Recently, the team here at National Criminal Lawyers® had the opportunity to both represent a client who had been charged with the offence of driving whilst suspended, and to achieve a great outcome for yet another one of our many clients.
The Law
Driving whilst suspended is an offence covered under section 54(3) of the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW). However, if your licence was suspended due to non-payment of fines, this offence is covered under section 54(5)(a) of the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW).
The offence of driving whilst suspended covers those who drive a motor vehicle on a road or road related area whilst their licence is suspended.
Learn more about the offence of driving whilst suspended by clicking here.
The Facts
Our client had has his license previously suspended on the basis of demerit point accumulation, meaning he had previously committed offences, which had led to demerit points being accrued and eventually surpassing the limit and hence suspending his licence.
Our client was on a Provisional P2 Licence, and hence had a limit of 7 demerit points.
In total, our client had been suspended two times and disqualified one time since getting his license in 2020.
Despite the above facts and history painting a negative image of our client, the team here at National Criminal Lawyers®, was able to achieve an amazing outcome by obtaining what is referred to a conditional release order without conviction. This meant that he was able to drive immediately and not pay a fine. To learn more about conditional release orders without conviction, click here.
Remember, it is important that no matter which situation you are in, you should always seek professional legal advice. Contact us now.
Our client, was initially pulled over due to the manner in which he was driving, and was submitted for a roadside breathe test, which returned a negative result.
However, our client was honest with police admitting that his licence was suspended despite no police pressure.
Plea
Upon instruction from our client, we entered a plea of guilty, after which we made sentencing submissions. This effectively saved our clients time and money, showed remorse and allowed for a reduced sentence.
If you agree that you have committed the alleged offence and the police are able to prove all the elements of the offence, it is best to plead guilty as early as possible to receive the maximum discount. Currently the maximum discount available for an early plea of guilty in Local Court is 25% of the sentence.
Find out more about pleading here.
Mitigating Factors
The team here at National Criminal Lawyers®, effectively used a wide variety of resources available to achieve the best possible mitigating factors and hence greater outcome for the client.
A major step which worked towards achieving the best outcome for the client, was his enrolment in the Traffic Offenders Program and other well drafted documents which the Court took into account, when sentencing our client.
For example, our client also wrote an apology letter to the court demonstrating a high level of remorse for his actions. Our client was able to reflect on the Traffic Offenders Program and its effect on him within this letter. Our client was also able to show that he had learned from his previous mistakes and aimed to be a law-abiding driver from this point onwards. This letter also allowed our client to demonstrate the regret which he had from committing the offence.
A character reference letter was also utilized in this case, by our client’s employer who was able to make claims about our clients good character. The letter also allowed the boss to demonstrate to the court that our client was regretful of his actions and felt great shame in what he had done. The letter, also allowed the court to perceive the impacts that the current and any future disqualifications at the time could have had on his career.
Learn how to write a character reference here.
Outcome
Through these mitigating factors among other factors, the team here at National Criminal Lawyers®, were able to achieve an outcome of Conditional Release Order (CRO) for a period of 12 months without a conviction being recorded.
A CRO has the conditions that the individual must not commit another offence and must present before the court if called to do so during this time.
A CRO is hence one of the most lenient sentencing options available, which in combination with the no conviction, marks a great outcome for our client in this case.
It is important to seek legal advice no matter what. The skilled Criminal Defence Lawyers from National Criminal Lawyers® specialize in both Criminal and Traffic matters and will be able to assist you if your being charged with driving while suspended. Book a free consultation with us now by clicking here.