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The following client case studies are de-identified.
In early 2020, our client attended a Shisha Bar. While outside the bar, he got into a verbal argument and left. Ten minutes later, he returned with a firearm. A bystander wrestled him to the ground to disarm him. An associate then handed him a sword. He left without entering the Shisha Bar; however, members of the public witnessed the incident. The police found him at home and seized other illegal items. He pleaded guilty to seven charges in the Magistrates’ Court at a Contest Mention, the most serious being Prohibited Person Possess Firearm, Affray and Use of Firearm in the Commission of Offences. He was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment without a non-parole period. Not long after receiving this sentence, he was notified that his visa would be cancelled under section 501 of the Migration Act 1958 (Vic).
Under our advice, our client filed an appeal against the conviction and sentence. This was done because the matter would likely be resolved during negotiations with the Office of Public Prosecution, which differs from the Magistrates’ Court, where negotiations occur with police. The ‘Use of Firearm in the Commission of Offences’ was withdrawn, so the appeal was just an appeal against the sentence. During this appeal, we first focused on the errors made in the Magistrates’ Court - namely, that our client received cumulative sentences for some of his charges when they are ordinarily served concurrent. We were then able to focus on his traumatic upbringing in Sudan and his personal circumstances, his potential deportation, and the fact that he had shown to be a positive contributor to the community before this offending. He was re-sentenced to 18 months imprisonment with a non-parole period of 12 months.
While on bail for robbery-related matters, our client was arrested again and initially faced ten charges. Four charges were removed after a summary case conference, and our client entered a plea to the remaining six charges:
Our client received a 12-month Community Corrections Order (CCO), which involved supervision, drug treatment, reduced re-offending programs, and judicial monitoring, with no conviction recorded. This is a great outcome considering the serious charges, and it allowed our client to move on without impacting job prospects. Our argument focused on our client's rehabilitation prospects to support the idea of not recording a conviction.
Our client was originally charged with thirteen offences, including theft of a motor vehicle, reckless conduct endangering life, careless driving of a motor vehicle, driving whilst disqualified and committing an indictable offence on bail. During a summary case conference, we managed to get seven charges withdrawn, and our client entered a plea to six charges:
Our client was sentenced to 21 days in prison; a very good outcome for extremely serious offending. The maximum penalty for reckless conduct endangering serious injury alone is five years imprisonment.
In 2017, our client drove himself and two co-accused to a house. While at the front door of this house, a complainant was assaulted by one of the co-accused. During this incident, the complainant was punched in the nose, resulting in bleeding. Our client and the co-accused then got back in the car, and our client drove off. The complainant informed his brother about the incident, and they both went in search of the people who attacked the complainant. Later that night, there were several serious altercations between the complainant, his brother, our client and our client’s co-accused. Subsequently, our client was charged with manslaughter.
The plea resulted in five and a half years of imprisonment with a non-parole period of three and a half years. This is an extremely good outcome, considering the maximum penalty for manslaughter is 20 years imprisonment, and our client was not eligible for an early plea discount. We lowered our client’s culpability by arguing that manslaughter does not coincide with a deliberate act, but results from negligence.
Our client was accused of rape and sexual assault by an ex-partner. The incident allegedly occurred when our client stayed at his ex-partner's house overnight to care for their children the next day, as the ex-partner had to leave early in the morning. It was claimed that the rape occurred in the morning. During the police interview, our client initially lied about sleeping with the complainant because they were engaged to another person and felt guilty about the infidelity.
Our defence during the trial was that our client did have consensual relations with the complainant. Our client was ultimately acquitted of both rape and sexual assault charges.
Our client was charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice. Our client’s husband and uncle were co-accused in this matter, and all three were of Iraqi heritage. At the time of the alleged offending, our client’s husband was on remand for a separate criminal matter. While in prison, they shared a phone call in Arabic, which was recorded. During this phone call, it was alleged by the prosecution that our client spoke with her husband about paying off the victim his criminal matter so that the charges would be dropped and he could be released from prison. Some of our defence arguments included:
Our client and both co-accused were found not guilty. This was the best possible outcome – we could put forward our client’s case while working in the best interest of the co-accused. This case demonstrates our commitment to getting to know our clients, not just their legal matters. We took an interest in our client’s culture, taking the time to understand the process and concept of a ‘faisal’ and the consequences if this ceremony/settlement did not occur. We also worked with the co-accused’s lawyers to ensure all evidence put forward benefited all three co-accused.
