The Court: Werribee Magistrates Court
The Lawyer: Dylan Morris
The Charges:
The Allegations:
Our client was a 34-year-old electrician who was charged with a drug driving offence after being pulled over by police for a random roadside drug test. The test returned a positive reading for cannabis. At the time, the client was driving home after attending a friend’s birthday party where he admitted to smoking cannabis.
The client had been to court for the offence, and the presiding Magistrate disqualified and cancelled his licence for six months, as this was his first offence. Drug driving offences carry a mandatory six-month licence loss for a first offence and 12 months for a subsequent offence.
Some driving offences have re-licensing requirements that must be fulfilled before a person can get a driver’s licence. The first requirement is usually to complete a Behaviour Change Program. Another requirement may be to apply for a Licence Eligibility Order from the Magistrates Court of Victoria. It is imperative that the client check with VicRoads regarding the requirements, as different driving offences have different relicensing requirements.
In this case, the client had four weeks remaining on his disqualification period and had contacted VicRoads to commence the process of being relicensed. VicRoads required the client to complete a Behaviour Change Program and then advised him to apply for a Licence Eligibility Order to the Magistrates Court of Victoria.
At Court:
The client made a Licence Eligibility Order application to the court and was provided a hearing date. The client was very worried about giving evidence and therefore attended and engaged our office to assist with the application hearing date.
Our case centred around the following: this was the client’s first offence, and he had no prior criminal or traffic history. The client did not have an issue with substance use, and the reason for the offending, which led to the licence disqualification, was merely a once-off incident.
The Outcome:
We attended court with the client and made submissions to the Magistrate. In the witness box, the client was required to give sworn evidence about the offence and his drug use. The application went well after assisting the client through his nerves in the witness box. The Magistrate granted the Licence Eligibility Order.
