Our 4 year old client from the Hunter region was charged with a total of 10 charges, including dishonestly obtain financial advantage of over $20,000, unlawfully obtain goods, possess prohibited drugs, carry cutting weapon, fail to appear in court, and larceny.
Before coming to CDLA, our client was represented by a different law firm. He had pleaded guilty to all charges, including the offence of taking credit cards and transferring large sums of money to himself. He was ultimately sentenced in the Local Court and received a 20 months imprisonment sentence with a 12 month non-parole period.
Our client through his family then approached the CDLA team, when they spoke to our managing lawyer Tayla Regan who acknowledged the harsh local court sentence, immediately then started preparing his case for an appeal to the District Court at Newcastle with the purpose of appealing the severity of the local court sentence so that our client can receive a non-custodial sentence.
After delving into his case, we discovered a lot of important features that should have been raised and presented in court, but wasn’t. Our client had a serious drug addiction, which contributed to his offences. While the appeal was pending, during the preparation phase, Tayla directed and guided our client.
Our client had undergone significant drug rehabilitation treatment which had significantly turned his life around. As a result, he had obtained stable employment, purchased a home, and remained drug free.
Upon lodging his appeal, Tayla managed to also get him immediately released on bail following a successful appeals bail application.
The appeal was heard before the Newcastle District Court, where Tayla presented our clients’ case with a strong determination and persuasion, ultimately convincing the District Court to dismiss the Local Court sentence of imprisonment, and instead our client was sentenced to an intensive correction order for 20 months instead of full time jail. Our client was able to continue his life away from jail, and with his family whom he was able to continue providing for.