Should a young man who made a mistake, did not lie to police, and with no prior criminal history have a conviction for cocaine possession recorded against him?
Client gets field Court Attendance Notice for cocaine possession
Our client, Adam, was a young man of 20 years of age who had no prior criminal history. While out enjoying his Friday night with friends at his local pub police found that he had 0.59 grams of cocaine. Adam admitted to police that the cocaine was his. He also told them that he purchased it to consume it that night. He co-operated with police and did not lie to them. Police issued Adam with a field Court Attendance Notice to attend Manly Local Court for drug possession. They did not take him into police custody.
When Adam approached our firm for assistance we advised him that there was a high possibility that there would be no conviction recorded against him. Our criminal defence solicitor said that we would do everything in our power to ensure this happened. We advised Adam that he should plead guilty to the single charge. Additionally, he should have some family and friends write character references in his support.
Client gets Conditional Release Order (CRO) without record of conviction
The hearing went ahead at Manly Local Court.
Magistrate Robyn Denes sentenced Adam to a Conditional Release Order (CRO) without recording a conviction for a period on 12 months.
