Our expert criminal lawyers for perverting the course of justice offences can help you:
- Obtain bail.
- Be found not guilty.
- Receive a lenient sentence, like no conviction and no prison.
You will be represented by a team of award-winning criminal lawyers, with 500+ five-star Google reviews, who offer fixed fees and free first consultations.
You can read our reviews here.
Perverting the Course of Justice Criminal Defence Lawyers
If you do any act or omission that is intended to stop justice from being served on yourself or another person, you could be charged with perverting the course of justice.
Perverting the course of justice is an offence that the courts take very seriously. That’s because it is considered to undermine the entire judicial system. Examples of perverting the course of justice include lying to authorities during an investigation, misleading a court with false evidence, tampering with or destroying evidence, intimidating a witness, and bribing a police officer.
If you have been charged with perverting the course of justice, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that you not only committed an act or an omission, but that you intended to pervert the course of justice in so doing. The act of perverting the course of justice alone is not enough to be guilty of this offence. The liability of the accused is dependent also on their intention.
Australian Criminal Law Group are the experts at defending charges of Perverting the course of justice.
Pleading Not Guilty
To be found guilty of perverting the course of justice, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that:
- You committed an act or made an omission and
- The act or omission was committed with the intention of perverting the course of justice
You do not need to benefit personally for this offence to have been committed. This includes interfering with justice being served on yourself or another person.
For this offence to be committed you also don’t need to have been successful in your attempt to interfere with justice being served. If it can be proven beyond reasonable doubt that you intended to pervert the course of justice, then you will be found guilty of this offence.
You can read more information about pleading not guilty here.
An experienced criminal lawyer will help you decide the best course of action based on the defences available to you. Defences include:
- The act or omission, or envisaged act or omission, does not amount to something that would obstruct, pervert, prevent or defeat the course of justice or the administration of the law.
- Even if there was an act that perverted the course of justice, the act was committed without any intention to do so. This is because perverting the course of justice is a “specific intent offence”.
- At the time of the act or omission, there was no police investigation underway and judicial proceedings were not imminent, or you were unaware that a police investigation was underway and judicial proceedings were imminent.
- Duress.
Pleading Guilty
If you committed the offence and the prosecution can prove your guilt, it is recommended that you plead guilty to the charges brought against you. This demonstrates to the court that you have accepted the charges and that what you did was wrong. It also shows remorse for your actions.
It is always best to seek legal advice before deciding how to plead. A good criminal lawyer will be able to assess your case and help you make that decision.
The criminal law team at the Australian Criminal Law Group is experienced in achieving the best possible results for guilty pleas in this offence.
If you are found guilty or plead guilty to Perverting the Course of Justice, the maximum sentence a court can impose is 14 years’ imprisonment.
There are several alternate penalties available to the court for this offence that a good defence lawyer will fight for.
You can read more about pleading guilty here.
Do I need references?
We believe references are an extremely important part of a plea of guilty in court. Read about court processes and how to write a good character reference.
Contact Australian Criminal Law Group
Our criminal lawyers, with 500+ five-star Google reviews, can beat your perverting the course of justice charge or obtain a lenient sentence for you if you plead guilty.
Call us on (02) 8815 8167 for your free first conference or submit a website enquiry.
Sources
The Crimes Act 1900 No 40, Part 7 Division 2, Section 319, Current version for 1 June 2022 to date (accessed 5 June 2022 at 1:46), https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-1900-040
This information is intended as a general guide to law only. It should not be relied on as legal advice and it is recommended that you speak with a qualified lawyer about your situation.
Australian Criminal Law Group and its suppliers make every reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy and validity of the information provided on its web pages. At the time of updating, this information was correct, however, given the laws in NSW and Australia are continually changing, the Australian Criminal Law Group makes no warranties or representations as to its accuracy.