The Court:
Melbourne Magistrates Court
The Charges
The Allegations
The client was charged with Trafficking in a Commercial Quantity of Methamphetamine. This is a severe charge, which typically carries a lengthy custodial sentence if found guilty. The prosecution initially believed they had a strong circumstantial case against our client.
However, after careful analysis of the evidence by our solicitor, who made relentless requests for further disclosure and skilful negotiation, we were able to convince the prosecution to resolve the matter on a simpler trafficking charge. We argued that it would be difficult to prove the commercial quantity element of the offence, and this was considered a significant concession in favour of our client.
At Court
Our solicitor then successfully applied for bail, and once the client was back in the community, our solicitor arranged various support services to help her continue her rehabilitation. The client valued the effort we were putting into her case, and to her credit, she made the most of the opportunities presented and engaged extremely well with all treatment providers.
Our solicitor was able to guide the client on the relevant materials necessary to prepare for her Summary Jurisdiction Application, which she is now eligible to apply for, following the withdrawal of the commercial quantity charge. The prosecution opposed our application, but a Magistrate ultimately granted it.
At the plea, we guided the Magistrate through all the relevant matters in mitigation, with particular emphasis on the significant steps she had undertaken since her release on bail to lead a positive, productive, and completely drug-free life, as verified by her support workers and treatment providers.
The Outcome
The Magistrate was impressed with our client’s progress and was persuaded to impose only a treatment-focused Community Correction Order as the outcome. The client had never thought a CCO was a possibility as an outcome when she was first remanded and charged with Commercial Quantity Trafficking.
