearing usually occurs several weeks to several months after the first appearance date. The objective is to see if the case can be resolved without going on through to a much more formal and ‘real’ court hearing called a ‘defended hearing’ (also called a ‘judge alone trial’ or ‘JAT’) which would probably be several months later again.
ActiveLegal sees the case review hearing court as “the deal court”. It’s often a very suitable forum for plea-bargaining the case. A plea bargain is a deal between the police and the defence which can then be put before a judge, ideally at a case review hearing. The objective is to have the judge approve the deal.
Sentencing
Newly charged defendants are often worried by reading about potential penalties but penalty sections in legislation only state the maximum sentence. When deciding on a sentence, a judge will generally indicate a sentence as a starting point and depending on your situation, then apply factors that will reduce (or sometimes increase) the sentence. So do no fret as it is most likely you will receive a sentence less than that stated in the legislation under which you have been charged.
For example, an assault charge may mean a community work sentence as a starting point. The judge will then factor in circumstances such as who the alleged victim was and the extent of injury sustained, whether you were generally cooperative with the police and have expressed remorse, etc. (although remember – you are entitled not to make a statement to the police and you should not make a statement. The court cannot hold the fact that you did not make a statement against you).
If you have a previous criminal conviction
If you do have previous convictions, don’t despair. We have been able to achieve very positive outcomes for our clients with prior convictions. Indeed a case review hearing can often be the perfect place to resolve a ‘non-first offence’ case.
What about the exact criminal charge you’re facing?
The Crimes Act and other acts list offence after offence. There are alas, too many to go into here. Contact us for a FREE assessment of your actual situation, call us today!
