Crimlaw Robert Kaufmann Criminal Lawyer

TGIF…nuff said

I know this isn’t as important news as who will win the State of Origin, why Prince Louis dare act his age or even who Kim Kardashian is now dating, but just in case some out in the Meta-verse might find this interesting, here is som**hing buried deep in folds of tomorrow’s fish and chip wrapper - A POSSIBLE CURE FOR CANCER!!

Som**hing good in our lifetime just might come 🤞

‘Hope for all cancers’: Small trial makes 100% of tumours disappear It’s a small drug trial with “unheard of’” results is having a seismic impact in the world of oncology.

Som**hing to lighten the mood 😊

And another. Just from touching it - with gloves on.
You can’t be warned more than this.
And it is only drug addicts that will still probably take the risk. That’s how terrible drug addiction is. So please don’t condemn them. In my experience it’s usually som**hing terrible in a person’s life they are trying to escape that leads to drug addiction. And who among us hasn’t had som**hing terrible happen to them as story in our past.

WATCH: Officer collapses while packing up drug evidence laced with fentanyl WATCH: Officer collapses while packing up drug evidence laced with fentanyl

Here’s one video showing how dangerous Fentanyl is. Skip to half way and see how quick he drops just from the fumes.

Deputy nearly dies from fentanyl exposure Deputy nearly dies from fentanyl exposure

PUBLIC HEALTH WARNING

For those of you not completely sick of these warnings here’s one worth listening to.

So some clients I have over the years I’ve represented more than once. It wouldn’t be that surprising to read and anyone who has an interest in Rumpole of the Bailey will recall he kept himself engaged through the years with a healthy working relationship with the Timson family.

Now one such client I represented today and got out of custody today. I know that’s a spoiler and I usually end with the result as the finale but I do this because there is a BIGGER message to come so please read on.

But first the facts.

My client was released from gaol only in May this year from a sentence I was able to get for him. I had organised a job waiting for him on release through a colleague. Unfortunately before he could get some help with his drug issues he was back on the streets buying himself an assortment of illicit drugs - GBL (which is basically leather softener), m**h or ice (a brain softener) and what he thought was co***ne (a wallet lightener). Now this is the important bit!!!.

Instead of buying co***ne, his less than virtuous drug dealer provided him instead with FENTANYL. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 10 x stronger than he**in and can be converted into acetyl-fentanyl which can be 100 x stronger than he**in. It looks the same as co***ne and m**hyl-amphetamine - a white powder and is supplied in the same way - little drug baggy or in paper.
But this drug can hurt you ☠️. And it is hurting people in the community 🚑 🪦There have been numerous public health warnings issued by NSW Health in the last 2 years. I bet you haven’t read them. Nor had I until this case.

Now normally if it was coke, GBL and ice he would be caught, charged, plead out and be released at least into some intervention program on a bond to help him with his addiction. (Now all you people who want to write horrible comments please don’t. Drug addiction is terrible and it is effectively a victimless crime. This isn’t the forum to spew your bias or hatred.)

But the problem for my client is this. Two-fold really.

Firstly - 1 gram of co***ne in NSW is considered small quantity and dealt with summarily. 1 gram of fentanyl is Commercial Quantity and dealt with in the District Court with long gaol sentences - understandably. It’s also a quantity that attracts deemed supply charge.

Secondly - So my client is charged with a raft of offences and is bail refused. He applies to Legal Aid for me to be his lawyer but he is allocated another lawyer. As he tells me his first 4 months he sat in custody having spoken to that lawyer once and was told he was going away for a long time. He was never asked his instructions, he was effectively told he was guilty and prepare for gaol.

In November, after 4 longs months in gaol be managed to convince Legal Aid to transfer the case to me. I spoke to him, got his instructions and after a quick bit of research I found the Public Health warnings for fentanyl. (In another post I’ll post a video of how dangerous it is when a U.S. cop takes a whiff and collapses to the ground unconscious. But I digress.)

So I embark on remedying this wrong. A letter to the NSW Police and the DPP offering pleas to the possessions (and an explanation that he thought it was co***ne) was accepted by the Cops. They agreed to the plea offer. The officer told me they have had 12 overdoses in the last week in Bankstown alone due to fentanyl. But the approval has to come from the DPP. They decide to delay the matter another 2 weeks because they want the police to find out the street value of fentanyl (irrelevant in this case as my client was arrested without any money) and they wanted to know the weight of the powder out of the packaging. The drug laboratory scientist wouldn’t separate the drug from packaging to weigh it correctly (I wonder why?) and the combined weight was 1.6 grams (so you do the maths - still a small quantity if it was coke).

I tried to force the DPP hand by having the case listed for a bail application to get my client out of gaol ASAP. But the first available day to do this was a Thursday and the DPP don’t appear at the relevant court on Thursdays. So I ask the court to list it anyway as a person is in custody and should be released. But they won’t unless the DPP agree to appear. The DPP say they won’t appear at court unless the court agrees to list it. I slap my head in disgust and my protests of injustice are met with silence from the court staff.

