Criminal Lawyers Gold Coast
Your local experts in Criminal Law ready to guide you through the legal process
If you have been charged with a criminal offence or traffic offence, it is imperative that you get the right legal advice at the earliest opportunity from an experienced criminal lawyer.
Our Gold Coast criminal law team are always available to help guide you through the process.
Call our 24/7 phone line right now on 1800 621 071
Get trusted advice and find out what you need to do next.
Our criminal solicitors and lawyers on the Gold Coast can help with:
If you have been charged with a traffic offence or dangerous driving offence and need advice on your rights and options, we are here to help you.
We can assist with charges related to:
- Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Driving without a licence or whilst disqualified or suspended from driving
- Dangerous driving or negligent driving
- Applying for a special hardship licence or work licence
- Speeding, demerit points, and other licence appeals
- Major traffic offences
If you have been charged with assault, it is important to seek quality legal representation as soon as possible. Assault charges cover a vast variety of offences, including:
- Common assault
- Intent to cause grievous bodily harm
- Aggravated assault
- Assault causing death
- Assault in self-defence.
If you are convicted, the consequences you will face can range from a fine, good behaviour bond or community service order, to periodic detention or a prison sentence.
Our Gold Coast Criminal Lawyers are here to support you throughout the process and assist you with dealing with the relevant authorities.
Attwood Marshall Lawyers can provide you with options for possible defences available to you if you have been charged with stealing or breaking and entering.
We will help you understand what to expect from the court process, and what the police must prove in order to make their case. We will also explain the types of penalties that will be ordered by the court if you are convicted.
A robbery offence can range from minor, resulting in a good behaviour bond or fine, to serious offences carrying a prison sentence. Robbery offences can include:
- Robbery with wounding
- Aggravated robbery and demanding property with intent to steal
- Armed robbery
- Aggravated armed robbery
- Armed robbery in company
Ensuring you have the support of a professional criminal lawyer will give you the best chance of success in fighting a robbery charge or obtaining a lesser penalty if found guilty.
If you have been charged with a drug offence on the Gold Coast, our criminal lawyers will work closely with you to ensure all the facts of the matter are considered. Our team will deal with any authorities on your behalf to reach a favourable outcome.
Drug offences can include:
- Using drugs
- Possessing drugs
- Supplying drugs
- Cultivating drugs
- Manufacturing drugs
- Importing prohibited drugs
Attwood Marshall Lawyers are highly experienced in providing white-collar crime defences.
Typically, white-collar crime includes:
- Workplace offences
- Tax offences
- Occupational health and safety (OHS) offences
- Commonwealth offences
White-collar crime is an extremely complex area of law that requires an experienced trial lawyer who is familiar with the investigative processes undertaken by the police and enforcement agencies.
We can provide trusted advice to help you understand your rights, the onus of proof, elements of offences and the conduct of jury trials. We will ensure your case is positioned as favourably as possible and put forward the best defence.
Attwood Marshall Lawyers have an experienced fraud defence team on the Gold Coast who can help you if you have been charged with fraud.
There are a wide range of acts that can be considered ‘fraud’. A fraudulent act involves deception in workplace or personal situations which may mean obtaining property belonging to someone else or gaining a financial edge by way of an act of dishonesty or deception.
A fraudulent offence will involve an offender, a victim, and an absence of control or safeguards. Penalties that apply to a fraud conviction will vary depending on the specific facts of the matter. The amount of money involved in the offence, the motive, and the length of time the fraudulent activity took place will all contribute to the penalty.
If you have been charged with obstructing, preventing, perverting, or defeating the course of justice or administration of the law, there may be several defences available to you.
Our Gold Coast Criminal Lawyers can help you try to negotiate a plea to a less serious offence with lesser penalties. It is imperative that you get trusted advice at the earliest opportunity to ensure your prospects of a successful defence.
A domestic violence order (DVO) or apprehended violence order (AVO) is an official document issued by the court against a person to stop threats or acts of violence against another person.
