Suspended Driving - Local Court plea - leniency - Section 10

Published 11 Dec 2011

Case Study –

Criminal Lawyers Sydney and Parramatta Offices

Criminal Offence – Criminal and Traffic Matter – Drive Whilst Suspended – Local Court plea – leniency – Section 10

Nyman Gibson Stewart

Criminal Lawyers

Downing Centre Local Court 

Represented by Solicitor: Philip Stewart, Accredited Specialist Criminal Law

Facts: client charged with suspended driving.  He had 3 days to go on his suspension period but had been out of work for months and only just obtained a job.  Consequently, his financial position was not strong.  If he did not drive to the work location to transport samples, he feared losing his job. He had his weekly public transport tickets to demonstrate that he had been using public transport, excellent references and no prior criminal record as well as a reasonable traffic record.

The penalty for the offence upon conviction was 12 months disqualification as well as a fine of up to $2,200 and the risk of imprisonment. 

Result: Based on the above, the Magistrate deemed it inexpedient to record a criminal conviction and dismissed the charge pursuant to section 10 Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act.  The client kept his licence.