Appeal Case Study – Reckless Conduct

October 20, 2022

The following case study is an example of a matter where the sentence in the Magistrates’ Court was appealed and heard in the County Court. 

The Charges

Our client was facing numerous charges. The more serious charges included Reckless Conduct Endanger Serious Injury (Motor Vehicle). There were a total of 12 charges.

Our client had no criminal or traffic priors at the time of the offending.

What the police alleged

Our client allegedly assaulted their partner on numerous occasions over a period of time, in a moving car. 

How Nardi Lawyers helped

Following detailed instructions from our client, Nardi Lawyers engaged in negotiations with the Prosecution and raised a number of significant legal issues. In our negotiations, we were able to have several charges withdrawn.

Our client accepted responsibility for the offending and pleaded guilty to the remaining charges. There were significant mitigating factors and a long personal history which were all detailed in our numerous interviews and conferences with the client. These details were carefully constructed into our plea preparation.

The first hearing in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria

In Court, we tendered character references, psychologist reports and medical reports and gave submissions on our client’s behalf.

Our client was sentenced to an 18 month Community Corrections Order with conditions to be of good behaviour for the duration of the order and to undergo mental health treatment.

The Magistrate also cancelled our client’s driver’s licence for a period of 12 months following submissions from the Prosecution that it was mandatory. This was incorrect as the Magistrate had discretion in cancelling our client’s licence. 

Despite our lawyers attempts to correct this error in open court, the Magistrate was under the impression that the mandatory licence cancellation was correct and/or in any event, they would exercise their discretion and cancel our client’s licence regardless. We advised our client that they ought to appeal the order on their licence, as the law had been incorrectly applied.

The Appeal

Retaining their licence was paramount to our client, so they instructed us to appeal the decision.

The appeal was heard in the County Court and our team carefully constructed submissions for the Judge to consider. Character references and medical reports were once tendered in conjunction with the written submissions. The appeal was purely for the purpose of setting aside the order of the licence cancellation, there was no issue with the Community Corrections Order.

After considering our submissions and references, the Judge decided to overturn the licence order which was made in the Magistrates’ Court, and as such, our client retained their driver’s licence. 

We were very pleased with the outcome of the appeal, given how important retaining their driver’s licence was to our client.

If you have been charged with similar offences, we recommend that you call our office today, so we can help you achieve the best outcome possible.

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Sentences in the Magistrates Court of Victoria