Sometimes you don’t receive the result that you hoped for when you are sentenced in the Local Court. When this happens, it is important to remember that you have an automatic right of appeal to the District Court from any sentence you receive in the Local Court.

Recently, Maxine Malaney acted for a client who had received an unfavourable sentence in the Local Court and wanted some advice on his prospects of appeal.

The client had pleaded guilty to a serious assault on another person. He was a young hard-working man who was enrolled in full-time study and had no prior convictions, but the assault was objectively very serious.

In the Local Court, he was sentenced to a term of imprisonment to be served by way of an Intensive Corrections Order (ICO) with a home detention and electronic monitoring condition. This meant that he could not leave his house, except to do activities approved by Probation & Parole. This was problematic for the client, as he needed to attend university and earn an income to support his family.

Maxine represented the client on appeal to the District Court. She worked together with the client to put together a strong subjective case, gathering evidence of his need to work and study and his family circumstances.

After reading the subjective material and listening to Maxine’s submissions, the Judge was persuaded to remove the home detention and electronic monitoring conditions from the ICO, without imposing any restrictive replacement conditions or any community service.

The client was naturally relieved to have his liberty back and the ability to once again support his family.

If you have received a Local Court sentence and would like some advice about a District Court appeal, contact one of our criminal lawyers on 9025 9888 or send us an online enquiry.