Criminal Defence Lawyers in Sydney

If you’ve been accused of a criminal offence, we recommend you engage an experienced criminal defence lawyer.

We understand it’s a stressful, confusing and complicated experience, especially if you don’t understand legal language and etiquette or the implications of your offence. The result of a court case can be life-changing and can compromise your freedom, as well as your ability to maintain or seek employment.

Successfully managing and arguing a legal case is incredibly difficult, and for a lot of people, it will be their first experience with the criminal justice system. By using a criminal lawyer, you will ensure you get the best possible representation, and your best interests will be maintained.

At Osborne Howell Lawyers, we believe everyone deserves comprehensive, intelligent legal representation, and we have over thirty-five years’ experience vigorously defending people in court, ensuring they don’t have to undergo this nerve-wracking process unaided by an experienced defence solicitor.

Examples of criminal offences

Although the range of criminal offences is extensive, these are some of the most common:

Illicit drug offences
These involve drug cultivation, manufacture, possession and supply, as well as drug use, drug trafficking or importation.

Sexual offences
These include sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, indecent assault, sexual offences against children, acts of indecency, obscene exposure, procuring for prostitution, upskirting, sexual harassment, intimidation and stalking.

Assault offences
This incorporates common assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, one punch crimes, intent to cause grievous bodily harm, reckless grievous bodily harm, reckless wounding, wounding with intent, assaulting police or resisting arrest, assault causing death, aggravated assault and assault in self-defence.

Affray charges
This involves the threat or use of violence that causes another person of reasonable firmness to fear for their personal safety.

Firearm and weapon offences
This incorporates the use or possession of unregistered, unlicensed or prohibited firearm or weapons, importation of firearms, dangerous use of firearms, firing at dwelling houses or buildings, aggravated possession of unregistered firearm, causing danger with firearm or spear gun and the possession of or making explosives.

Robbery offences
These include robbery or stealing from a person, armed robbery, aggravated armed robbery, armed robbery with wounding and demanding property with intent to steal.

Break, enter and steal offences
These incorporate breaking, entering and stealing, receiving stolen goods, possessing house-breaking implements, stealing from a dwelling house, and the illegal use of a motor vehicle (including stealing or joy riding).

Theft offences
This involves larceny, the receiving or handling the proceeds of crime, theft of intellectual property

Extortion offences
This includes blackmail, threatening letters, accusing or threatening to accuse of crime to extort money and kidnapping

Fraud offences
These include Centrelink fraud, obtaining benefits by deception, corporate fraud, embezzlement, forgery of documents, dishonest conversions and offences against the state.

Criminal Defence Lawyers Osborne Howell in Sydney

What’s involved with a court hearing and trial?

For inexperienced people charged with a criminal offence, hearings and trials are confusing and challenging. As such, it’s imperative to engage the services of an experienced defence solicitor to help you mitigate any potentially negative outcomes.

Your committal hearing occurs in a Local Court before a Magistrate. Here, any evidence against you will be heard, and you can deliver your own evidence. The magistrate will determine if you should be given bail or sent into custody to await trial. The magistrate also ascertains if there’s enough evidence for the criminal charge to be proven at trial.

During a trial, the Judge or Magistrate – and sometimes a jury – will decide whether the charge has been decided against you, upon which a sentence will be passed. Although you are entitled to a fair trial, the process has the potential be very lengthy and complex, depending on the severity of the offence.

Why choose Osborne Howell to represent you in a criminal case?

Osborne Howell’s team of criminal lawyers will professionally defend you to increase your chance of a fair and just outcome. If, however, you are convicted and you believe you’re not guilty or that your penalty is too harsh, we can advise you to appeal in a higher court.

If you’ve been charged with a criminal offence, representing yourself in court can be incredibly overwhelming and confronting. If you do not have a comprehensive understanding of the court system or the skills to defend yourself adequately, you run the risk of compromising your chances of a positive outcome. At Osborne Howell, we are committed to providing the strongest legal advice and defence for each of our clients, so if you’ve been accused of a criminal offence or have any questions or concerns about criminal law, please contact us today.