Contravene a Domestic Violence Order

Case Study Overview:

Our client was charged with contravening a domestic violence order (DVO). It was the first time he had ever been charged with a criminal offence. There was a DVO in place at the time naming his ex-wife as the Aggrieved and him as the Respondent. The couple have two children together and share custody, although there are no formal agreements in place.

It was alleged our client had breached a condition of the DVO which stated that he could not approach the Aggrieved, unless it was for the purposes of changeover of the children, etc. There was miscommunication as to which parent the children would be spending the week with and both parents made arrangements to collect their children after school. Our client picked up his youngest and then went to pick up his eldest, only to see her get in the car with the Aggrieved. As the Aggrieved drove off, in the direction of his home, he followed assuming she would drop their child at his home. When she continued to drive off, he stopped and turned around. The Aggrieved made a complaint that he had contravened the DVO.

We made submissions to Police Prosecution urging them to discontinue the charge against our client in circumstances where he honestly and reasonably believed that there was a changeover of the children occurring and that was the only basis on which he approached and followed the Aggrieved.

WARNING:

This is a summary of an actual case. Details have been omitted to protect the privacy of our client. We select cases which are informative and no guarantee is provided that similar results are achievable in all cases. Every case is different and you should obtain legal advice specific to your matter and circumstances.