Our client is a 45-year-old man who is self-employed.
One night our client had a verbal argument his wife.
She called the Police and alleged that our client had pulled her hair and smashed her phone.
Our client denied pulling her hair but agreed that he had smashed her phone.
He also told us that he had bought his wife’s phone and that it was registered in his name.
Sometime after our client was charged and had an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) taken out, his wife decided that she did not want the case to proceed.
Our client advised us that she contacted the police but they advised her that they would not be withdrawing the charges or AVO.
We immediately began preparing our defence strategy.
First, we obtained an affidavit from the phone company which confirmed the phone was registered in our client’s name.
We then sent our client’s wife to an independent lawyer with a view to preparing a retraction statement.
The statement detailed:
- That the phone was the property of our client;
- That our client had not pulled her hair but rather was trying to stop her from headbutting a cabinet.
The statement was sent to Police along with detailed ‘representations’ for the withdrawal of all charges.
We stated that if the charges were not withdrawn, we would make an application for Police to pay our client’s legal costs.
Ultimately, and despite their previous position, Police decided to withdraw both charges and the AVO against our client.
Our client is a 25-year-old man who had been in a relationship with his female partner for 3 years.
One night our client had a verbal argument with her at their apartment where she accused him of cheating on him.
The argument escalated and she attempted to slap him, threw her phone at him and spat at him.
Unbeknownst to him, a few days later she contacted Police and reported that he had punched her in the head and arms, spat on her and thrown her phone at her.
She also alleged that our client had called her the next day and threatened to kill her.
Police took photographs of bruises to her arms, a black eye, a cut on her lip and the phone which had a chipped screen. A video statement was also recorded.
Police arrested and charged our client with:
- Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm;
- Common Assault;
- Stalk and Intimidate;
- Destroy and Damage Property;
- Use Carriage Service to menace.
They also applied for an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO).
Our client came to us aghast that he had been charged.
We immediately obtained his instructions as to what had actually occurred and formulated a strategy to have the charges dismissed.
First, we asked our client to provide screenshots of all messages sent between himself and his partner around the time of the incident. The messages from the days after the incident showed his partner apologising for her behaviour.
The messages also showed that our client was fed up with his partner’s behaviour and had attempted to end the relationship after the argument.
We also subpoenaed phone records of the partner. These revealed that there was no phone call between our client and her on the day of the alleged threat.
Further, we issued subpoenas to the building for CCTV which showed her having no injuries after the argument.
At the Hearing, we expertly cross-examined her and were able to establish that our client was innocent.
The magistrate dismissed all of the charges and the AVO against our client.
An application was then made for legal costs against police.
We cross-examined the Police officer in charge as to his failure to investigate the phone records, messages and CCTV.
The Magistrate also granted costs against Police due to their failure to adequately investigate.
We have now made a formal request for criminal charges to be brought against the complainant for making a false complaint.
Our client is jubilant with the outcome and is considering civil proceedings against his ex-partner.
Our client was a 39-year-old construction manager who was living in an apartment in Sydney. On the day of the incident he returned to his apartment’s parking lot and saw another vehicle in his designated parking spot.
Initially he left a note on the windscreen of the vehicle. However, when he came back 30 minutes later, the vehicle was still there. In the heat of the moment, he removed the note from the windscreen and scratched the driver side door.
CCTV footage captured the incident and our client was subsequently charged and given a court date at Downing Centre Local Court.
He came to us concerned about the impact a criminal conviction could have on him. We immediately got to work by arranging for him to see a forensic psychologist to determine whether he had any anger management issues.
We also obtained character references which spoke to his role as a manager in the construction industry as well as possible ramifications of a conviction. His partner also provided a reference setting out the possible ramifications for their partner visa application.
At Court we made submissions seeking a non-conviction. The Magistrate agreed and placed him on a conditional release order without conviction. Our client and his partner were overjoyed at the result.
Our client is a 35-year-old father living in Zetland with his pregnant wife and 7-year-old child.
He had recently completed a university degree in project management and was searching for work.
Prior to finding a job he was charged with stalk/intimidate and destroy/damage property over an incident in the family home. Police alleged that our client had threatened to drag his wife out of the home. He had also kicked a door and caused significant damage to it.
He initially went to another criminal law firm but grew frustrated with their lack of results after spending a significant sum of money.
He came to us desperate to avoid a conviction.
We immediately got to work preparing the case. First, we enrolled our client with a psychologist for anger management counselling.
Next, we obtained letters from other in the project management industry detailing the impact a conviction would have on his prospects of gaining employment. We also had our client repair the door at his own expense.
We attended Downing Centre Local Court with our client. Despite initially facing significant resistance from the Magistrate, we were able to persuade Her Honour to not record a conviction.
Our client was extremely grateful and has since obtained employment as a project manager for a large multi-national firm.
Get A Free Case EvaluationHave a legal issue? 
Astor Legal
(02) 7804 2823
