The Court: Broadmeadows Magistrates Court
The Lawyer: Mario Saoud
The Charges:
- Resist Arrest
- Drunk in a Public Place
- Breach of Suspended Sentence
The Allegations:
The client was at a pub, where earlier some patrons had been yelling profanities at police on the other side of the road. The client was unaware of this. When police arrived at the pub, the client commented on a police officer’s tattoo. The police officer, already agitated due to the earlier verbal abuse by other patrons, arrested the client for being drunk in a public place. The client was sprayed with capsicum spray, locked up and held in a cell for four hours and charged with resisting arrest. This is a standard charge when capsicum spray has been used.
At Court:
Unfortunately, in this case, the client already had an active suspended sentence of four months for a previous offence. This new charge, if sustained, would mean the client had breached the conditions of the suspended sentence (i.e. allegedly committed an offence capable of attracting a gaol sentence during the operational period of the suspended sentence) and would have to serve gaol time.
For the client to avoid the four-month gaol sentence, our solicitor had to demonstrate there were exceptional circumstances as to why the client should not serve the term of imprisonment.
Our solicitor mainly relied on the circumstances of the new offence. Firstly, there was no premeditation, and secondly, the offence differed in character from the original offence. A significant factor was that the client now had full custody of his three young children.
Our solicitor made submissions to the Magistrate regarding the offending and the client’s personal circumstances, and the Magistrate formed the view that exceptional circumstances existed.
The Outcome:
The Magistrate fined the client and extended the operational period of the suspended sentence by 12 months. Most importantly for the client, he did not go to gaol.
