Last week Astor Legal was again successful in persuading police to withdraw an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO).
Our client was an international student who recently moved into shared accommodation with a friend. The pair started arguing which resulted in Police being called to their house by another friend.
Our client came to us distressed, particularly because of the possible impact of the AVO on his employment prospects and citizenship in Australia.
Despite receiving advice from other lawyers that he needed to wait for the hearing date – some 12 months away – our client came to us looking for another solution.
We showed him our previous cases where we were successful in having domestic violence charges and the AVO withdrawn.
Despite the Person in Need of Protection (PINOP) insisting on the AVO proceeding, we were able to obtain statements from our client and other housemates which cast doubt on the version of events the PINOP had told police.
We then drafted lengthy representations for the withdrawal of the AVO prior to the Hearing date. Critical parts of our representations included our client’s version of the events, the prosecution’s failure to call witnesses and the defendant and PINOP having no form of contact with one another since the application for the AVO was filed.
Ultimately the Police were persuaded through our negotiations to withdraw the AVO early in the proceedings.
Despite the Hearing date still being almost a year away, our team of specialist Burwood AVO lawyers were able to liaise with Burwood Local Court to have the matter listed earlier to formally withdraw the AVO.
We appeared on our client’s behalf and the court was persuaded to AVO formally dismiss.
Our client was overjoyed with not just AVO being withdrawn, but also saving much time and expense associated with proceeding to Hearing.
Recently Astor Legal appeared at Downing Centre Local Court for a client who had breached a good behaviour licence.
Our client did not have the best driving record. In particular, he had offences ranging from use mobile phone while driving to speeding.
He had breached the good behaviour licence by committing a further speeding offence. He came to us concerned that a loss of licence would mean that he was no longer able to maintain his work duties or take care of his children as a single parent. As he lived in a country area he was unable to access public transport.
We immediately got to work. We obtained references from his friends and family which supported our client’s good character and need for a licence.
Our client also enrolled into a Traffic Offender Program. This allowed us to address his traffic record by submitting that he now appreciated the dangers of speeding as well as other traffic offences.
We appeared at Downing Centre Local Court on his behalf and made detailed submissions before the Presiding Magistrate. We drew upon our client’s executive government position and ambitions for further studies in law.
Despite our client’s lengthy traffic record, His Honour was persuaded to deal with the offence by way of a conditional release order without conviction. This means that our client remains on the good behaviour licence and does not face any suspension.
Our client is a sole director of an air conditioning company located in Australia. As part of his business, he drives on average 1000 kilometres every week.
His licence was suspended as a result of an unpaid parking ticket in July 2023.
On the night of the incident he was stopped by the Police for a random breath test. Earlier in the night he had consumed beer. As such, he thought he would be under the limit for an unrestricted licence holder (0.05 BAC).
Unfortunately, due to the unpaid parking ticket his licence was suspended. This meant that he did not have the benefit of the unrestricted licence holder limit. Hence, he could not have any amount of alcohol in his bloodstream. He was charged with special range drink driving and drive while suspended.
He came to us one week before his matter needing us to represent him at Liverpool Local Court. The situation was dire as not having a licence midway through completion of major projects would have had a disastrous impact on his business.
We immediately got to work preparing the case. Our Liverpool drink driving lawyers provided him with our character reference and apology letter guide so that he could obtain references from his contractors, friends and wife. We also guided him to complete the Traffic Offenders Program.
We appeared at court for and with him. Our submissions were based on his good character, the steps he has taken to ensure this does not happen again and the impact the loss of licence would have on his business.
In the result, we were able to persuade the Magistrate to deal with him pursuant to Section 10 for drink driving as well as for driving while suspended. As such he is able to keep driving. He was overjoyed with the result.
Our client is an IT professional in a senior leadership role within Australia.
Late last year he came to know his daughter had been taken advantage of by a colleague of his while she was in a vulnerable mental state. Our client held concerns for his daughter and his granddaughter’s welfare.
Consequently, he attended his colleague’s residence to speak to him about his intentions towards his daughter and his disapproval of their relationship. A heated argument took place between our client, his colleague and our client’s son.
Nine days later the colleague contacted Police claiming he had fears for his safety and required an AVO. The Police took an AVO against our client.
Our client contacted us wanting to know how to beat an AVO. We began the process of attempting to have the matter withdrawn. Despite our representations, police insisted they wanted to press on with the matter – in large part due to the colleague wanting the AVO to remain.
We arranged the taking of witness statements from our client’s son and his friend who were present when the argument took place. We also filed a statement from our client detailing what actually occurred and that it was merely a heated argument.
The case proceeded at Burwood Local Court where the police officer in charge of the matter gave evidence. Upon cross-examination by one of our AVO lawyers, we were able to expose the investigation of the matter as being inadequate, as the police officer conceded that she had not contacted the witnesses who had been present at the time of the argument.
During cross-examination of the complainant, we were able to expose the fact that he did not ask our client to leave his home at any time. We also highlighted the delay in his complaint to police which pointed to his lack of fear. These factors were emphasised in our closing submissions
The Court was ultimately not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the PINOP had fears for his safety as as such they dismissed the AVO application. Our client and his family were overjoyed with the result and can now continue with their lives
Our client is a 23-year-old soccer player who was charged with Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm.
It was alleged that during a soccer game, our client punched the opposing team’s player, breaking their nose. The complainant made a statement to the Police claiming that our client was aggressive towards him, including pushing, grabbing and then punching him to the face. The alleged victim told the Police that he suffered injuries which included bruising and a broken nose.
Police obtained one witness statement from a player in the same team as the complainant.
This was despite there being a number of players who witnessed this alleged incident take place, including the referee and our client’s teammates. No statements were obtained from any of those persons.
Our client told us that he acted in self defence as the victim grabbed him by the neck and he felt threatened for his safety.
With this in mind, we commenced with issuing subpoenas to the Football Association (FA) for their records to obtain any statements made in concurrent disciplinary proceedings as well as the details of the referee. Unsurprisingly, this was a fruitful exercise as we were able to obtain statements made by the complainant and his witness which were inconsistent with the police statements they had made.
Following this, we began preparing a cross-examination of the police officer in charge of the matter, the alleged victim and the witness.
In the course of our cross-examination of the police officer at Blacktown Local Court, we were able to have him concede that he should have interviewed and obtained statements from our client’s teammates as well as the referee.
Our cross-examination of the complainant and witness meticulously exposed the differences between the accounts they gave to police and the accounts they gave to the FA. It quickly became apparent that both witnesses were neither credible nor reliable.
Thirdly, we called our own witnesses – the teammates of our client. They gave evidence that at all times our client was acting in self-defence.
Ultimately, the Magistrate agreed with our submissions and our client was found ‘not guilty’ of Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm. Our client and his family were overjoyed with the result.
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