Not Guilty Pursuant to Mental Health Act

AD was charged with ‘Wound person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm’, contrary to section 33(1) Crimes Act 1900; and ‘Reckless wounding’, contrary to section 35(4) Crimes Act 1900.

Chris Cole represented AD in these matters. AD was found not fit to plead or stand trial after having been assessed by both a clinical Neuropsychologist and a Forensic Psychiatrist. It was determined that the accused was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of offending with severe psychotic symptoms.

Subsequently, AD was found not guilty on the grounds of mental illness. This is a pleasing result considering the seriousness of the offence and allows AD to continue to access the psychological treatment he requires.

Larceny Matter, Max Sentence of 5 Years, Sentenced to 1 Month

MD was charged with ‘Larceny’ contrary to section 117 of the Crimes Act 1900. The offence carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.

James Castillo represented MD at the Central Local Court on which occasion the matter was listed for Sentence. James Castillo tendered materials and made oral submissions on MD’s behalf where His Honour sentenced MD to one month imprisonment, backdated for time already being served.

This is a great result as MD is in the process of applying for permanent residency in Australia and hopes to continue an apprenticeship.

Drive with High Range PCA, Fined and License Disqualified for 6 Months

AH was charged with the offence ‘Driving with high range PCA’, contrary to section 110 (5)(c) Road Transport Act 2013 reading 0.225.

Chris Cole represented AH at Burwood Local Court. Her Honour ordered AH to pay a fine of $1,500, that he be disqualified from holding any driver’s licence for 6 months and that he holds an interlock driver license for 24 months.

This is an outstanding result, noting the seriousness of the offence.

‘Possess Prohibited Drug’ Offence Sentenced to Conditional Release Order without Conviction, No Criminal Record

AH was charged with ‘Possess Prohibited Drug’ contrary to section 10(1)(a) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999.

Chris Cole represented AH at the Waverley Local Court. The presiding Magistrate sentenced AH to a Conditional Release Order (without conviction) subject to good behaviour for a period of six months.  

This was an outstanding result for AH who regularly travels to the USA for work. A criminal conviction would jeopardise his continued employment

Charged with ‘Drive while prohibited drug present in oral fluid’, receives Conditional Release Order with no conviction recorded

ST was charged with ‘Drive while prohibited drug present in oral fluid’, namely cannabis.

Chris Cole tendered material and oral submissions on ST’s behalf as to why Her Honour ought not to convict him. Her honour agreed and ST was placed on a Conditional Release Order without conviction for a period of six months.

This was a great outcome for ST as it did not impede on his future hopes of joining the Australian Defence Force and he was able to continue driving.

Charged with Multiple Drug-related Offences, Downgraded and Form 1 Granted, Sentenced to Intensive Correction Order

JM was charged with four offences ­-- ‘Supply Prohibited Drug’, ‘Possess Prohibited Drug’, ‘Drive with drug present in oral fluid’ and ‘Proceeds of Crime’.

Chris Cole represented JM in this matter. The charge of ‘Supply of Prohibited Drug’ was downgraded to ‘Knowingly take part in supply of prohibited drug’ and the further offence ‘Proceeds of Crime’ was placed on a Form 1.

Chris represented JM at Downing Centre Local Court where he tendered materials and made oral submissions supporting JM’s otherwise sound character and remorse at his offending behaviour.

Due to his lack of prior offences and low risk of reoffending His Honour sentenced JM to an Intensive Correction Order of 10 months with supervised drug screens for to ‘Knowingly take part in supply of prohibited drug’, a Fine of $330 for ‘Possess Prohibited Drug’ and Conditional Release Order (without conviction) of 10 months.

This is a very pleasing result for JM given the maximum term of imprisonment for these charges. He instead is able to remain in the community and continue driving

Charged with Dealing with Proceeds of Crime, Bail Granted

DL is charged with ‘Dealing with proceeds of crime’ contrary to section 193C Crimes Act 1900. He instructed Chris Cole to make a release application. During his bail submissions, Chris Cole addressed bail concerns in relation to DL being released from custody. Chris successfully argued through the proposed bail conditions that all risks recognised by the prosecution can be mitigated by bail conditions. Some of his bail conditions include to be of good behaviour, to surrender his passport, reporting duties and a residential condition.

Having his bail granted is huge relief for DL and his family.

Pleaded Guilty to Driving with Low-range PCA, Received a CRO with no conviction

CD was charged with the offence of ‘Driving with Low-Range PCA’. He pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. Chris Cole represented him on his sentence submissions. Chris tendered materials on his behalf and made oral submissions as to why he should not be convicted.  His Honour agreed and imposed a Conditional Release Order without conviction pursuant to section 9(1)(b) of Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 subject to good behaviour bond for two years.

