Our client was charged with ‘Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm’ after wrestling a bus driver to the ground and then striking him to the stomach, legs and arms causing bruising and abrasions.
The incident occurred way back on 8th October 2013 when our client took offence to a bus driver parking opposite his house.
He approached and entered the bus and then wrestled the driver out onto the footpath.
The incident was captured on CCTV footage and witnessed by members of the public, who gave statements to police.
After charges were pressed, our client approached another criminal law firm who advised him that he may have a legal defence – which was manifestly incorrect.
Sadly, our client was charged thousands of dollars during the course of the proceedings, and then told on the day before the hearing that his lawyer was busy elsewhere and could not attend.
He called us at 8.45am on the morning of the hearing, and our team did everything we could to ensure he was looked after.
After reviewing the materials and footage, and obtaining our client’s instructions, it became abundantly clear that he did not have a valid legal defence (our client had already suspected that this was the case).
We ensured that an experienced lawyer attended Parramatta Local Court that morning, and did what should have been done a year earlier – successfully persuading the prosecutor to downgrade the charge of ‘Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm’ to the less-serious charge of ‘Common Assault‘ and amending the police ‘facts’ so that the case was much less serious.
Our client then entered a plea of guilty to the lesser charge, and the Magistrate was persuaded to grant him a ‘section 10’. This means that he avoids a criminal conviction altogether – which is what he wanted from the start.