Intervention One-Sided.

This Letter appeared in a Melbourne Newspaper on the 6th December 2011.

When Lawyer Don McKay says " He Is seeing More And More abuse of Intervention Order Applications' (Woman Banned from her Yard, Dec 5) He Is right on The Money.

The Ease with Which Intervention orders are obtained is an affront to due legal Process. IVOs are doled out Like Ice Cream at a Children's Picnic. They are based on The Tarot Card or Crystal Ball School of "law" where the Likelihood of Something happening is regarded as Odds on.

Since The Do-gooders Moved in and Bandied about such Terms as " Family Violence" The IVO Process has become Biased and acquiescent.

An accused Person is Literally Given no Rights in This Process and if the Police are involved that's the Ball Game. This One Sided process should Be Overhauled Immediately.

                      John Corry, Box Hill North.


I Think it is significant that this letter comes from Box Hill North.

An Intervention Order case In Victoria that Will last Longer than an Attempted Murder Charge.

On The 29th Nov 2011 a Magistrate handed down a Judgement that will see an Intervention Order Last for 14 Years due to a Technicality in The Law regarding Changed Circumstances, This means this order will remain in place longer than a conviction handed down by Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Curran in an attempted Murder Charge, where the wife of a man planned the stabbing of her husband to coincide with her Husband's Birthday Party,  The Wife will serve 9 Years before being Eligible for Parole with a Maximum of 12 Years, 2 years less than the intervention order.

So You may ask what Circumstances could a Victorian Magistrate's Court issue an Order For that Period of Time, Extreme Violence??? Threats to Kill, Property Damage???. No, The Case deals with a Territorial Dispute and the Misuse Of Intervention Orders, which were used not as Personal Protection Orders but were Simply used as RoadBlocks to Stop The Defendant using a Leisure Centre he had been a Member of for nearly 12 Years. Here is a description of How Intervention Orders can Be used as Roadblocks, This Not Only Brings up Issues of Misuse of Intervention Orders, but it has serious Civil Liberties issues associated as well.

The Defendant had Become a Member at a Gym And Leisure Centre in 1990, the Picture at Left is taken from the Gym's Carpark, the street end's at a T Intersection and the defendant's ex mother - in -law lives around the corner to the right. The Defendant had gone to this leisure centre for many years before he met his future -in -laws, and his marriage lasted from 1997- 1999 and then Divorce in 2000.



In Dec 2001, The Defendant's ex-in-laws went to the Local Magistrates Court in Melbourne and Intervention Orders were issued against the defendant. These orders didn't stop The Defendant from still using the Leisurecentre, nor did they state that the defendant could, but included in the order was an exclusion Zone of 200 metres, which is a regularly used dstance on all court orders. The Defendant couldn't attend The Court on the Day because of Work Committments and the orders were granted By Magistrate White Until Further Order.. This Is When The Battles really Began.and the Craziness started.

The Defendant would attend his aerobics classes and after he Got Home, there would be a Knock on The Door By The Police. Have you been to the Leisuirecentre Today he was Asked, Yes I have was His Reply, I have Been a Member There for over a Decade now and go to The Gym 3 or 4 Times a week,So What???. We Have had a complaint from your ex-Mother-in-law that you Breeched the Intervention Order By Being Within 200 Metres Of Her Home.

Despite The Fact that None Of The Defendant's ex-in-laws were in the Leisurecentre at The Time, They showed a map to the  Police and claimed that one end of the Pool ( Pictured Left ) was within 200 Metres Of The Defendant's Ex Mother -in-laws Back Fence, which meant the Defendant was Breeching the Intervention Order.

To say The Defendant thought this was ridiculous, is an Understatement.



The Ex Mother-in-law Could have gone to The Magistrate's Court and sort a Variation to the Order That Barred The Defendant from the Leisure Centre, something they did not seek when the Intervention Order was originally issued by Magistrate White in December 2001. They opted to call The Police anytime they saw the Defendant's Car in The Carpark of The Gym.

The Defendant became rather Sick of The Police coming to his Door during the early Months of 2002 after he had been to the Gym for an Aerobics Class, the Defendants  Ex-In-laws Were Trying to Make The Defendant's Normal Activities into a Criminal Offence  Despite The Fact he had been going to This Gym since 1990.

 What The Defendant Did then was Park His car In Conway Court rather than The Gym's Carpark and Then walk Up The Street To The Gym, this stopped the Police coming to The Defendant's Door, but The Problem was he had to walk Past His Ex Mother-in-law's Best Friends House to Get To The Gym.

