The Court:
Geelong Magistrates Court
The Charges
The Allegations
The client was a 38-year-old male who was alleged to have taken drugs and crashed their car. The matter was quite dated due to the client not attending court on the original court date, and it was now two years after the date of the original offence.
The client was alleged to have been under the influence of methylamphetamine and drove his vehicle, resulting in a single vehicle collision. The client lost control of his car and crashed into a give way sign. No other vehicles were involved, but the client’s vehicle sustained significant damage. The police and paramedics attended the scene after a passerby called emergency services.
At Court
Our solicitor requested the brief and reviewed the material. Our solicitor noted some issues with the timing of the alleged offence. Following negotiations with the prosecutor, it was evident that they were unable to provide any evidence to support the time at which the accident occurred. Therefore, the prosecution could not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the drug test was completed within three hours of the accident occurring (which by law is the requirement), making it difficult for them to convince a Magistrate that the client could be guilty of the offence.
As a result, our solicitor argued that the Drug Driving charge should be withdrawn due to the lack of evidence surrounding the time the accident occurred. The prosecution agreed to withdraw the Drug Driving charge on a guilty plea to the Careless Driving charge. The client instructed that he was prepared to finalise the matter with a guilty plea to Careless Driving.
The Outcome
Following a plea in mitigation to a Careless Driving charge, the Magistrate imposed a good behaviour bond without conviction. The Magistrate also exercised their discretion not to interfere with our client’s driver’s licence. Should the drug driving charge have proceeded, the client would have lost their licence for a mandatory minimum period of six months.
As a result of this hearing, the client was able to retain their licence, and a non-conviction outcome meant that the conviction was immediately spent and would not need to be disclosed to most potential employers or when travelling.
