On 2 May 2023, Hanna Legal appeared in the Sydney District Court for a man who was appealing a sentence imposed in the Local Court for an offence of police pursuit while driving dangerously, contrary to section 51B of the Crimes Act 1900.  

The offending was particularly serious, as the police had chased the man for over five minutes while he drove his BMW M4 at a speed of up to 164 km/h in a residential area where the speed limit was 50 km/h. 

The man had originally been sentenced in the Local Court to a term of imprisonment to be served by way of an Intensive Corrections Order.  The Local Court Magistrate had also disqualified our client from driving for a period of 3 years and 6 months.

We assisted our client prepare evidence for the appeal which detailed his substantial contributions to the community, employment commitments, other prosocial behaviour and compelling need for a driver licence.

The Court upheld the appeal, setting aside the sentence of imprisonment and instead placing our client on a Community Correction Order.  The Court also reduced the licence disqualification period from 3 years and 6 months to the minimum period of 12 months.