A DVO/AVO will include its own set of terms and conditions unique to the situation which may order against assault, intimidation, harassment, stalking, and other threatening acts. It may prevent a person from contacting the other person or attending their residence or place of work. In some cases, a DVO/AVO may order you to avoid certain public areas.
Our Gold Coast lawyers can represent either the applicant (the person taking out the DVO or AVO where police have not issued it on their behalf) as well as defendants (the person the DVO/AVO was taken out against).
In Queensland, breaching or contravention of a DVO carries a maximum penalty of 3 years imprisonment (or 120 penalty units) if within 5 years the respondent has previously been convicted of a similar offence. Otherwise, beaching or contravention of a DVO carries a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment (or 60 penalty units) if the respondent has not had any previous convictions.
Criminal Lawyers Gold Coast FAQs
Contact our Gold Coast criminal defence lawyers any time on 1800 621 071. Other than providing your name, age and address to the police, you are not required to give any further information to the police before speaking to your lawyer.
In order to reduce or mitigate any penalty or imprisonment if you have been charged with an offence and need to go to court, it is important to have an experienced criminal lawyer represent you. Our Gold Coast criminal lawyers are highly experienced with dealing with police charges and traffic law and criminal law matters, including representing clients before magistrates across Queensland and Northern New South Wales. An experienced criminal lawyer will help you position your case so that you have the best defence possible.
It is important to give your lawyer as much detail as possible, including information you may think is not important to your case. The small things can often make a significant difference in planning your defence. Your lawyer acts on the facts available, whether that has been provided by the authorities, or yourself. No one likes surprises and your lawyer cannot do their job properly if they do not have all the necessary information to help you.
Some key documents we require if they are available at the time of your consultation include:
- Court Attendance Notices with Fact Sheets (NSW)
- QP9 (Police summary of facts – QLD)
- Contact details of witnesses
- Photographs and statements of your account of events
You should not speak to anyone about your case. Be extremely cautious about providing any information to anyone as that person may be called as a witness against you. The only communication that is privileged is the private communication you have with your lawyer.
Once you have been charged with a criminal offence, we always recommend you stay off Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms.
Quite often people say that they were not convicted in a court. However, if they enter a plea of guilty, then there must be a conviction and it is a question then as to whether or not it is recorded. If this situation occurs, and someone outside the court system asks you if you have a conviction, you are entitled to say “no” if it has not been recorded.
The details of your conviction will stay on the court system as a record if you are back before the court on any new charges. Our Gold Coast criminal lawyers always aim to have any convictions NOT recorded.
There are a number of ways a criminal record can affect you and how you live your life, including:
- If you wish to travel overseas, you may be prevented from entering certain countries.
- You may be restricted with gaining employment.
- You may find it difficult to rent property as landlords will naturally be cautious about renting to someone with a criminal record.
- You may not be able to become an Australian citizen if you are not a naturalized citizen. It will be a requirement to satisfy that you are a fit and proper person.
These are serious consequences, and for all the above reasons, and more, it is always recommended you get the best legal representation to defend you at a court hearing if you are facing criminal charges.
Yes, you have the opportunity to appeal a court decision, either on all grounds or only as to the penalty that has been imposed on you.
It is important to keep in mind that the Judge can impose a harsher penalty if you try to appeal the decision, so you must consider this before making an appeal.
If you have been charged with a drink driving offence, you should complete a traffic offender program. Failure to do so does not necessarily mean the penalty can be greater, however you fail to get the benefit of a lesser charge. We often get feedback from our clients that they got tremendous benefit from completing the traffic offender program.
If served with a DVO or AVO, you can consent without admission of the facts alleged in the application. The alternative to consenting to the application is to contest it, however success is never guaranteed. In QLD, the period of the order is usually five years. This time can be lessened if circumstances are demonstrated as to why this should be shortened. Consenting to an order is NOT a criminal offence, however if you breach the order, the breach can carry gaol time.
Contact our Department Manager
With specialised experience as criminal lawyers, our Gold Coast team are here to help you when you need us most. We will help you navigate this challenging time.
