To buy alcohol, or supply alcohol to a minor, is an offence.

If you are a minor (under 18) and caught buying alcohol, you will be fined (at least $220) or forced to face a court (where you could be fined $2,200).

The bottle-shop, and the person, at the shop, selling you the alcohol may also be fined. That is why it’s not in their best interest to sell you alcohol.

Using fake ID is also an offence.

Drinking alcohol at a private house can be lawful, if your parents have permitted it, and you are supervised by a ‘responsible’ adult.  But the person who gave you the alcohol to drink may still have committed an offence.  Even at a private house party, if a minor is very drunk, or very young, or given too much alcohol, then their parent, or the supervising adult, can be taken to court.

It’s illegal to drink in a public place (eg beach, park) – whether you’re a minor or not.

Drug possession

The NSW Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act keeps the local police busy during schoolies!  Just one or two pills, a joint, or as little as the remnants of a gram in the bottom of a baggie, can see you charged with a drug possession offence.  Fines, and a permanent drug conviction on your record, are highly likely if you end up in the Byron Bay or Tweed Local Court.  (Gaol is possible too, especially if you’ve been caught a few times).

Disorderly conduct offences:

Being a public nuisance, making excessive noise, offensive language, abusive or insulting behaviour, being abusive to others, smashing bottles…there is a raft of non-violent offences that usually stem from excessive alcohol consumption.  Some are considered minor and result in an on-the-spot fine, while others (particularly if the minor offence is one of several offences with which the person is charged), will see you sober-up, and come before the Tweed or Byron local court explaining the situation and hoping for a minor sentence.

Assaults

People get drunk and get into fights – it happens every year. Schoolies, toolies, regular punters and venue security… clash in the most ugly of circumstances. If charged and convicted, an assault will stay on your record as a criminal offence.  Assaults come in 3 types: (i) common assault (pushing, shoving, minor assaults); (ii) assault occasioning actual bodily harm (bites, punches, scratches, kicking, shoving and injuring) –these are more serious than common assault; and (iii) assault occasioning grievous bodily harm (broken bones, more serious injuries involving loss of blood, head injuries)….the more serious the assault, the more likely gaol will be a consequence – especially if alcohol or drugs are involved, and/or it’s not your first offence.

Don’t forget, there may be a defence to an assault, such as self-defence.  It’s beyond the scope of this blog, but it’s often a viable defence.

This is NOT legal advice.  This is designed to take some of the mystery out of the law for ‘google-lawyers’.  I repeat – it is not legal advice.  But we hope it helps.

If you want us to represent you, the Local Court Lawyers are experts in all local court matters. We work on the north coast: Coffs, Grafton, Lismore, Kyogle, MacLean, Ballina, Byron Bay, Mullumbimby, Murwillumbah or Tweed local courts.

This is NOT legal advice.  I repeat – it is not legal advice.  But we hope it helps you have a great schoolies.

We’ve got a 24/7 hotline during Schoolies: 0413 310 008

If you need a Lawyer and want us to represent you, the Local Court Lawyers are experts in all local court matters. We come to you, anywhere in NSW, but our head office is on the north coast: Coffs Harbour, Grafton, MacLean, Ballina, Byron Bay, Mullumbimby, Murwillumbah or Tweed local courts.

See What We Do as Local Court Lawyers

The post Top 4 most common charges at Schoolies in Byron Bay appeared first on Local Court Lawyers.

SCHOOLIES legal hotline: 0413 310 008

If you’re charged with an offence at Schoolies, you’ll likely be appearing in the Tweed Heads or Byron Bay Local Court. If you’re not from here, you’ll need to plan to return to Tweed or Byron for your court date.

24/7 Schoolies Tweed/Byron legal hotline: 0413 310 008

After a few drinks, schoolies have a reputation for challenging police when approached.  There’s an “attitude test” (my police friend’s colloquially call it).  You pass it by being pleasant and cooperative.  You fail it by being rude, aggressive or argumentative.  You don’t necessarily have to do everything the police ask you to do — like accompanying police to the station, unless you’ve been charged; or giving them heaps of information you’re not obligated to tell them — but generally, if you are asked, you should give Police your name and address and date of birth; and if you’re given a “move along” direction, comply with it (–these are Orders given by police, telling you to leave an area for 6 hours. Go somewhere else, because if you refuse to comply, or you return to the area within the 6 hours, you can be charged).

If you’re behaving suspiciously, or a police dog takes a liking to you (!), you may be searched by Police.  They are looking for anything unlawful in your possession. If you smell or look drug-affected, or if you look like you’re trying to hide something, these circumstances can create the ‘reasonable suspicion’.  Remember, passing the ‘attitude test’ might help reduce the risk police think you are acting suspiciously.

If you are charged, you’ll generally be issued with a Field CAN – a court attendance notice.  That’s your queue to call us, and book a return bus/flight.  There’s not much you can do about it at this stage, so go and have fun and call us later.

If you are arrested and taken to the police station, please CALL US:

Schoolies 2017: 24/7 Tweed or Byron Bay legal help: 0413 310 008

We recommend you don’t agree to any police interviews until you speak to a lawyer.  (It’s very rare that you should agree to a police interview, so call and talk before you make the decision. Please.)

The post Schoolies Legal Hotline appeared first on Local Court Lawyers.

1: “Don’t fail the attitude test” (as my police friend described it). If the police approach you, just be pleasant.  They added: “the rude one’s, the one’s who are drunk and obnoxious and carry-on, and think they know their rights, and they get aggressive about it”.   If you don’t want police attention, then obey their (reasonable) directions, be polite and co-operative, and don’t give them reason to pay you any more attention than they already are.  (If asked for your name and address you should generally provide it.)

2: If you’re given a move-along direction, this is an order by police to move away from the area/scene for at least 6 hours, and failure to move-on will likely result in an arrest, and charge. Police have the authority to disperse people with a direction to move on, so comply, or expect to spend some ‘quality time’ inside a police van.

3: Move on… to carry on.

A move-along direction doesn’t mean the end of your night.  Being told to move on doesn’t mean you can’t keep partying.  It just means that after you have co-operatively agreed to leave, and complied with the police direction, you and your party friends should go somewhere else, where you’re not disturbing other people.

4: If you come to the attention of police because you are making too much noise, and you don’t turn it down, then it’s likely they’ll be back. And back. And back. And back.  And the more times they have to come back, the more likely they’ll get curious about what’s happening inside – where the party and noise is coming from.  It’s possible they’ll be back with a search warrant…

5: As far as your safety is concerned, we’re told that many one-punch attacks happen to innocent by-standers. Wrong time/wrong place.  In a crowd, someone gets aggro, a fight starts, and next thing there’s a brawl.  Do your best to avoid being in the middle of a crowd of people – both for your safety and so you don’t find yourself charged with an assault (which came about because you were defending yourself!).

6: Ladies – drink spiking. Watch your drink.  Watch others’ drinks.  Watch your backs.  That’s all we have to say, because you already know how badly this story can end.

This is NOT legal advice.  I repeat – it is not legal advice.  But we hope it helps you have a great schoolies.

We’ve got a 24/7 hotline during Schoolies: 0413 310 008

If you need a Lawyer and want us to represent you, the Local Court Lawyers are experts in all local court matters. We come to you, anywhere in NSW, but our head office is on the north coast: Coffs Harbour, Grafton, MacLean, Ballina, Byron Bay, Mullumbimby, Murwillumbah or Tweed local courts.

See What We Do as Local Court Lawyers

The post SCHOOLIES – How to stay out of trouble appeared first on Local Court Lawyers.