The Queen v ET
ET was charged with 12 offences of 'driving whilst disqualified' contrary to the Road Transport Act 2013.
Mr Cole appeared for ET in relation to these charges. Representations were sent to the prosecution concerning the appropriateness of the 12 sequences for which ET was charged. As a result of these representations, back-up charges were laid for the offences including 'falsely nominate the correct driver'. In exchange, the original 12 charges of driving whilst disqualified were withdrawn. ET entered pleas of guilty to the backup charges of falsely nominating.
Had ET been sentenced for the original offences, he could have been facing a period of up to 15 years of disqualification from the roads, as well as imprisonment for a period of up to 5 years. ET was ultimately fined a sum of $4,000, and served a disqualification period of only 12 months. Having regard to the original offences for which he was charged, his driving record as well as the combined maximum penalty for each of the offences, this was an outstanding result for ET.