Possess Prohibited Drug

Our client was found unconscious on a Sydney train with 6.5 grams of cannabis, and 30.3 grams of MDMA in his backpack after celebrating his birthday over a weekend at a hotel in the city. Our client made an admission to the law enforcement authorities that these drugs were in his possession for personal use as well as to share with his friends. We advised him to plead guilty at the first available opportunity, and provided him with expert legal advice on the necessary rehabilitative steps he is required to engage in prior to his sentence.

Our client completed most of our recommendations and we gathered excellent relevant material which we would rely on for a non-custodial based sentence. We then formulated our submissions based on applicable NSW case law, and precedent as well as the individual circumstances of this case. Despite the amount of drug falling within the mid-range of objective seriousness, and the large indictable quantity being an aggravating factor, we presented strong mitigating features and a highly subjective case.

The case appeared before Magistrate Swain at the Downing Centre Local Court on 1 May 2019. The Magistrate was persuaded by our argument in favour of rehabilitation and recorded a non-conviction to both charges. Our client was placed on a Conditional Release Order without conviction for 24 months.

A seemingly impossible result for our client was achieved through meticulous preparation and strong arguments raised by Adam and Yashvi.

Our client was charged with driving with a illicit drug in her blood. This is a serious charge which carries a 6 months disqualification upon conviction. Furthermore, our client was on her provisional licence and had her child in the vehicle at the time of the offence.

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 clients 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 was charged with 6 MDMA tablets at Stereo 2015. He was caught when police overheard a conversation about sneaking past the drug detector dogs. He was then searched by police and made admissions to having ecstasy tablets.

This was a huge wake up call for our client. He had been struggling to cope with leaving the Australian Army and fitting back into normal life.  Before his sentence date he undertook an intensive 10 week counselling course. This hugely assisted him to avoid a conviction.

His sentence was heard before Her Honour Magistrate Mottley at the Downing Centre Local Court. Our solicitor made persuasive submissions that our client should not only receive a section 10 but also that given the amount of rehabilitation he had already undertaken, it was not necessary to impose a lengthy bond.

Our client was discharged under section 10(1)(b) on a 6 month good behaviour bond.

This was an excellent result for our client.

Our client was charged with possessing 2.8 grams of cocaine at The Star Casino.

He was a self made entrepreneur who travelled to the United States often, to attend conventions and trade shows.

A criminal conviction would likely jeopordise his travel opportunities, and ultimately his career.

He had no criminal history, and was a well regarded person in the community.

His case appeared before Magistrate Mottley at the Downing Centre Local Court in February 2013. After lengthy and detailed submissions, one of LY Lawyers‘ drug lawyers successfully argued for a section 10 good behavior bond.

This was a terrific result for what the court considered was not a small amount of drugs.

Our client was charged with possessing 1.5 grams of Ice and 3 ecstasy tablets.

The client made full admissions to possessing the drugs following police raiding his home on account of a housemate whom was a person of interest in another matter.

A solicitor from our firm appeared in front of the Chief Magistrate, whose views on this type of offence he was familiar with, and submitted that applying High Court authority, there was no hierarchy of drugs and therefore the Methylamphetamine and MDMA should not be treated as any more serious than cannabis.

He further submitted that as possession of cannabis could be dealt with by way caution as opposed to court proceedings, the client’s case could only fairly proceed with the charge be dismissed pursuant to section 10 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act, which the Magistrate accepted in dismissing the charge.

This case is illustrative of the benefit a client receives in hiring an experienced lawyer with intimate knowledge of the magistrates and judges in front of whom they appear.

Our client, a young entrepreneur with a small business was caught on a night out at the Star in possession of cocaine. Witnesses and CCTV footage showed our client with possession of cocaine. He accidentally placed the bag of drugs onto the blackjack table when exchanging money for chips.

We were instructed that it was essential for our client to travel to the United States in order to continue education and training seminars in his field of work and that a conviction for drug possession could ruin his business.

Therefore, it was crucial to our client’s livelihood that we present a well prepared and sound case for a section 10.

We went about gathering references from long term friends, colleagues and the director of the charity our client volunteers at. All of which strongly supported our client’s good character.

We appeared for our client at the Downing Centre Local Court for our client’s sentence hearing.

We successfully argued that a section 10 bond would be the most appropriate order. The reasons we submitted to the Court included the unlikely possibility that our client would reoffend as his behaviour was out of character and he was deeply remorseful.

