The Court: Frankston Magistrates Court
The Lawyer: Rebecca Glew
The Charges:
The Allegations:
The client had been out at a nightclub with friends. The client’s friend got into an altercation with another patron inside the club. Both parties were asked to leave. The other man wanted to continue the dispute outside, but security guards intervened and separated them.
The client and his friends were walking up the street when the other man was still intent on picking a fight. Eventually, a fight broke out between the client’s friend and two others. When the client saw that his friend was losing the fight, he intervened and struck the victim.
The client knocked the victim unconscious. The victim sustained injuries, including a broken jaw, and was kept under observation in the hospital for two weeks due to severe swelling of the brain.
At Court:
Although there was a potential self-defence argument, the fact that the client hit the victim, the severity of the victim’s injuries and the graphic nature of the CCTV footage meant that there were some problems running that defence.
Following negotiations with prosecutors, our solicitor appeared in court and sought a sentence indication from the Magistrate regarding the likely outcome the client would receive if he were to enter a plea of guilty to the more serious charge of recklessly causing serious injury, on the basis that the victim had provoked the entire incident.
The Outcome:
Upon hearing submissions, the Magistrate was prepared to impose a 12-month Community Correction Order for the client to undertake 100 hours of unpaid community work.
The client accepted this indication, and a formal guilty plea was entered. The client received a 12-month Community Correction Order, requiring him to undertake 100 hours of unpaid community work.
