Drafting A Plea In Mitigation For Traffic Offences

You are required to draft a correctly formatted outline of plea in mitigation for the Magistrates’ Court. are to ensure that they not only cover the relevant facts but also address the required sentencing principles and factors, and research and apply current sentencing ranges. Reference may be had to case law as required.

The defendant is Jane smith aged 26 years.     Jane smith was unlucky not to have grown up with both parents. All parents divorced when she was only 16 years of old. Therefore, she lacked parental guidance, love and care enjoyed by other children at such a tender age.   This made her hate her childhood and affected her overall physical, spiritual and mental stability. There a number of instances she involved in mainly due to the nature and kind circumstances she was subjected to at a very tender and stupid age where most children make mistakes if there is no effective guidance and counseling. Therefore, due to such prevailing circumstance Jane smith started living with friends at only eighteen years where she was affected by a number misfortunes ranging from sexual assault, trauma among others.

At only twenty years of age  Jane started a relationship with one Bikie, Biffo which was full of trouble throughout the period they were together. Therefore,  Jane smith is living in a broken family which has contributed to her current stress and anxiety.  Jane smith has worked for a number shops and restaurants as a shop assistant, waitress and barista. However, she  could have been able to get better jobs than that had it not been her bad background and bad influence from friends. To help in eliminating the levels of stress and trauma, Jane smith resorted to using drugs which in turn worsened her situation following her diagnosis of depression and anxiety disorders.  Jane smith have been under medication and counseling to get rid of depression. Also,  Jane smith has been trying as much as possible to stop taking drugs, unfortunately  she engaged in criminality before she had been totally rehabilitated.

Before Jane smith engaged in the above offences  she had left one Birro.  At the time the offence was committed  Jane smith was driving with two friends who included a wife and husband and the little child. It was clear, in the vehicle there were no car seats and one zip was carried by her mother on the lap. By the time of the incident Jane smith was free of intoxication. In other words she was clean. She accidentally entered into a street that was not permitted to enter into since it was blocked for an event of cycling. The organizers told her to leave the above mentioned place. Her reluctance to not quickly reverse was due to the crudity exhibited by the organizers towards her. Upon the arrival of two police constable or officers she became more anxious and confused to effectively wind down her window. Therefore, due to the level of anxiety and confusion at the moment she made some terrible mistakes and offences which are highly regrettable in my view.

Circumstances of the offence

In the process of driving off she accidently knocked some barriers there were portable. She  thought the above portable barriers were filled with sand or water and couldn’t move. However on the sad note they easily moved since they were empty. Therefore that made her panicky mood to escalate due to the kind of relationship she  had with one biffo which was full of terrible and ungrateful experiences. Therefore I can generally assert that had it not been because of the terrible relation she have been having with Biffo,  she wouldn’t  have been a victim of the above offence. In the process some police constables or offices resorted to stopping her while on the high way which they didnot achieve successfully.  She drove away from the police officers using a number of wrong ways down the high way to confuse them

My, lord on the first appearance over these offences my client extremely consistent with her explanation and pleaded guilty of having involved in such acts of criminality both intentionally and unintentionally. The police can effectively testify the level of cooperation she exhibited during the process of investigations. She was very firm and at the same consistent while explaining to police what happened and the circumstances relating to the offence. The police my lord is my witness on this matter. She was not like other suspects who waste time for police when they exactly know that they involved in un law full acts. In this case She  exhibited a high level of transparency and cooperation which did not only save police from time and resources that was going to be lost during the investigation process, looking for witnesses among other procedures. My lord, 26 year old Jane smith  is guilty of traffic offences that  are  criminalized and punishable  as  per the  existing laws and statues, however due to the  cooperation the client has exhibited  I beg for your merciful intervention to save her current situation

Further, Jane smith is undergoing through a rehabilitation process and her aim is to eliminate all the bad influences such as drugs, friends and others which in one way or other have been leading her to mistakes which are highly regrettable. The first achievement my client attained e is separating with Biffo who has been giving her a lot of nightmare. For example in the above incident, Biffo’s experiences to a larger extent contributed to her anxiety and confusion which resulted into wrong choices being made. Other peers and negative friends she also left them.  She wants to leave a normal and new life that is generally accepted in the society.  Ms Jane smith’s past has been so difficult often putting her into terrible dilemmas which she could have not been to if  she leaving a quite normal life style. My lord my client is trying her level best to avoid drugs. Drugs have been one of those bad influences in her life. Because of drugs she would fail to adhere to the laws and policies that govern traffic, end up with bad friends and other acts. Therefore i strongly believe that this is a strong step towards avoiding circumstances like the one she is currently entangled with.