We also submitted to the Court that our client volunteers with young people who are at risk of drug abuse or have problems with drug misuse and that a criminal conviction would prevent him from continuing to work with children.

In light of these submissions our client was given a 2 year good behaviour bond without a conviction. He will be able to continue to grow his business, travel to the United States and volunteer with young people.

Our client now has a greater chance at finding new employment and remains a free man.

Our client was charged with possession of cocaine. He admitted possessing the drug but disputed the quantity, which was allegedly almost 5 grams. In the first instance, the police failed to produce the drug certificate with the correct weight at court and refused to amend the weight.

We demanded the certificate prior to entering a plea and threatened to pursue a costs order against the police if it was not produced in accordance with the police prosecutor’s obligations of disclosure.

The drug certificate was produced with a weight of only 0.79 grams.

Our client was a successful businessman with a young family approaching the peak of his business and career. We submitted that a conviction would destroy his career, and that he had good prospects of rehabilitation.

The court agreed and dismissed the charges and did not record a conviction, pursuant to s. 10 of the CSP Act.

Our client was charged with possession of a prohibited drug, specifically 1 gram of cocaine outside a nightclub in Sydney.

When Police questioned our client he cooperated and explained to the Police that he was using cocaine and admitted to the offence.

He came to us for legal representation feeling very concerned about his future. He was aged 21 at the time of the offence and experiencing some serious stressors in his life which led to his decision to take drugs. Our solicitor prepared his case thoroughly leading up to the sentence and assisted our client in writing his letter of apology and obtaining character references.

The matter was dealt with before Her Honour Magistrate Huber at Waverley Local Court. Our solicitor argued that our client was on the brink of adulthood and made a serious error in judgement.

Our solicitor argued that the consequences of a conviction would outweigh the effect of general deterrence in the community.

By providing evidence of the legislation in the United States, our solicitor successfully argued that our clients plans to travel the world and enrich his life and work experience would be significantly hindered by a conviction.

We provided evidence that this offence was not only out of character but also an irresponsible way to cope with stress.

By providing evidence that our client did not continue to use drugs through handing up recent drug test results and medical evidence of the causes of our clients stress in his family life, Her Honour was satisfied that this was an isolated event by an otherwise bright young man with a positive future ahead.

Her Honour was satisfied that our client was unlikely to come before the courts again.

Our client received a section 10 bond (no conviction and no penalty) and will go on to travel the world.
This was an excellent result for our client.

Our client attended the a major Music Festival in Sydney where he was caught with and charged with possession of 10 ecstasy tablets and half a gram of cocaine.

Our client came to us in desperate need of help in avoiding a conviction. Our client had recently started a small business with his partner which was a heavy financial burden leading him to take up a second job. As a result of the substantial financial losses incurred by the business our client had been experiencing depression and behaving in an extremely uncharacteristic manner involving drug use.

Our solicitor gathered extensive evidence of our client’s good character including his education, business aspirations and work ethic. As well as documentary evidence from our client’s partner and business records which proved the recent financial losses.

Our client also had family in Malaysia who he regularly travelled to visit. The impact of a conviction for a drug offence may prevent him from entering Malaysia, which our solicitor successfully argued would be an unfair additional punishment. Pursuant to his employment contact which was handed up in Court, our client must remain free of criminal convictions as a condition of his employment. Our solicitor argued that the impact of a conviction would result in our client losing his employment at his second job.

The sentence hearing took place at Burwood Local Court before His Honour Magistrate Longley. After lengthy and persuasive argument by our experienced solicitor, our client received a section 10 bond for 18 months. Most importantly a criminal conviction was not recorded for our client.

This was an excellent result.

Our client was charged with possession of a prohibited drug, specifically 1 gram of cocaine outside a nightclub in Sydney. When Police questioned our client he cooperated and explained to the Police that he was using cocaine and admitted to the offence.

He came to us for legal representation feeling very concerned about his future. He was aged 21 at the time of the offence and experiencing some serious stresses in his life which led to his decision to take drugs.

Our solicitor prepared his case thoroughly leading up to the sentence and assisted our client in writing his letter of apology and obtaining character references.

The matter was dealt with before Her Honour Magistrate Huber at Waverley Local Court. Our solicitor argued that our client was on the brink of adulthood and made a serious error in judgement. Our solicitor argued that the consequences of a conviction would outweigh the effect of general deterrence in the community.