This is a pleasing result for CD as a conviction which leads to license suspension would greatly affect his own business requiring him to drive long distances each day and eventually affect his ability to provide for his wife and newborn baby.

Murder Conviction, Special leave to appeal in High Court granted

MS was charged and convicted of ‘Murder’ contrary to section 18(1)(a) Crimes Act 1900. He was sentenced to imprisonment for 26 years and 6 months with a non-parole period of 19 years and 6 months.

This is a case of assault turned to ‘murder’ as what the Crown case asserted. The victim is almost 80 years old with existing health problems and complications at the time of the incident. He was assaulted and got hospitalised. Months after, he died. The Defence case is grounded upon causation of the victim’s death.

MS is represented by Chris Cole and two Public Defender Counsels, Belinda Rigg and Tom Quilter. In making their Special Leave application, they argued the ground of miscarriage of justice on cause of death. Special leave to appeal in High Court was granted. Whether there was miscarriage of justice is now to be decided by the High Court.

'Affray' and 'Offensive Behaviour" Dismissed

MA was charged with ‘Affray’ contrary to section 93C(1) Crimes Act 1900 and ‘Behave in Offensive Manner’ contrary to section 4 Summary Offences Act 1988 with two co-accused.

MA pleaded not guilty and had a defended Hearing at Parramatta Local Court.

Chris Cole represented MA in the Hearing. Chris made use of the CCTV footage as primary evidence for the defence. Following the prosecution’s and defence’s cases, Chris also prepared written submissions on behalf of the defendant and tendered it to the court. Her Honour accepted the submissions and ruled in favour of the accused.

Her Honour found MA not guilty of both charges and dismissed the charges. There is no better outcome in a criminal matter than this.  

5 Convictions and a Breach, Aggregate Sentence Imposed

MT pleaded guilty to five charges namely, 2x ‘Stalk/Intimidate with intent to cause fear’ contrary to section 13 Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007, ‘Destroy/damage property by fire with intent to injure’ contrary to section 196(1)(b) Crimes Act 1900, ‘Escape lawful custody’ contrary to section 310D Crimes Act 1900 and, ‘Contravene AVO’ contrary to section 14 Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007. On top of that, MT breached a Community Corrections Order for a prior offence.

Chris Cole represented MT in mitigation plea. Her Honour determined that all of the offences fell at the middle range of objective seriousness. She found MT’s prospects of rehabilitation as limited. The matter was not elected to the District Court. Each offence carries the maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment. The maximum aggregate sentence the Local Court impose is 5 years. Taking early plea into consideration, Her Honour gave MT 25% discount on his sentence. Her Honour imposed indicative sentences for each of the offence and imposed an aggregate sentence for all of them. Ultimately, MT received an aggregate sentence of 3 years and 4 months.

Given all the circumstances and the nature of the charges, MT received a good result.

Charged with 3 Driving Offences, Convicted of Only One

RI was charged with three driving offences— ‘Exceed speed limit >20km/h’, ‘disobey red no right turn signal’ and ‘disobey marked line’.

Chris Cole represented RI in this matter. Chris negotiated with Police that in exchange for pleas of guilty on the first two offences, the police will withdraw the third offence. It was a successful negotiation for RI and the plea offer was accepted with the third offence withdrawn.

RI was sentenced for the offences he pleaded guilty on. In relation to the speeding offence, Her Honour convicted RI and fined him $550. In relation to the other offence, Her Honour placed him on a Conditional Release Order subject to a good behaviour for a period of 6 months with no conviction.

Regarding demerit points, it was also a success for RI having only accrued 4 demerit points from the speeding offence, instead of having 9 for the three offences. 

Charged with 4 Drug-related Offences, Bail Granted

SV is charged with four offences-- two counts of ‘Supply Prohibited Drug’, ‘Deal with proceeds of crime’ and ‘conduct drug premises while child present’.

Chris Cole represented SV on his release application at Penrith Local Court. He made submissions and tendered documents supporting why SV needs to be released from custody including a letter from SV’s wife. His Honour granted bail with strict but reasonable conditions.

This result is great for SV as not everyone charged with the same type of offences is granted bail.

Charged, Negotiated and Withdrawn

MA was charged with two offences namely, ‘Armed with intent’ contrary to section 114(1) Crimes Act 1900 and ‘Affray’ contrary to section 93C Crimes Act 1900.

