Fixed fees can be arranged for most Local Court sentence matters when they are simple.

An hourly rate may be charged for complex proceedings requiring multiple court dates.

Depending on your case and what legal work is required for your matter the fees can vary significantly.

To break it down simply you need to prove you are not a risk to the community and that you will appear at your next court date. If you are not granted police bail at the station within 6 hours you will need to appear before the Magistrate as soon as Court is sitting next.

Ideally when you appear before the Court you will be able to explain your detention is not justified because the crown case is weak and you have never committed any serious offenses.

It is smart to try to apply for bail with the Magistrate without a lawyer initially as the process is easier. If you instruct a lawyer on the day, usually legal aid, and they are not prepared. This could result in further attempts for bail to be blocked until you have fresh material to put before the Magistrate. 

What you need before applying for bail.
1) an acceptable person who agrees to enter into a surety (sum of money).
    to be acceptable this person should not have a criminal record.
    this should be in the form of an affidavit or statutory declaration.
    The amount required will vary depending on the offense and a variety of factors.
    Anywhere from $1000 for a minor matter to $100,000 for a serious matter.
    A substantial surety exceeding $5000 assists your prospects greatly.

2) Provide a bail address so that the police can call upon you to conduct bail checks.
3) Suitable bail conditions that you agree to follow.

4) Importantly a private solicitor or barrister is your best opportunity to obtain bail as they have the
    time and resources to work on your matter and present it in the best way.

Usually possessing an Indictable amount of MDMA can result in serious terms of imprisonment and usually carries charges of supply or deemed supply.

We successfully argued that the several capsules and pills of MDMA were for the client's personal use. We insisted on further testing in regard to weight and quality and this resulted in a far reduced amount of the drug on the charge sheet. Had the matter escalated to the District Court, a significant prison sentence exceeding 2 years could have been imposed. 

Our client escaped conviction altogether for what the law considers a serious amount of MDMA.

Pills generally weigh between 0.2g and 0.33g. More than 3 pills could lead to a deemed supply charge.

Remember you have the right to remain silent, you are only obliged to give your details to police and comply with their directions or arresting procedure. This does not mean you need to answer questions whatsoever. You also do not have to give an interview and probably should not under most circumstances because it will often result in hundreds of leading and loaded questions that could make you look dishonest despite your best attempts to comply.


The NSW drugs table lists MDMA as:
3,4-Methylenedioxymethylamphetamine
The weight categories are as follows 

Traffickable quantity  0.75g
Small quantity            0.25g
Indictable quantity     1,25g
Commercial quantity 125g
Largecommercial quantity 500g

Amounts approaching the commercial quantity usually result in a term of imprisonment.

Bail applications allow you to stay out of prison before your hearing date. This can be very instrumental in assisting your legal case and assisting your to remain together during a difficult period.

It is far harder to prepare for a legal case while in prison and it is far more likely that you will be sentenced to full time imprisonment if you remain in prison. However if you do believe that the case against you is extremely strong and you are advised that a long term of imprisonment is most likely then it could play in your favour not to apply for bail because it will drain resources better spent on your court matter elsewhere. Time on remand before your sentence or trial will count as time served in any ultimate sentence.  

​Bail applications are complex and generally can only be applied for one time in the Local Court. Therefore it is important to disclose everything that could be of assistance to your application. We are able to help you with these disclosures to put your best foot forward at your upcoming court date. 

If you need your license and driving is a very big part of your life it is important that you know how to make applications to fight tickets, defend criminal traffic offenses and to appeal license suspensions.

For L and P platers the points allocated to you are 4 and 7 points respectively. This often means one offense will result in a suspension because of the zero tolerance laws for speeding P platers. 

DON'T LISTEN TO THE WORDING ON YOUR LETTERS
Comments on SDRO correspondence such as this regrettably exist:

"only 3% of of fences result in a not guilty verdict."

Less than 5% of traffic matters are ever listed for hearing. This means that many innocent people simply do not bother putting forward a defense that could result in a not guilty verdict.

When appropriate or when instructed to do so my client will plead not guilty and this can often provide fantastic results. Generally speaking your traffic matter will proceed with a plea of guilty and with good material put forward on your behalf you will likely obtain the result you need.