VIC Request a rehearing or appeal

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TheLucky1

Active Member
19 November 2020
5
0
31
Melbourne
In 2017 I plead guilty to a Tamper with Motor Vehicle charge in Victoria. Dumbest decision I've ever made. The charge was condridicted by the "victims" own video evidence, and I had terrible legal representation, who I fired on the day of the hearing and represented myself.
My question is, can I request a rehearing given it's 3 years later?
If so, what it the process and criteria that needs to be proven in order to have it granted?
Are there any alternatives to clear my record?
Reason being, I'm looking for work and want to volunteer, both require police checks.
Also, the principal of the situation is just so wrong. It should never have made it to court! I'm so annoyed that I didnt invest more time fighting it in 2017, but at the time I didnt understand or appreciate the implications of the guilty plea. i thought ghat if it was guilty without conviction it wouldnt effect anything or show on my record. I was very wrong!

Any help very much appreciated!
Thank you
 

Tony Danos

Lawyer
LawConnect (LawTap) Verified
29 November 2016
330
56
794
Victoria
lawtap.com
Extremely difficult to appeal this much out of time unless you have something that will exonerate you and it wasn't presented at the time.
 

TheLucky1

Active Member
19 November 2020
5
0
31
Melbourne
The video taken by the victim proves my innocents. But the police charged me regardless. If the court reviewed the video they would see my charge should never have gone to court
 

TheLucky1

Active Member
19 November 2020
5
0
31
Melbourne
Do i have any other options to clear my criminal record? I really dont need anything hindering my chances of employment given the current job market.

Thank you for your help!
 

Tim W

Lawyer
LawConnect (LawTap) Verified
28 April 2014
4,913
820
2,894
Sydney
Victorian criminal procedure provides for appeal against a plea of guilty,
but only in the most exceptional circumstances.
The first thing you'll need to do is show that your case
is sufficiently exceptional - and yes, that's exactly as difficult as it sounds.

The first question you'll have to have an answer to is
"Why did you plead guilty at the time,
when there was a genuine possibility that you were not?"

Then, as @Tony Danos said above - it will largely depend on you having
new material that was not available at the time.
New material that is so favourable to you that it could change the original outcome.

The law on this question is complex.
You will need formal, case specific, legal advice
about your prospects here.
You'll be paying for this yourself.


On appeals more generally (for those who find this thread later):

When you hear of cases of appeal 10, 20 years later, what basis are they granted on? New evidence?
These some (but not all) of the reasons why a criminal appeal can be heard out of time:

Often, an appeal can be heard because there is new evidence available
that was not available at the time.
Such as when science moves on, and we get, say, DNA evidence
from science that simply didn't exist at the time of the trial.
(You sometimes hear stories from America about convictions
being found to be as lawyers say, "unsafe" based on "new DNA evidence").

Sometimes, an appeal can be heard out of time when it turns out that
police concealed exculpatory material at the time of trial, and that later comes to light.

Sometimes, an appeal can be granted out of time when
scientific or technical evidence upon which a person was convicted
is later shown to have been faulty from the get -go.
The best example of this in recent times is in the case of Gordon Wood.

In any appeal, the first question the court will ask is
"What new evidence do you have, that was not available back at the time,
that would make a difference to the outcome?"


In working out an answer to that question, it can be helpful to understand
that "evidence not available at the time" does not mean
"could have been presented by the defence at trial, but wasn't".
It means "didn't even exist at the time."
 

dangargoyle

Well-Known Member
17 November 2020
17
0
71
Extremely difficult to appeal this much out of time unless you have something that will exonerate you and it wasn't presented at the time.
Hey Tony Danos. In a case where you actually have evidence that can exonerate you? What is the right channel that should be followed to get a conviction overturned?
 

dangargoyle

Well-Known Member
17 November 2020
17
0
71
Extremely difficult to appeal this much out of time unless you have something that will exonerate you and it wasn't presented at the time.