i agree and i dont think it was an accident entirely
BUT - it was a result from his actions that she was inujured so whether it be an accident or not - its his fault
Some kind of criminal negligence, it may have changed the charge...maybe the penalty... I am not sure. Someone else here should know.
A guilty plea asap, no circus etc, and a full explanation of the events...
As for sentancing, max 2 years at local court, here are the mitigating factors, his lawyers are busy studying:
Crimes Sentancing Proceedure Act sec 21A
3) Mitigating factors The mitigating factors to be taken into account in determining the appropriate
sentence for an offence are as follows:
(a) the injury, emotional harm, loss or damage caused by the offence was not substantial,
(b) the offence was not part of a planned or organised criminal activity,
(c) the
offender was provoked by the victim,
(d) the
offender was acting under duress,
(e) the
offender does not have any record (or any significant record) of previous convictions,
(f) the
offender was a person of good character,
(g) the
offender is unlikely to re-offend,
(h) the
offender has good prospects of rehabilitation, whether by reason of the
offenders age or otherwise,
(i) the remorse shown by the
offender for the offence, but only if:
(i) the
offender has provided evidence that he or she has accepted responsibility for his or her actions, and
(ii) the
offender has acknowledged any injury, loss or damage caused by his or her actions or made reparation for such injury, loss or damage (or both),
(j) the
offender was not fully aware of the consequences of his or her actions because of the
offenders age or any disability,
(k) a plea of guilty by the
offender (as provided by section 22),
(l) the degree of pre-trial disclosure by the defence (as provided by section 22A),
(m) assistance by the
offender to law enforcement authorities (as provided by section 23).
So apart from addressing and highlighting the favourable points above, inter alia:-
They should be emphasising his good deeds as an individual and differentiate those from those he has done because he had to as part of his job.
He will need a number of references that address specifics, not like a job reference etc.
And he will need to tell the court about the event etc. he cant blame his lawyers at all.
A good QC might charge $5000 for the effort and if he wears a really bad penalty, he can appeal on severity, although he runs the risk that the higher court might actually increase the penalty. They have to provide a warning that they are thinking of increasing it, so you can pull out if you want to.
Do you roll the dice?
As for his legal team, we dont know what he told them for them for them to consider running the "not guilty" plea in the first instance. They cant make up his mind, they would have told him the down side and the risks.
What we do know is that he has lost a discount worth between 10 and 25% of his sentance.
Not the best outcome, but they arent the magistrate, theres only so much they could have promised him.
