The Court: Ballarat Magistrates Court
The Lawyer: Benjamin Smith
The Charges:
The Allegations:
The client was with a friend at a pub. He and his friend (co-offender) were talking about issues they were having with another male who was a local drug dealer. After consuming several drinks, they decided to visit him. The client and co-offender arrived at the victim’s house at 1 am. Unsurprisingly, the victim did not open the door, so the client and co-accused, armed with a metal bar, decided to break in through the window. Upon entering the home, they attacked the victim and took his money and his cannabis.
Police located the client a short time later in possession of stolen cash and a small quantity of cannabis.
The police also applied for a Personal Safety Intervention Order to protect the victim from the client and the co-accused.
At Court:
The client was subsequently remanded. He provided instructions to our solicitor to make a bail application on his behalf. Given that the offences are Schedule 2 offences, the client had to satisfy the compelling reason test according to section 4C of the Bail Act 1977 (Vic).
Before running the bail application, our solicitor contacted the client’s sister. This was to ensure that an alternative bail address was available that would take the client out of the immediate vicinity of the victim.
Our solicitor also consented to an intervention order, providing the victim with some protection from the client. Finally, our solicitor obtained a character reference from his current partner, highlighting how out of character this type of offence was for the client.
The prosecution alleged that there was an unacceptable risk of the accused interfering with witnesses and committing further offences, given his addiction to drugs. Our solicitor made submissions on how to mitigate the risk with the imposition of strict bail conditions.
The Outcome:
After hearing submissions, the Magistrate ruled that compelling reasons were established, factoring in his lack of prior history and the character evidence, and accepted our solicitor’s submissions on how the risk could be mitigated. The Magistrate, therefore, granted bail with strict conditions, including for the client to reside at the alternative bail address (his sister’s address), adhering to a curfew, reporting to the police weekly, and not contacting any prosecution witness.