By providing evidence of the legislation in the United States, our solicitor successfully argued that our client’s plans to travel the world and enrich his life and work experience would be significantly hindered by a conviction.

We provided evidence that this offence was not only out of character but also an irresponsible way to cope with stress. By providing evidence that our client did not continue to use drugs through handing up recent drug test results and medical evidence of the causes of our clients stress in his family life.

Her Honour was satisfied that this was an isolated event by an otherwise bright young man with a positive future ahead. Her Honour was satisfied that our client was unlikely to come before the courts again. Our client received a section 10 bond (no conviction and no penalty) and will go on to travel the world.

This was an excellent result for our client.

Our client was charged with two drug offences:

1. Possession of ecstasy which is contrary to s10(1) of the Drug Misuse and Traffic act 1985. This is a matter which is heard in the Local Court with a maximum penalty of $4400 fine and/or two years in Gaol.
2. Supply of ecstasy which contrary to s25(1) of the Drug Misuse and Traffic Act 1985. Because of the amount of Drug said to have been supplied the offence was charged as a ‘Strictly Indictable’ matter – this meaning it would be heard in a District Court. The maximum penalty is $220,000 and/or Ten years Gaol.

Our experienced lawyers kept both matters in the Local Court jurisdiction limiting the maximum penalties to a $2200 fine and/or Two years in Gaol for each offence.

The charges were supported by clear evidence yet after comprehensive negotiations between our lawyer and Police prosecutors a Plea of Guilt was entered to a drastically altered charge sheet. We advised our client of how best to prepare for sentence assisting in obtaining reports and other material for the sentencing process. A large number of documents and reports were submitted to the Court by our lawyer who spoke at length on our client’s behalf.

Our client was found guilty of both offences with no criminal conviction recorded against him. He was ordered to enter into a Bond of Good Behaviour for a period of two years with no other penalty.

Our client was charged with possession of one tablet of ecstasy.

He had been out with friends at Kings Cross and thought taking pills would be cheaper than purchasing alcohol.

Our client was caught by police with a pill in his possession, charged and made to appear before the Downing Centre Local Court.

Our client has a bright future ahead of him, including a professional career in the making after years of tertiary study.

Fortunately Her Honour, Magistrate Wahlquist acknowledged the detriment that a criminal conviction would cause to our client’s future and dealt with the case by extending the leniency of a section 10(1)(a).

This was the best possible outcome for our Client.

Our client was charged with possession of a small quantity of speed outside the Silverwater prison. She came to police attention after being detected by police sniffer dogs.

The sentence hearing was heard at Blacktown Local Court before her Honour Magistrate Seagrave.

Our solicitor presented a case which gave compelling reasons as to why our client had been using drugs which was very important in demonstrating she was not in fact attempting to take the drugs into the prison.

In addition, our client had shown active steps towards dealing with her drug use and shown a mature understanding to the court about the harmful consequences of drug use.

She received a section 10(1)(a). This was the best possible outcome.

Our client was charged with possession of 7 ecstasy tablets at the Defqon music festival. She pleaded guilty and underwent a 10 week counselling program before her sentence date.

She was sentenced before Her Honour Magistrate Whalquist at the Downing Centre Local Court. Our solicitor argued that our client had shown responsibility and improved decision making following her participation in counselling.

Our client was only 20 years old, our solicitor convinced Her Honour that a conviction would serve as a constant impediment on a future career and travel options. Her Honour agreed and gave our client the benefit of a section 10(1)(b) order.

Our client was placed on a bond for 18 months and will now be conviction-free in her future.

This was an excellent result.

Our client was charged with possession of 5 ecstasy tablets at the The Spendour in the Grass music festival. He attended Byron Bay Local Court, representing himself, in August 2014.

He was a university graduate who finished his Bachelor’s degree recently.

Whilst most of the defendants who represented themselves in court that day were being convicted, our client did not help his chances by not being prepared for his hearing. He was convicted.

We lodged an appeal to the District Court.

The case was heard at Lismore District Court in October 2014, where Rayan from our office appeared for him, successfully overturning the conviction and having our client placed on a Section 10 Bond for 12 months.

This is a very important example of why you SHOULD NOT represent yourself in court on a possession of prohibited drug offence.

Our client came to us as a young 22 year old. At the age of 18 he was charged with possession of a prohibited drug, namely methamphetamine. He received a section 10 bond (12 months) for that offence.

