Michael Cridland, a Criminal Lawyer with over 10 year’s experience, recently joined our team. Michael held a senior position at Legal Aid Queensland in the Criminal Law Division and has a wealth of experience in all types of criminal law cases.

Our client was sentenced to a lengthy term of imprisonment. The Judge had proceeded on a factual error. Counsel, Craig Chowdhury, instructed by Mark Howden argued successfully that the error was important and affected the Judge’s decision making process. The Judge agreed to reopen the sentence and reduced the penalty by a period of 6 months.

Our client was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm. He pleaded guilty to biting a bouncer who had attempted to remove him from a nightclub. The bouncer suffered an injury to his arm which required medical treatment. Our client was employed as an apprentice and was able to produce references. The Court accepted Mark Howden’s submissions that he should not go to jail and he was placed on a wholly suspended sentence.

Our client was charged with receiving payments to which she was not entitled. She received these payments during a period when her marriage broke up and one of her children was very ill. At the time that she received the excessive payments, she was employed and failed to notify Centrelink. Mark Howden successfully argued that as she had repaid the monies in full and that as she was an important member of her community performing voluntary work in the community, a conviction should not be recorded.