The Court: County Court of Victoria
The Lawyer: Kieran Burke
The Charges:
The Allegations:
Our client was being prosecuted in the Magistrates Court concerning a family violence incident involving his ex-partner. A friend of the client’s ex-partner was present and witnessed the incident, and subsequently became a police witness in connection with the charges. Our client was relying upon the friend to exonerate him for the offences.
The friend was reluctant to assist because of her friendship with the ex-partner. The witness initially told police she could not remember anything regarding the incident. She then told the client that she would provide a statutory declaration clearing him of any wrongdoing and recounting a version that would make him innocent, which she later did.
On the day of court, when it came time to give her evidence, the witness backflipped and claimed that the client had pressured her to sign a false statutory declaration. The police then charged the client with Perverting the Course of Justice.
At Court:
Perverting the Course of Justice is a serious indictable offence which is heard in the County Court of Victoria. It carries a maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment.
During the committal hearing, the witness added evidence to her original statement, which brought her credibility and reliability further into question. Following the hearing, the Magistrate found there was sufficient evidence for the matter to proceed to trial and committed the client to the County Court of Victoria for trial.
The Outcome:
During the trial, the defence barrister cross-examined the friend and exposed her unreliability as a witness, which cast doubt on her evidence.
Following the conclusion of the trial, the jury went into deliberation. The jury deliberated for four hours before returning with a verdict of not guilty, acquitting our client. This was a fantastic outcome for the client.
