Our client was charged with one offence of damaging property. The item of property our client damaged was a car that belonged to the company he was previously employed by. Prior to the offending our client was terminated by this company due to a false sexual harassment claim that was ultimately dropped. After his termination our client saw the company vehicle parked at the Liverpool Catholic Club parking lot and kicked the vehicle on multiple occasions, denting and scratching all doors. Our client indicated to us that due to what occurred whilst he was employed by this company, his mental health had suffered significantly prior to and during the offending conduct. We advised our client to consult a psychologist in order to be assessed pursuant to the mental health legislation. Our client followed our advice and consulted a psychologist who opined that he was suffering from a diagnosable mental health condition at the time of the offending conduct. Prior to our client being assessed and the section 14 report drafted, we wrote detailed representations to the police and argued they remove adverse facts from the Police Fact Sheet. The police wholly accepted our representations and the Fact Sheet was amended pursuant to our proposal. The final Police Fact Sheet outlining the circumstances of the offending conduct that was tendered before the court received during the section 14 application significantly reduced the moral culpability of our client’s behaviour.
In addition to this we prepared a subjective bundle that included the psychological report, completion certificate of an anger management course our client completed, a letter of apology and various character references. We appeared before Liverpool Local Court and made a section 14 application for our client. The Presiding Local Court Magistrate made positive remarks about our meticulous preparation, heard our submissions on the application and granted the application.
Our client was ordered to comply with a 12-month treatment plan and the charge was dismissed. Our client was very pleased with the result considering the added mental strain these court proceedings placed on him and his family who had already endured so much.