Breaching Bail

PENALTIES

If you have been found guilty of contravening a bail condition, you will be arrested and brought before a Court to explain the breach. If this occurs, you may not be given bail again by the Court and could find yourself in gaol pending the finalisation of your matter. In fact, many criminal cases take up to 1-2 years before they are finalised and if bail is refused you will lose this time of your life awaiting the completion of your matter.

Furthermore, if you are charged with failure to appear as per section 79 of the Bail Act 2013, you could be facing a maximum penalty of 3 years imprisonment and 30 penalty units, equating to a $3,300 fine. This penalty is conjunction with the maximum penalty enforced for the specific criminal charge that you were granted bail for.

When your liberty is at stake and you have been charged with a criminal offence, do not just contact any lawyer. It is very important that you contact a lawyer that specialised in criminal law and has significant experience with bail applications. Our criminal defence lawyers regularly appear at Police station and in the Local, District and Supreme Court in relation to matters of breaching bail or for the purpose of making bail applications for our clients.

Should you be facing the maximum penalties outline above as a result of contravening bail conditions, please do not hesitate to contact Benjamin Leonardo – The Defenders for a confidential consultation.

GUILTY

To be found guilty of obtaining a breaching bail, the Police has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you have:

• That you were granted bail by the Court; and
• Did not adhere to one or more of the conditions of your bail, which could include the failure to appear before Court.

If the prosecution is able to successfully prove these elements, you could potentially have your bail revoked and be sentenced to imprisonment, while the finalisation of your original criminal charge is still pending. If you agree with these allegations, you have the option to plead guilty, which could be more favourable than being found guilty otherwise. Pleading guilty often demonstrates remorse and regret for your actions in the eyes of the Court and therefore it is not uncommon to see the judiciary system award less significant punishments.

The Court will deliberate on numerous factors in order to determine the sufficient punishment as a result of your breach. The nature and seriousness of the breach, any past contraventions, absence of a reasonable excuse, personal circumstances and whether there were any other alternatives that could have taken place will all be considered. A Magistrate has the ability to release you on your existing bail conditions, add or alter your existing bail conditions or refuse bail altogether, the latter more likely if you have been found guilty otherwise or have committed a serious breach.

For the most accurate and honest advice pertinent to your specific case, please contact our dedicated criminal defence lawyers to schedule a confidential consultation.

NOT GUILTY

If you decide to plead not guilty to infringement of bail conditions, the Police will bring forth evidence that contradicts your claim. If they are successfully able to prove that you did break a condition set out in your bail, it is likely you will face conviction whereby stricter penalties are expected.

At the defended hearing, witnesses will be in Court to testify against you and explain their version of events Our criminal defence lawyers will then have the ability to cross examine them to demonstrate reliability. Other evidence will also be discussed before the Court by the prosecution, and further cross examined by our team. The reasoning for this is the prosecution needs to prove the crime was committed beyond a reasonable doubt. As many cases are not straightforward, the idea of beyond a reasonable doubt refers to an absence of uncertainty. Therefore, through strenuous cross examination and raising question to the validity and reliability of various evidence presented, doubt and uncertainty may be raised. Our fraud lawyers will also quash the claims with appropriate defences if necessary.

However, our criminal defence lawyers possess years of experience in defending such matters. We will strenuously cross examine any evidence that the Police have raise in order to determine the reliability of the source. We will also aim to negate the allegations with appropriate defence strategies, if necessary. If our criminal lawyer are able to successfully raise an appropriate defence or raise doubt over the evidence provided, you will be found not guilty of the crime. However, it is important to note that some defences may only warrant a partial defence, whereby you will still be liable to punishment of some sort.

Regardless of whether you plead guilty or not guilty, our Sydney and Parramatta based criminal defence lawyers at Benjamin Leonardo – The Defenders, will ensure that you case receives the preparation and consideration it requires to give you every chance of obtaining the best result possible.

THE DEFENCE

At Benjamin Leonardo – The Defenders, we are experienced Sydney based criminal defence lawyers with years of experience in bail related matters. In order to convince the Court that you had a reasonable excuse for the contravention of your bail conditions, the following criminal defences that may be raised:

Duress: Involves the use of dangerous threats to pressure an individual to participate in an activity that they would unlikely participate in. Examples of such threats that may justify such behaviour could include death threats or warnings of grievous bodily harm. The accused must firmly believe that if they did not commit the offence that the threat would have taken place.

Necessity: Often confused with duress, necessity occurs in situations where imminent danger by human or natural forces resulted in the accused to undertake the criminal offence. In order to this defence to be used by yourself or a criminal defence lawyer, it must be proven that the criminal activity was only undertaken in order to avoid consequences that are seen as “irreparable evil”. The accused must also genuinely believe that they were in a situation of “imminent peril” and had no other alternatives to avoid the threat, and thus partaking in the criminal act is justified.

Self-Defence: Situations in which actions were taken to defend confrontations and harm by and unjust aggressor may constitute self-defence. Self-defence occurs in circumstances in which the accused aims to protect property, themselves or another person from harm by the aggressor.

WHICH COURT?

Typically, matters pertaining to the breach of bail conditions are brought before a Local Court. In other circumstances, whereby the original criminal offence and breach of bail is determined to be severe in nature, the matter could be brought before a District Court or Supreme Court.

As leading criminal defence lawyers based in Parramatta and Sydney, we have successfully represented numerous clients in relation to criminal offences at various Local, District and Supreme Courts in NSW. Furthermore, we have a 90% success rate for all our criminal cases.

Therefore, clients can be confident that our team have the ability, knowledge and dedication to achieve the best possible outcome, regardless of the Court the matter is finalised in. Contact Benjamin Leonardo – The Defenders, to schedule a consultation.