No Conviction for Driving While Suspended

Astor Legal recently appeared at Sutherland Local Court representing a client who had been charged with Driving While Suspended. 

Our client was a student completing his Masters of Information Technology. He was also working as a casual retail sales assistant to support himself financially.

On the day of the offence, he was worried that he was late for work and decided to drive instead of using public transport. He was subsequently stopped by police, and a licence check revealed his disqualification.

Our client came to us anxious that he would be convicted. Being a student, a conviction would likely mean our client’s future career and employment opportunities would be limited. 

We then immediately got to work. We obtained character references from his friends and family which supported our client’s character, his low risk of reoffending and positive career prospects. 

We also provided him with our templates and guides for a letter of apology, where he was able to explain the impact of a conviction on him as well as what led to the drive while suspended offence. 

Our client also enrolled into a Traffic Offender Program to assist him in developing safer driving habits. 

We made detailed submissions before the Presiding Magistrate, in particular drawing upon him having no criminal record, strong ambitions to build a career as an IT professional and his plans to pursue further educational research for a PHD.

We were about to persuade the court to sentence him to a Conditional Release Order without conviction for a period of 2 years.