Criminal lawyer, Melbourne

Being charged is not the same as being guilty

It does not feel that way at the time. Police have taken a position, there is a date on a piece of paper, and the whole thing has a momentum that makes the outcome feel decided. It is not. Charges get withdrawn, downgraded, and defended, and a great deal of what happens between the charge and the hearing is inside your control if you act on it early.

What is not inside your control is what you say before you get advice. Ring first.

What Jasmin acts in

Assault

From unlawful assault through to recklessly and intentionally causing injury. These matters live or die on the accounts of the people who were there, the medical evidence, any CCTV, and whether self defence is genuinely available. That is worth testing properly rather than assuming the worst.

Family violence and intervention orders

An intervention order application is not a criminal charge, but the consequences run through everything: where you live, when you see your children, in some cases whether you can keep working. Consenting without admissions to get it over with can be the right call or a serious mistake, and the difference matters. Breach of an order is a criminal offence and is treated seriously.

Drug offences

Possession and use at one end, trafficking at the other, with a very large gap in between that turns on quantity, packaging, messages on your phone, and what the prosecution says it all adds up to. Deemed trafficking based on quantity alone is regularly arguable. So is the lawfulness of the search that found it.

Theft, burglary and robbery

Intention is usually the battleground, and it is frequently thinner than the charge implies. Identification evidence, CCTV quality and the reliability of witness recollection are all properly contestable.

Fraud and deception

Obtaining property or a financial advantage by deception, and related offences. These are document cases. They are won by going through the material carefully rather than by anything that happens on the day, and they are often more defensible than they first appear.

Bail applications

Bail is urgent and it is unforgiving of poor preparation. Victoria’s bail framework puts real hurdles in front of certain applicants, and a poorly run first application makes the second one materially harder. If someone is in custody, ring now, not tomorrow.

Which court

Summary matters are heard in the Magistrates’ Court. Indictable matters can be heard summarily in some circumstances, which is frequently a better outcome and is something to argue for rather than wait for. The more serious indictable matters proceed to the County Court.

What to do before you speak to police

• You do not have to answer questions beyond your name and address. That is not being difficult, it is a right, and exercising it cannot be used against you.
• Do not try to explain your way out of it at the scene. It never works and it hands the prosecution its case.
• Ring a lawyer before a record of interview, not after. Afterwards the account exists and it is very hard to move.
• Write down what happened while it is fresh, for your lawyer only.

General information about Victorian law, current at the time of writing. It is not legal advice and every matter turns on its own facts. Speak to Jasmin about your circumstances before you make any decision.