Criminal & Traffic Law

Criminal convictions and charges have significant impacts on the individual and community.

At H&O we have a nimble and dedicated team that work tenaciously to achieve successful outcomes for our clients. With experience representing a variety of clients, we are skilled in applications for the withdrawal and downgrading of your charges.

Traffic Matters

Road and traffic infringements can vary extraordinarily in seriousness. Depending on the offence, penalties span from demerit points and fines to imprisonment sentences. There are mitigating factors and defences available to those charged and it is vital to consider the consequences of the penalties before consenting to them. Our committed team can assist with general traffic offences, demerit point reduction, license appeals, disqualifications, speeding, drink driving as well as serious offences.

Assault & Violence

Assault charges comprise a large portion of criminal law, as they range drastically in severity and there exists varied defences depending on the particular circumstances. We advise our clients across a range of offences including ‘causing serious harm’ and other major indictable offences. It is vital to seek legal advice as early as possible as there may be a number of aggravating factors to the offence. These can include but are not limited to, the age, profession, or condition of the victim. At H&O, we will precisely examine your case to determine viable defences and courses of action in dealing with your charge.

Drug Offences

There are a variety of drug offences that may be prosecuted under legislation such as the Controlled Substances Act 1984 (SA) and for serious trafficking offences the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). This category of offence encompasses use, possession, manufacturing, growth, sales, and trafficking of controlled substances. Our team can advise and assist with rehabilitation procedures, pleas, good behaviour bonds and representation across both state and federal drug offences.

Robbery & Theft

There are various defences to theft or robbery charges centring around the intention of the offender and the type of dealing pertinent to the charge. An understanding of dishonest dealings and circumstances of property are key to representation in these proceedings. At H&O, our team can assist with pleas, good behaviour bonds and representation across robbery and theft charges including advising on the downgrading of dishonest dealings charges.

Sexual Offences

There are a range of various charges known in proceedings as sexual offences. The penalties range depending on the charge and any aggravating circumstances such as the age of the victim, relationship between the parties and abuse of position of authority or trust. At H&O, we can assist across charges made under sexual offence legislation, including, acts of gross indecency, indecent assault, possession of child exploitation material and other major indictable charges.

White Collar Crime

White collar crimes involve dishonest dealings often for a financial gain such as fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, insider trading, tax evasion, and other forms of financial misconduct. Common offences include Centrelink fraud and dishonest dealings with documents. We are able to assist in these areas of law by providing services right from investigations, risk assessments and pre-charge advice to defence, sentencing and appeals representation.

At a time when I was in a vulnerable and stressed position, H&O lawyers were brilliant in understanding my story and circumstances beyond the offence I was charged with. The team appeared for me in Court in relation to the matter and it was subsequently withdrawn. The team’s ability to explain and advocate for me allowed for my story to be heard and understood and for that I am very thankful.

Y.Z. (Acted for in 2022)