We obtained a non-conviction for our client charged with high range drink driving.
Background
Our client was a young woman charged with high range drink driving also known as high range PCA (prescribed content of alcohol). This was her first criminal charge and her first time going to court. Our client was extremely concerned about the consequences of losing her driver’s licence. She would lose her job that she loved as her workplace was not accessible by public transport and required her to drive long distances as part of her work.
More importantly to our client, a criminal conviction and loss of licence would have seriously jeopardised her chances of obtaining a very prestigious scholarship which involved travelling the world to learn every aspect of her niche industry. She had studied and worked hard to put herself in a position to pursue this scholarship and her dream job would have gone in the blink of an eye.
Local Court
Our client was remorseful and pleaded guilty in the Local Court and asked for leniency given her need for a licence and no prior criminal record. Despite her unique circumstances, she was convicted, fined $1,500 and her licence was disqualified for 6 months.
District Court appeal
In NSW, there is a sentencing guideline judgment for high range PCA to the effect that non-convictions or section10s for high range drink driving are only ordered in the most rare circumstances. This means that most of the time matters appealed to the District Court produce the same result as the Local Court. However, due to our client’s significantly unique circumstances, we advised our client to appeal.
Our Principal Solicitor conducted the appeal at the District Court and presented her case before a Judge. Our client gave evidence about the unique and exclusive scholarship which she has been striving towards for years. Our Principal Solicitor submitted that our client’s unique circumstances meant that she was in a category where the Judge could consider a non-conviction, which meant that the Judge would not be bound to follow the guideline judgment. Our Principal Solicitor demonstrated the uniqueness of our client’s circumstances by submitting that the loss of the scholarship as a result of the drink driving offence would not be proportionate to the offending, our client was very remorseful and our client had a very low risk of reoffending.
Result - Non-Conviction
The Judge agreed with our submissions and sentenced our client to a conditional release order without conviction for a period of 2 years. This means that our client keeps her driver’s licence, she does not have to get the costly interlock device installed and does not have a criminal record. This is a great result that will allow our client to pursue her dream job.
Have you been charged with drink driving?
If you have been charged with any drink driving offence, including low range, mid range or high range, contact us on 0422 647 266 to discuss your matter with our Principal Solicitor as soon as possible to discuss your options to achieve the best possible outcome. We represent clients throughout NSW including all the Sydney Local Courts, Orange Local Court and the Central West region.
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