The Court: County Court of Victoria
The Lawyer: Kieran Burke
The Charges:
The Allegations:
The client had a long history of heroin and methamphetamine use and was charged with multiple counts of burglary and theft after breaking into residential properties and stealing items to obtain money to fund his drug dependency. At the time of the offence, the client was subject to a wholly suspended sentence imposed nine months earlier for similar offending.
The matter was first dealt with in the Magistrates Court, where the client pleaded guilty to the offences. The court considered the fact that the new offences constituted a breach of the suspended sentence.
To avoid serving the immediate term of imprisonment that was suspended, exceptional circumstances had to be demonstrated to the court. The Magistrate found that exceptional circumstances did not exist, given the client’s repeat offending. The client was sentenced to 15 months’ gaol with a non-parole period of nine months.
At Court:
The client instructed our office to assist him with appealing the decision. Our solicitor appealed the Magistrates’ Court decision to the County Court of Victoria.
In the interim period, while awaiting the appeal, our solicitor arranged for the client to enter a full-time residential rehabilitation program through Odyssey House. The program with Odyssey House can last up to 24 months, depending on the client’s needs. The Odyssey program is not easy, and the desire to participate must come directly from the client.
By the time of the appeal, the client had only been in Odyssey House for a short period. Our solicitor made an application to adjourn the appeal for a further three months, allowing the client to participate in the programs at Odyssey House.
At the appeal hearing three months later, the client remained at Odyssey House and had demonstrated consistent engagement with the program, with progress reports provided to the court. His caseworker gave evidence about his commitment and insight into the causes of his offending.
The Outcome:
On appeal, the presiding Judge accepted our solicitor’s submissions that since the original sentence, the client had shown genuine efforts towards rehabilitation, he had remained drug-free and compliant with strict residential rehab conditions, and there was strong support from Odyssey House for continued treatment.
The Judge found that these factors, in combination, amounted to exceptional circumstances, allowing the court to reconsider the breach of the suspended sentence. His Honour imposed a further suspended gaol sentence in combination with a Community Correction Order, which could be served within the Odyssey House program. It was an excellent outcome.
