My client has now been sentenced for murder after we could not quite get the jury to agree that he was not guilty by reason of insanity. The defence had sought to argue that the defendant was so affected by both his psychosis and his autism that he should have been held insane. This was,…
POLICE v VL ? Successful application for discharge without conviction for a charge of burglary of commercial premises with some damage done to building and $10,000 worth of items taken (but recovered). Impact on future career and travel and efforts to make amends and reparation led court to grant the application for a discharge without…
POLICE v TM ?Sentencing. Guilty plea to charge of wounding with intent to commit GBH. A drunken argument at function in home led to defendant overreacting to an assault resulting in him biting through the cheek of the victim leaving a severe disfigurement. Starting point of prison but with willingness to make amends a sentence…
The defendant pleaded guilty to stabbing a fellow prison inmate for the second time within approximately one year and was sentenced on 30 October 2015. He had an appalling record for violent offences including aggravated robberies and other assaults. The Crown were seeking preventive detention. I encouraged the defendant to take up courses to assist…
BAIL VARIATION ? Most often in domestic violence cases when the defendant is arrested and bought to court then bailed, the court imposes a blanket provision that the defendant is not allowed to contact the complainant. Although this often is appropriate, the court tends to impose it as a bail condition without considering the facts….