MA pleaded not guilty to both charges. Chris Cole reviewed the Brief of Evidence in its entirety including reviewing CCTV footages and perusing statements made by independent witnesses. After careful analysis, it became evident that self-defence is a strong argument for MA.

Chris Cole prepared representations to the police to withdraw the mentioned charges on the basis of self-defence. Initially, the Commander refused to accept the representations and the matter was set for hearing. At the end, the charges were withdrawn, and the matter was dismissed.

This is a successful negotiation story.

Pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud, CRO for 12 months imposed

SV pleaded guilty to three (3) counts of ‘Dishonestly Obtain Financial Advantage’ contrary to section 192E of the Crimes Act 1900.  The maximum penalty for this offence is imprisonment for 10 years.

Chris Cole represented SV at the Penrith Local Court before His Honour Magistrate Van Zuylen. Chris made Sentence Submissions on SV’s behalf. His Honour imposed Conditional Release Orders without conviction for all three counts for a period of 12 months.

This is an outstanding result for SV.

No Imprisonment for Conviction of Reckless Wounding, ICO ordered for 22 months.

IR was convicted with the offence of ‘Reckless Wounding’ contrary to section 35(4) of the Crimes Act 1900. The maximum penalty for this offence is imprisonment for seven (7) years.

Chris Cole represented IR at the Downing Centre Local Court before Magistrate Swain LCM. Chris tendered a bundle of various materials on IR’s behalf including a Psychiatric Report, letters from the IR’s wife, mother and other people who know him. Also tendered are his personal letters to the Magistrate and to the victim. Chris also prepared a lengthy written submissions on behalf of IR.

Her Honour was of the view that there was no other alternative than imprisonment for IR’s offence. However, as Chris has submitted, Her Honour ordered the term of imprisonment be served by way of an Intensive Corrections Order (ICO). IR is sentenced with the term of ICO for 22 months and 15 days.

With the view of the nature of the offence and maximum penalty that could have been imposed, this is a reasonable result for IR.

Minimal fine ordered against a company convicted with five counts of 'Failure to Nominate Driver'

OP, a company, was convicted with five (5) counts of ‘Failure to Nominate Driver’ contrary to section 188(1) of the Road Transport Act 2013. The maximum penalty for the offence is 100 penalty units which is equivalent to $11,000.00.  

Chris Cole represented OP on this matter and appeared before Her Honour Magistrate Giles at the Downing Centre Local Court. OP was sentenced with the penalty of only $2,500.00 in relation to all five (5) counts OP was convicted with.

This is an outstanding result for OP considering that the last fine which was given to the company for that offence was $3,813.00.

Drove drunk with 0.140 above PCA, minimum disqualification imposed

DB was convicted with ‘driving with middle range PCA’ contrary to section 110 (4)(A) of the Road Transport Act 2013 after a finding of 0.140 blood alcohol concentration.

Chris Cole represented DB on this matter and appeared before the Downing Centre Local Court.

Chris tendered DB’s Affidavit and a number of character references from DB’s family and friends. The Presiding Magistrate ordered the minimum disqualification period of three (3) months and mandatory interlock order of twelve (12) months.

This is a reasonable result considering the aggravating features of the offence.

Successful appeal of visiting privileges withdrawal, withdrawal reduced from 7 months to 2 months

KM’s driving visiting privileges was withdrawn in New South Wales for seven (7) months due to demerit point offences including an extreme speeding offence. The withdrawal was made on the ground that KM is not a fit and proper person to drive a motor vehicle in NSW.

Chris Cole appealed the decision of RMS at the Downing Centre Local Court on the grounds of good character and necessity of his license for family and work purposes.

The Presiding Magistrate accepted the appeal and reduced the suspension to two (2) months and two (2) days.

This is a great result for KM.

Failed to lodge BAS and Income Tax Return, minimal fine of $1,500 ordered

MB was charged with ‘failure to lodge Business Activity Statement’ and’ failure to lodge Income Tax Return’ contrary to section 8C(1)(a) of the Tax Administration Act 1953. In MB’s circumstances, the maximum possible fine that can be imposed for the first charge is $43,600. Consequently, the maximum possible fine that can be imposed for the second charge is $15,000.

Chris Cole represented MB on his matter at the Downing Centre Local Court. MB entered guilty pleas on 9 counts of failure to lodge Business Activity Statement and 3 counts of failure to lodge Income Tax Return. Her Honour imposed a total sum of $1,500 fine for all of the above convictions.

In comparison with the total maximum possible fine the Court can impose against MB, MB received a great outcome with a very low fine imposed.