Drive Vehicle With Illicit Drug Present in Blood

Our client was charged with Driving with Illicit Drug present in Blood, having been detected with cannabis by way of saliva test.

Our client instructed our firm that a disqualification would have a detrimental effect on her family life, particularly on her child who was required to attend regularly medical treatment.

The matter proceeded before Magistrate Swaine at Fairfield. Our solicitor argued that our client had smoked cannabis a number of days prior to the offence and was not aware that cannabis can last in the blood for up to six weeks. Furthermore medical evidence was presented regarding our clients need to drive her child to medical appointments.

It was further argued our client’s good character and remorse would enable the court to be lenient on this occasion and not record a conviction

The court agreed and placed our client a bond pursuant to Section 10. No conviction meant no penalty or disqualification.

Our client a fully qualified licence holder was charged with driving a motor vehicle with an illicit drug present in his blood. This is a fairly serious charge which carries with it an automatic 6 months licence disqualification.

The client sought our assistance in this matter, however the prospects of a section 10 bond being awarded were slim as the client had previously been granted a section 10 bond in 2012 for a possession of drugs charge.

The matter was heard before Magistrate Goodwin at the Downing Centre Local Court after strong submissions from our solicitor Lemar who argued that our client needed his licence in order to keep seeing his children who he had custody over every Wednesday and every second weekend and that this was not an event that was likely to occur again, as according to our client he had just left a seven year relationship and had simply handled it the wrong way.

Upon hearing the submissions from our solicitor, magistrate Goodwin decided that taking away the ability of our client to look after and spend time with his children was paramount and gave our client a second section 10 twelve month bond in the last 3 years.

The best possible result for our client.

The client came to us having a shocking driving record that included multiple licence suspensions and a criminal record involving possession of drugs. He was facing three months off the road for the latest offence. Our client was unemployed and required his licence to drive around to various locations to attend job agencies and job interviews. Our client also had a four year old daughter and he used his vehicle to pick her up from day care. If he was to lose his licence, it would have taken him over 2 hours to pick up his daughter.

Our dedicated solicitor advised our client to complete the traffic offenders intervention program, obtain reference letters from close friends and family and to have drug urine analysis results. Our client wrote an emotionally charged letter of apology asking for the Magistrate’s forgiveness regarding his offending behavior.

Our solicitor presented strong compelling submissions regarding our client’s offending behavior and the circumstances of the offending. He placed greater emphasis on our client’s strong prospects of rehabilitation and the fact that he has taken more responsibility with the care of this daughter.

Magistrate Goodwin was inclined to impose a criminal conviction, but was swayed by the fact that the client had undertaken numerous steps to rehabilitate himself and not re offend.

Our client was found guilty but without proceeding to a conviction was placed on a good behavior bond for 2 years. He kept his licence and was truly grateful for our help.

Our client was charged with driving with a drug present in blood, namely MDMA.  Our client was pulled over by police for a random drug test three days after attending a dance festival. Our client was 19 years old and was studying teaching at university. A conviction for this type of offence would impact on his employment opportunities in the future.

We advised our client to attend the positive lifestyle program with the Salvation Army and the traffic offenders program. The matter proceeded to sentence at Sutherland Local Court before Magistrate Barko. Our solicitor submitted that our client was a young man with a bright future who made an uncharacteristic mistake.  Furthermore our solicitor submitted that our client had demonstrated significant remorse and had excellent prospects of rehabilitation.

The court agreed with our submissions and decided that a conviction in this matter would be a severe impediment on our clients future even more so than a conviction would act as a punishment. The magistrate was satisfied that our client was a bright young man and that this was an isolated incident and handed down a section 10 bond to our client.

A great result for our client, who feared that a criminal conviction would hinder his opportunities at finding work in the future.

Our client was charged with driving with cannabis present in blood. Our client instructed us that he had smoked cannabis four days earlier after being offered some from a friend. At that time our client was suffering from depression due to a relationship breakdown. Our client was employed at a marketing firm and was required to travel overseas for work purposes. A conviction for this offence would cause difficulties for our client.

The matter proceeded to sentence at Parramatta Local Court before Magistrate Baptie. Our solicitor presented a report from a drug counselor indicating our clients at good progress with dealing with his drug use. The court accepted our solicitor’s submission that the criminality involved in this matter was low.

The court took into account our clients good character, remorse and agreed with our solicitor that a Section 10 bond was an appropriate penalty.  Our client received a Section 10 bond for 12 months.

A great result for our client, allowing them to keep their licence and have no conviction recorded against them.

Our client was charged with drive with illicit drug present in blood and he was facing the possibility of losing his licence.

Our client works as a truck driver and it was essential for him to keep his licence or else he could possibly lose his job. The loss of licence would also cause a detrimental effect on his family since our client is the primary provider for his family.

Our client was sentenced at Burwood Local Court before Magistrate Still. Our client did not have the best criminal or driving record, however, it was argues by our solicitor that our client had changed his behaviour and is now a productive member of society. It was further argued that our client had a strong need for a licence due to his profession.

Our solicitor therefore asked the court to be lenient in considering the remorse and rehabilitation of our client. The Magistrate agreed with our solicitor and gave our client a s10 with a 12 month bond.

Our client was extremely happy with result, especially as he could keep his job.