He was again charged for possession of a prohibited drug. The likelihood of another non-conviction was very low.

However, on the advice of our dedicated solicitor, our client attended and completed the Salvation Army’s Positive Lifestyle Program.

Our client also obtained numerous reference letters from his employer, father and long term friend. Our client also obtained a drug urine test result to confirm that he did not have any drugs in his system.

Given the nature of the offence, the sentencing Magistrate initially viewed the offending as one that warranted a criminal conviction as it was our client’s second drug-related offence in four years.

However, our dedicated solicitor pointed to the fact that our client’s circumstances had changed in four years. It was pointed out that our client had made plans to travel to France to study and a criminal conviction would limit his ability to travel and study overseas. It was also submitted by our lawyer that the remorse and contrition of our client warranted a section 10 bond.

The sentencing Magistrate thought long and hard before handing down her judgment. She was persuaded by the fact that numerous documents had been provided to her regarding our client’s plans for the future and his remorse for having offended again.

Our client was found guilty but was not convicted and entered into a good behaviour bond for two years. He was grateful for the strong submissions made by our lawyer and the hard work put in to prepare the best possible plea in mitigation.

The client was charged with possess prohibited drug. Unlike a lot of people who face the Court charged with this offence, our client was much older and responsible, making it more difficult for our solicitors to make the submission that it was a mistake of youth.

Our client’s facts also stated the drug he had hidden in a cigarette packet was Ice, when our client stated it was MDMA. We managed to negotiate with the Police and prosecutors on a very short time frame to have the charge amended to reflect the true drug.

Our client was awarded a section 10(1)(b) bond by Magistrate Henson from the Downing Centre Local Court, avoiding a conviction which would have ruined his prospects of work in the future.

Our client came before Downing Centre Local Court charged with Possess Prohibited Drug with a weight of 0.66 grams. Our client faced the possibility of 2 years imprisonment.

Our client was 19 years old and was a University Student. Our client was sentenced at Downing Centre Local Court before Magistrate Bailey. It was argued that our client had a good prospect of rehabilitation and that he acknowledged the seriousness of the offence.

The Magistrate took all these considerations into account and ultimately decided that a fine and a conviction should be recorded. His Honour stated that there is a large issue of drugs in today’s society and that he must hand down a conviction as general deterrence.

Our client came to us having pleaded guilty to knowingly take part in supply of less than 27 grams of cannabis and dealing with money reasonably believed to be proceeds of crime – $880.00 in a sip lock bag with the cannabis.

Our client was convicted in the local court and he wanted to appeal.

The facts were:

• Our client was arrested in his car with someone in the car;
• The Police searched the car and located 27 grams of cannabis;
• The cannabis was in two separate zip lock bags. One bag had small amounts of cannabis in smaller zip lock bags already separated;
• The Police also found scales in the car;
• The Police found a piece of paper with names and numbers;

On appeal our client gave evidence of his drug use. He had rehabilitated his drug addiction, although not with some hiccups. He was studying and wanted to become a chartered accountant.

Our client was successful in his appeal and was sentenced to two section 10 bonds for 18 months. He remains free of any criminal conviction.

Our client was charged with 2 counts of supplying a prohibited drug (deemed supply – indictable quantity and 3 counts of possessing a prohibited drug.

He was caught with drugs in his possession of the drugs outside Subsonic Music Festival at Barrington Tops, NSW. He was found with:

1. 7 grams of crystal MDMA (deemed supply)
2. 49 LSD tablets (deemed supply)
3. 1g of cocaine
4. 1g of cannabis

Following successful negotiations with the DPP, Adam of LY Lawyers was able to reduce the charge of Commercial Supply of Prohibited Drug (LSD) to an Indictable Supply of Prohibited Drug. The case was committed for sentence from Raymond Terrace Local Court to Newcastle District Court

Our client’s case of successful and ongoing rehabilitation was faultless. He provided the court with numerous reports and evidence of his constant drug rehabilitation over the course of 9 months since his arrest. Evidence was also adduced pointing to the non-commercial nature of the supply offences, thus departing from any suggestion of ‘drug trafficking’ on the part of our client

Judge Ellis of Newcastle District Court heard the case on 21 October 2016. Ellis J was extremely impressed with our client’s progress and accepted our argument that the offence “fell right at the bottom end” of objective seriousness in cases such as these

His Honour excercised his discretion to not impose a criminal conviction, placing our client on 2 Section 10 Bonds for a period of 2 years.