案例研究分析 第一個

Drive While Suspended – No Order Against Licence 無照駕駛違法 – 法庭判決沒有延長吊銷駕照

Following suspension of his licence due to loss of demerit points, our client was suspended from driving for 3 months by VicRoads. He was then caught driving while suspended on three separate occasions during this period. 當事人由於12分扣完了，維州路局（VicRoads）暫停當事人駕照3個月。然後他在此期間前後3次被抓無照駕駛。
The client was charged with: 當事人被控告：
• Drive While Suspended By Infringements 無照駕駛違法
• Exceed Speed Limit 超速
Amelia Ramsay acted on his behalf at the Melbourne Magistrates』 Court.
On the first incident, we successfully negotiated to have the charge withdrawn on the basis of the defence of honest and reasonable mistake of fact. The client instructed us that he had not received any mail from VicRoads notifying him of the suspension. He was able to obtain a letter signed by residents in his street confirming an ongoing issue of undelivered mail. Further, the client was able to provide receipts following his attendance at VicRoads during the suspension period where he was not notified of the suspension but renewed his expired motorbike licence. That charge relating to the first incident was withdrawn. 阿米麗亞 如阿姆塞律師代表當事人出席墨爾本地方法院。她成功說服警察撤銷了第一個控告，理由是當事人當時真的不知道被吊銷這件事。 當事人沒有收到維州路局（VicRoads）的任何郵件。律師叫他設法獲取同一條街上的鄰居證明他們這裡的確收取信件出了問題。 然後當事人還有路局的收據，顯示當時去了路局更新自己的牌照，然而路局真的並沒有通知當事人他的駕照被暫停三個月這件事。律師幾經周折說服了警察撤了第一條控告。
When the second charge came before the court, we sought an adjournment knowing that a further Drive While Suspended charge was expected for the third incident. We advised client that it will be better to appear before the court on one occasion with two briefs and have them dealt with together, rather than appear before the court on two separate occasions where a prior would have been recorded and taken into account by the magistrate on the second occasion. 第二條控告馬上需要出庭，但是律師選擇替當事人延期，因為無照駕駛違法有三次，後面的控告警察會很快發出傳票。所以律師建議兩個一起出庭，這樣就可以巧妙的避免前一次的記錄影響下一次的出庭。
Ultimately, we were able to secure a very positive outcome for a client who, when he came first to our office, was facing 3 possible charges of Drive While Suspended which in many cases will likely result in a term of imprisonment. The magistrate imposed a fine with conviction but no order was made against our client』s licence. He was also given 3 months to pay the fine and was advised by court to contact them if he fails to pay the fine by the due date so a payment plan could be arranged. 最終，律師替當事人爭取了一個很好的結果。這三條控告如果不是事出有因的話，放在其它案子里是幾乎肯定要坐牢的。法官最終判了當事人繳納罰款，但是沒有延長吊銷駕照。律師還替當事人爭取了3個月時間來付罰款，必要的話還可以爭取延長付款時間。