Criminal & Traffic Law Services in Cardiff, Morisset & Lake Macquarie

Need Help with a Criminal Case Involving Drugs, Fraud, Sexual Assault or Robbery Charges?

Everyone is entitled to defend themselves against criminal charges. But in order to properly defend yourself, it’s imperative to engage a lawyer that practices criminal law to make sure you get the best representation.

Whether you want to plead guilty and seek to avoid a criminal record or plead not guilty and contest the charges, we can provide you with the best possible representation in your time of need.

Attending Court for the first time can be a highly daunting experience. You may think that this is the end of your life as you know it. The reality is, it’s not!

We can help advise you in all areas of criminal law, including:

Acts intended to cause injury – including common assault, serious assault resulting in injury, stalking, and serious assault not resulting in injury.

Apprehended violence orders (AVO) – an order made by the court that restricts certain behaviour of the defendant towards another. We can help you understand your rights, obligations and options, especially if you wish to oppose the Order being made.

Justice procedure offences – breach of violence order, resistance or hinder police, breach of bond, suspended sentence, or community service order.

Theft – including theft from retail premises, receiving or handling the proceeds of crime, and theft of intellectual property.

Illicit drug offences – possession, cultivation or dealing in illicit drugs. Drug offences constitute some of the most common criminal offences. The law relating to drug offences can be complex, particularly in relation to supplying a prohibited drug (drug supply). Our lawyers have specialised knowledge in this area of law and have assisted hundreds of clients in either successfully defending charges or, obtaining lesser penalties when sentenced.

Public order offences – disorderly conduct, criminal intent, riot and affray, liquor and tobacco offences, offensive language or behaviour, cruelty to animals. Public Order offences are offences that deal with keeping good order in the community. Although the more common types of these offences are not considered “serious offences” at law, most of them can attract a term of imprisonment as a penalty, especially for a repeat offender.

Fraud offences – obtaining benefit by deception, forgery of documents, dishonest conversion. These offences can often be surprisingly difficult to prove. Many prosecution cases may at first appear overwhelming, however, on closer inspection, are nothing more than circumstantial in nature. Our criminal lawyers are experts in this field and have been able to pick apart fraud cases with great success.

Centrelink Fraud – Centrelink Fraud charges cover all offending behaviour by a person relating to the receipt of Centrelink benefits. The most common Centrelink Fraud charge (and the least serious) is where someone engages in conduct and as a result of that conduct, obtains a financial advantage from Centrelink. If you have been charged with Centrelink fraud or other similar offences or have been contacted by Centrelink about an overpayment, then we invite you to contact Dawson Pouwhare lawyers for advice on what your legal requirements and options are.

Property damage – graffiti, fire and explosion.

Dangerous or negligent acts endangering persons – driving under the influence of alcohol or other substance (DUI), Dangerous or negligent driving.

Firearms and weapons offences – misuse, unlawfully obtaining or possessing a prohibited weapon or explosive. There are several firearms and dangerous weapons offences that range from minor to very serious.

Sexual assault – aggravated sexual assault, child pornography. Assault Charges are some of the most common that are laid in NSW. Being charged with such an offence must be taken seriously as severe penalties can be imposed. Sexual offences, particularly the more serious forms, are typically considered offences of violence, as they involve some form of assault or violation of another. Being charged with a sexual offence can prove extremely distressing. Sexual assault and other sexual offences attract heavy penalties.

Robbery, blackmail & extortion – The offence category of stealing covers a wide range of offending behaviour. Such offences deal primarily with the taking or attempted taking of someone else’s property, without their consent. The most serious forms of stealing fall under the category of robbery offences. For some types of robbery offences, if a person is found or pleads “guilty” to robbery, the starting point at law on sentence is a term of full-time imprisonment. Our lawyers are experienced at defending stealing, theft and larceny offences and obtaining favourable outcomes on sentence.

Homicide – murder, attempted murder, manslaughter.