So my client sits in gaol another 6 days. And finally instead of bail the DPP finally agree to the plea so instead he is listed for sentence. A few things happen between then and now which I won’t go into because I am an Officer of the Court, first and foremost. 😳

Today he is finally listed for sentence. I am appearing from another court by AVL. The DPP actually agree to appear. The court has all the documents and just as I am about to start my submissions the Magistrate says she has a bundle of documents sent to her by the DPP - “have I seen them?” No I reply. They have not been served on me. The DPP representative says “oh but it’s just his criminal record and a list of the maximum terms of imprisonment for the offences.” Hang on says the Magistrate there is also a 2 page written submission which says the Crown think he should still go to gaol. The Crown “oh yes I forgot I put that in as well 😳”. “Have you seen that Mr Kaufmann” Ah no your Honour - that hasn’t been served on me either”. And surprise surprise my email pings and there is the record and yet still no written submissions. (Don’t get me started on how professionally inappropriate this conduct was). It would be normal for some lawyers to seek an adjournment (and delay the matter some more) but I choose to push on. I’m confident I can brush their petty views aside with my knowledge of the matter and my submissions.

I explain to the court my clients history, his story and the events leading up to today. The court is agreeable with my position and it rejects the DPP desire for gaol and agrees to release my client today on bonds and fines. He is finally going home to his mom and 15 month old son after 4 months and 15 days in custody. Shame DPP shame.

Now normally the moral of the story is if you need a lawyer hire Crimlaw. Bla bla. The best. Bla Bla. Great lawyer etc. That’s how advertising works. And of course I pay to have it sent out there into the ‘metaverse’ for my own interests in drumming up work.

But for this story it’s different. I’m going to promote this with a hope it might save some lives. If you read this and it teaches you anything. It’s DONT TRUST DRUG DEALERS and be very afraid of Fentanyl.

As I said to my client “ you are lucky you got caught. Had you taken that drug thinking it was coke you would most likely be dead now. Your son would no longer have his father. Your mother her son. Or worse if you shared it with someone and they died you would be charged with Manslaughter and have the death of someone else on your conscience the rest of your life”.

So please. Tell your friends. Tell your loved ones. Tell yourself about this story.

Don’t become a victim to your addiction. The person who sells you the drugs really doesn’t care about your life at all. You are just money to them no matter how friendly they pretend to be.

PUBLIC HEALTH WARNING OVER

Thanks for reading. I know it was a long one. My thumbs are cramping 🥸

Here’s another one that will blow your mind.

So my client is a Chinese male. Doesn’t speak a lick of English. Charged with a serious indictable offence in February 2021 and refused bail. He is allocated another lawyer by Legal Aid NSW. He’s been in custody ever since. 7 adjournments and 3 missed case conferences. 3 weeks ago Legal Aid flick it to me. I get the brief from the former lawyer (which is really about 1/3 of the actual brief). On the evidence I see no case to answer. I conference the client with an interpreter. He says he doesn’t know what’s happening, didn’t commit the offence and hasn’t spoken to his family since February in China. He gives me the name of an old boss. I track the guy down using translator app in Chinese and organise him a place to live. I put on an urgent bail application. It’s opposed by the DPP and the court says it wasn’t given enough time. But I argue with both anyway and by the end of the day he is on bail and enjoying freedom for the first time in 10 months. He can finally call his family.

The only evidence the police have is a partial DNA on a sock that says he can’t be excluded when the sock was passed thru 3 sets of hands before being given to police. No other forensic evidence.

Finally had the case conference. Explained chain of custody to the Crown and offered they withdraw the matter. Of course they didn’t so we are off to trial in the distant future. But at least he is on bail.

The former lawyer should be ashamed of himself.

If you care you can get things done.

So watch this space as we finally get our day before the court probably in 2023

Oh and please read down in the comments to see what kind of racists we have living amongst us. I won’t name them but you’ll come across them soon enough.

Warning. Self promotion below !! 😳😎🥷

An impressive day of lawyering today by Crimlaw. Client was charged with 2 counts of common assault dv from June last year, then Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm dv, Contravene AVO and Common Assault dv in November 2020 (show cause - got him bail 😉). Then in October this year a further Common Assault dv, Contravene AVO and Stalk/Intimidate dv. Again Show Cause and again got him bail 🤯.
Today was the hearing. After 18 months of meticulous preparation I came to court so prepared that I was so convinced that we would win that I convinced the prosecution they had no case and the costs order I would be seeking and get would be crippling. And hour later they withdrew all charges except the 2 Contravenes. For those the client got 2 unconditional non-convictions. 💥 🎉 🤩

Needless to say the client was happy.

And for all those negative Nellies out there he had been falsely accused for all assaults and oppressively persecuted by 3 different sets of police all that time. They wanted nothing less that gaol for him.

They couldn’t even look me in the face when I pointed out to the prosecutor email by email, letter by letter how badly they had done their job.

And here’s the kicker - client originally went to one of those ubiquitous cookie cutter firms claiming they are ‘specialists’ who convinced him to plead guilty with representations to police. Luckily the police rejected them and luckier still he got me on a duty day when he needed bail the most. No mystery he jumped ship and came to Crimlaw as soon as he saw what I could do for him in court.

Today I loved being a criminal lawyer. So tell your friends. Picking the right lawyer will make a difference and it’s not all smoke and mirrors unless you want to end up as the main feature at the carnival. Real specialists are Accredited. Real specialists know how to fight

I’m on fire lately so more good stories to come. Your head will spin

An absolutely cracker day in court today. Details to come.

But first, a well deserved swim at Coogee and walk with my lovely dog.

Pre-historic Standard of Proof.