Summary

My lord despite of all the bad influences and other personal challenges my client has only one minor traffic offence. Therefore my lord, my has always tried her level best to exhibit some   level of discipline and self restraint   while driving except in some few and regrettable circumstances like the current one. Therefore her  traffic record is not quite alarming given her  age and the number of years has spent using the road in populated, overpopulated and semi populated areas and in the absence or presence of traffic officers and   other road and safety gadgets and mechanisms which aim at promoting discipline on the road.

My client is liable to paying a unit value equivalent to $130.55 due to the failure to observe traffic laws and driving without attention and care. he may  also be liable to imprisonment equivalent to one year basing on the current traffic legislations and the  Road Traffic Act 1974 s59, the criminal act of 1900 s52A(1), Criminal Code 1899 s328A(4) and others. My lord given the current status of my client and  her nature  of job she may not be in position to effectively pay the fines. On the issue of sentencing my client is still being rehabilitated therefore her incarceration may affect the overall progress she is achieving.   My lord as per the current legislations, traffic history is important in determining sentences and other charges. As clearly stated previously my client has not committed any major offence. 

My lord section ten  (10) of sentencing and procedure act gives this court mandate to not try an individual, or impose a penalty or disqualification even when he or she has  pleaded guilty. Therefore, my lord I beg you to base on this act  while deciding the fate of a youth who is under serious rehabilitation. Therefore given that she is currently undergoing through rehabilitation and counseling some of the acts will become history. I am more than sure with counseling she will   be able to permanently leave certain habits like drug use which will help in keeping her sober while using the road to avoid cases of going against the law as it happened in the above convicted offence.

My lord i am very sorry for everything that happened and i am quite sure of the consequences of the unlawful deeds of my client. My lord I beg for your kind intervention putting into consideration of the nature of my client’s background, relationships, and the effects of the sentence on her work, progress towards rehabilitation, her age, current and future life. My lord as per the offence she committed she may be suspended or permanently banned from driving; her  driving license may also be convicted given that she acted against the law. The custodial sentence my lord may affect the progress of my client’s rehabilitation that she is currently undergoing through with positive results being registered.  Further given the age of Jane smith ,  she  still has room for correcting her past mistakes and turning into a good and responsible traffic abider.

My lord  your sincere  intervention to save the current situation of Jane smith will be kindly and thunderously welcomed  if you  ignore  some of the terms in the road traffic act of 1961  to  save a youth who has had a bad history and is under serious rehabilitation.

Conclusively, my lord as clearly  presented the prevailing circumstances presented before the honorable court call for effective, rational and sound judgment that not only looks at the current life of the offender but also his future life. Therefore, my lord this court may even act outside the law to save the circumstance and restore the future of a youth who has had a poor background.

Alderton, Matthew, Michael Granziera and Martin Smith, 'Judicial Review and Jurisdictional Errors: The Recent Migration Jurisprudence of the High Court of Australia' (2011) 18(3) Australian Journal of Administraive Law 138

Burton, Kelley, Thomas Crofts and Stella Tarrant, Principles of Criminal Law in Queensland and Western Australia (Lawbook, 2011)

Berryman, Jeff and Robyn Carroll, 'Cy-près as a Class Action Remedy - Justly Maligned or Just Misunderstood?' in Kit Barker and Darryn Jensen (eds), Private Law: Key Encounters with Public Law (Cambridge University Press, 2013)

Criminal Investigation (Identifying People) Amendment Bill 2012 (WA)

LexisNexis Butterworths, ABC of Evidence (at 12 August 2013)

Lawbook, The Laws of Australia (at 12 May 2007)15 Equity, '15.2 Fiduciaries

LexisNexis, Halsbury's Laws of Australia (at 28 April2007) 85 Conflict of Laws, '1 General'

Simon and Sarah Murray, 'An Elegant Convergence? The Constitutional Entrenchment of Jurisdictional Error Review in Australia'  (2011) 11(2) Oxford University Commonwelath Law Journal 117

Sinden, Peter, 2013, Primary Sources of Law, lecture notes distributed in Introduction to LAWS1104 at The University of Western Australia, Crawley (at 2 November 2013)

Thomson Reuters, The Laws of Australia (at 23 May 2013) 21 Human Rights, '4 Civil and Political Rights' 

Williams, Neil, Civil Procedure Victoria (at I69.01.135) 5962

Woodley, Mick (ed), Osborn's Concise Law Dictionary (Sweet and Maxwell, 11th ed, 2009