Using a Carriage Service to Menace
This charge of using carriage service to menace is popular with police. It captures a wide range of behaviour from threats made in a domestic violence context to calls between aggrieved parties in business and former friends. Increasingly posts on social media are being captured by this offence.Â
Fortunately, our criminal lawyers often can put the police to task in proving the offence of stalk/intimidate. Especially in circumstances where the only witness is the accuser or where there is a suspicion of collusion amongst prosecution witnesses. Our clients are frequently found not guilty of stalk/intimidate.Â
If you intend to plead guilty, our criminal lawyers have a proven track record of not only keeping our clients out of jail but also in some cases having no conviction recorded.
How do I beat a charge of using carriage service to menace?
You will be found not guilty of the offence of Using a carriage service to menace if the police cannot prove beyond reasonable doubt:
- You (or someone on your behalf) used a carriage service; and
- You did so in a way (whether by the method of use or the content of a communication, or both) that a reasonable person would regard as being, in all the circumstances, menacing, harassing or offensive.
Harass typically means to trouble or annoy by a repeated course of conduct. A single telephone call may also be harassment, depending on the words uttered or the time and circumstances in which the call was made – or even if words were not uttered.
Menace means to cause a normally courageous person to feel apprehensive for their safety because of the call or calls. It isn’t necessary for a call to threaten actual harm for it to be menacing. Nor is it necessary for the communication to be made directly to the person menaced. As long as the caller intends the communication to be communicated to the ultimate recipient, it is enough.
In determining whether the language used is offensive, the relevant question is whether an ordinary reasonable person would have been offended by the conduct. The reasonable man is to be taken as reasonably tolerant and understanding and reasonably contemporary in his reactions.
Pleading guilty
If you agree that you have committed the offence and the police are able to prove so, it is best to plead guilty. You will normally receive a discount on the sentence, and it will demonstrate remorse and contrition. It may also be the case that one of our experienced solicitors can negotiate with prosecutors for you to plead guilty to less serious facts or even a less serious charge.
Using a carriage service to menace carries a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment in the Local Court and three years imprisonment in the District Court. These penalties are typically reserved for the worst offenders.Â
You can read about all the sentencing options that a court has, including having no conviction recorded.
Do I need references?
We believe references are an extremely important part of a plea of guilty in court. Read more about court references and processes here.
Why choose Australian Criminal Law Group?
Our criminal lawyers are experts at obtaining the best outcome possible for Use carriage service to menace offences. For these offences, a good lawyer can be the difference between a conviction and no criminal record and freedom or jail.Â
To discuss your Use carriage service to menace charge, call Australian Criminal Law Group at our Sydney, Parramatta, and Blacktown offices or make a website inquiry today.