Professional Experience

Rosie regularly appears in a broad range of criminal and traffic cases, including:

  • Bail applications to the Local, District, and Supreme Courts of New South Wales,
  • Sentencing proceedings in the Local and District Courts of New South Wales,
  • Complex Local Court defended hearing,
  • Domestic violence matters (including apprehended violence orders),
  • Serious sexual violence matters,
  • White collar crimes,
  • Complex drug supply and possession crimes,
  • Applications pursuant to s 14 and 19 of the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020 (NSW) (formerly known as s 32 of the Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990),
  • All manner of appeals, including licence appeals in the Local Court, severity and conviction appeals in the District Court, and
  • Indictable matters.

Results

  • Our client was charged with one (1) count of driving a motor vehicle with intent to menace another driver.
    The allegation was that, after some aggressive driving, our client used her car to “ram” the complainant’s car several times at traffic lights causing extensive damage.
    The offence is serious as it carries a maximum penalty of 18 months imprisonment and/or a fine of $3,300. If a criminal conviction is recorded, the offence carries an automatic licence disqualification of 3 years, with a minimum disqualification of 12 months.
    Our client relied heavily on her driver’s licence to transport her children, so the prospect of losing her licence for 3 years caused her significant anxiety.
    There were two witnesses relied upon by the prosecution; the complainant and an independent civilian witness.
    Both witnesses were subject to extensive cross-examination during the hearing, and deficiencies in the prosecution case became apparent.
    At the close of the prosecution case, we made which is colloquially referred to as a “second limb submission”, on that basis that there must have been reasonable doubt. This meant that our client was spared from giving evidence in the witness box.
    The Magistrate was persuaded by our submissions and the client was found not guilty.
    This was an ideal outcome as our client was able to maintain a clear criminal record and keep her drivers’ licence.

  • Our client was charged with possessing a prohibited drug, the drug being methylamphetamine (commonly known as ‘ice’). The maximum penalty for the offence is two years imprisonment. The offence placed the client in breach of an earlier Conditional Release Order without conviction, for an identical offence. We referred our client to the MERIT Drug Program, which he successfully completed. At the conclusion of the Program, the Magistrate was persuaded to extend leniency for both the current matter and the breach matter, imposing another Conditional Release Order without conviction. The client was thrilled because he had ambitions to travel overseas in the near future and he was concerned about any potential impact of a criminal conviction for a drug-related matter.

  • Our client was charged with common assault. It was alleged that she assaulted a nurse by scratch to the neck and chest area. The conduct was accepted the client. The maximum penalty for the offence is 2 years imprisonment. The client suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder. We obtained a comprehensive Section 14 Report from the client’s treating psychiatrist, setting out her diagnosis and a proposed treatment plan. The difficulty in this case was that the client had already had the benefit of the mental health legislation for an identical offence in recent years. The law indicates that the Magistrate may consider “whether the defendant has previously been the subject of an order under this Act or section 32 of the Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 (NSW)” (Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020 (NSW), s 15(f)). We ultimately persuaded the magistrate that the proposed Treatment Plan would better treat the diagnoses. Submissions were made distinguishing the current Treatment Plan to the previous one and outlined significant deficiencies in that earlier Treatment Plan. The Court dismissed the charge, and discharged the client into the care of her treating psychiatrist on the condition that she complies with the Treatment Plan.

  • Our client was a 32 year old male with a minor criminal history. The police were called to locate the client due to concerns about his mental health. Police found the client and informed him that he was being detained, which he resisted. The client punched an officer to the eye with a closed fist causing bruising, and then hit him again to the ear causing a laceration and swelling. He made several threats to each of the officers. The client was charged with resisting an officer in execution of duty, assaulting police officer causing actual bodily harm, and intimidation on police officer. Each of the offences are treated very seriously by the courts. The most serious of the charges being the assault police causing actual bodily harm, which attracts a maximum penalty of 7 years imprisonment, if dealt with on indictment. The maximum penalty for each of the resist officer and intimidation offences is 5 years imprisonment. The client had a history of mental health issues. He had been diagnosed with Major Recurrent Depression and Anxiety disorder. His mental health issues were exacerbated at the time of the offending due to personal circumstances. After a lengthy adjournment enabling the client to commence appropriate treatment, we made a Section 14 Application seeking to have the client diverted out of the criminal justice system and in to the mental health system. The Magistrate was ultimately persuaded to grant the Section 14 Application, and all of the charges were dismissed on the condition that the client comply with the supervised Treatment Plan.