How to avoid a criminal record in Victoria
Receiving a criminal record in Victoria can have severe implications on several aspects of a person’s life, especially regarding employment, reputation, travel and financial security.
If you are facing criminal charges and are concerned about the implications of a criminal record, seek experienced legal advice as soon as possible.
At Dribbin & Brown Criminal Lawyers, we can help you to:
- Have all charges struck out at a preliminary hearing before evidence is called.
- Plead not guilty on your behalf and assist you in being found not guilty by a magistrate, judge, or jury, depending on the nature of the charge. See ‘Pleading not guilty in the Magistrates’ Court‘ for more information.
- Petition the informant for a diversion recommendation. This can often be a tricky exercise. The first step is to obtain the recommendation, and the next step is to convince a magistrate or judicial registrar to grant the diversion. See ‘What is Diversion‘ for information about how to avoid a criminal record by way of diversion.
- If the matter is proceeding as a plea of guilty, assess whether the spent conviction legislation applies to your case and, if so, work out the best approach to argue for a non-conviction (that is, invite the Magistrate not to record a conviction).
- Apply for a rehearing of your case in the Magistrates Court. This can occur if you missed the hearing and the sentence was imposed in your absence or where you were sentenced by a judicial registrar, you can appeal the decision of the judicial registrar to a magistrate.
- If you have been found guilty by a magistrate at first instance, or you have been convicted on a plea of guilty in circumstances where a non-conviction would have resulted in a spent conviction, assist you in appealing to the County Court. You are always entitled to have a second chance (hearing De Novo) in the County Court when coming from the Magistrates’ Court. The only exception to this rule is if the matter relates to infringement warrants. See here for more on appealing against conviction in the County Court from the Magistrates’ Court.
Do all matters that go to court form part of your criminal record?
The short answer is yes. Any matter that proceeds at a court, including all driving matters, speeding infringements where there has been an election to take the matter to court, tickets for driving that attracted immediate licence loss, including speeding offences, drink driving offences, drug driving offences, and any other matter that proceeded to court, will result in a record. The only exception to this rule relates to the spent conviction legislation.
If you would like further information on avoiding a criminal record, please call one of our offices at the top of the page or click the link below.
