No Conviction for Multiple Domestic Violence Charges

Recently Astor Legal appeared at Sydney District Court on behalf of a client who had pleaded guilty to a number of domestic violence charges.

He was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and stalk/intimidate.

The facts set out that our client was in Yamba with his wife and child on a holiday.

The pair had an argument about the behaviour of their child. This resulted in his wife throwing a remote control at him. Following this he was alleged to have grabbed her by the arms and pinched her a number of times, leaving bruises.

On another occasion it was alleged that he had kicked his wife in the back.

He had been sentenced to a community corrections order in the local court. Following this he filed a severity appeal.

We undertook a significant amount of preparation for the appeal.

This included arranging for our client to undergo extensive psychological counselling as well as relationship counselling with his wife.

We also obtained letters from his employer and work colleagues setting out that a conviction may result in a loss of job and stymy his career prospects.

We appeared at Downing Centre Court for the appeal and made lengthy submissions in support of no conviction being recorded. Despite the prosecutor strongly opposing this, the Judge was persuaded not to record a conviction.

The appeal was allowed and our client was sentenced to a conditional release order without conviction for 12 months. Our client was ecstatic with the result.