This then became the Basis For another Ridiculous application for an Intervention Order when The Woman Claimed "The Defendant" was parking not Far From The Woman's House and was Stalking Her which was Totally Ridiculous, as He was only walking up the Street To attend Classes at The Leisure Centre.

The Matter went before the Magistrate's Court and The applicant agreed with The Defendant's Barrister and Agreed to an Intervention Order of Just 3 Metres.






.

Welcome To The intervention Order Merry Go Round.

In Victorian Magistrate's Courts It doesn't take Very Much for You as a Defendant to end Up on The Intervention Order Merry Go Round, it's Not Much Fun and it can Cost you a lot of Time Off Work To attend the Court and Money, In Terms of Legal Fees.Unfortunately The Registrar's and Magistrate's in the Court's do nothing to stop this misuse of the Court's Time, These Jerry Springer Types Cases are simply Churned out with the rest of the Intervention Order Cases.

These Types Of Intervention Orders are Usually applied for By Intervention Order Serial Pests, who seem to love applying for Intervention Orders to easily annoy the defendant, who may be an Ex Husband, Friend or Workmate. I have seen a number of these cases over a period of time and are usually based on Exaggerated or Misleading allegations, Or Just Pure BS.

A Senior Victorian Magistrate was sitting at The Bench In Courtroom 7 of a Victorian Magistrate's Court, hearing a Contested Intervention Order Case. The applicant was Female and The Defendant was Male, who are Co workers in The same type of Job, because they weren't Related they were allowed to Cross Examine each other Because The Case came under The Personal Safety Intervention Order Act 2010.

 After The Evidence was presented to The Court the Magistrate ruled in Favour of The Defendant and The Intervention Order application was Rejected, Even Though the Defendant had spent a Lot of Money prior to this in Legal Fees, nearly $3,000.The Magistrate failed to award Costs against The Applicant.

 In an Amazing Twist to this Case, Only 4 Days after having her Intervention Order application Rejected, The Women made an application to the Court Again and once again The Defendant and the Applicant appeared before the Same Magistrate in Courtroom 7, this time they had made applications against each other. The Male told the Magistrate that he was sick of these False allegations being made against him in These Intervention Order Allegations.

  Well The Magistrate said, if you believe there has been Perjury committed by the other Party then you will need to report this to the Police to Investigate your Complaints, to say I was Stunned By The Magistrate's Comment was an Understatement. Even Though the Magistrate had previously rejected the Women's Previous Application only a few weeks Earlier, the Magistrate Adjourned the case to a contested hearing, nearly 6 Months Later. 

The Magistrate was not Very Happy That His Buttons were being Pushed.

The Magistrate was sitting at the Bench in Courtroom 8 and you could tell by his Demeanour that he was not very Happy.

The Defendant had been advised by his Legal Advisor to adjourn the Intervention Order application against him to a contested Hearing.



Where is your legal advisor, why is he not at Court Today asked The Magistrate????. I have been advised to adjourn the Matter to a contested Hearing Your Honor replied The Defendant.
My Buttons are being Pushed replied the Magistrate in a Harsh Tone. I expected him to be here today to finalise this Matter, by not appearing today, he is not only doing a Disservice to you as his Client, but also Doing a Disservice to this Court as well.

It was obvious the Magistrate at a Magistrate's Court in Melbourne didn't want the Matter to go to a Contested Hearing because the case would have to be adjourned to a half day contest, over 4 Months away.

What The Magistrate really wanted was for the Defendant to push the Easy Button by consenting to the Intervention Order without admission to the Allegations. This Would save the Court's Time.


 As another Magistrate also said at this same Victorian Magistrate's Court, Do we need to get Bogged Down In a Contested Hearing, this statement by The Magistrate meant he didn't want to spend time Listening to Evidence in a Contested Hearing.

Intervention Orders are a civil Matter, where in the majority of cases there has been no investigation by the Police into The Allegations Made. The Only Thing that "Complainants" need to do is go to a Magistrate's Court and see the Court Registrar and Fill in a Form with Their List of Allegations. The Registrar is supposed to look at the Allegations and Ascertain whether there are Grounds For Issuing an Interim Intervention Order.

I Have heard Court Registrar's say that they are not interested in what the allegations are, and that it is up to the Magistrate to make a decision on The Merits of the Applicant's Allegations as to whether a final Intervention Order is Granted. The Problem is Magistrate's simply want Defendants to Immediately Consent to The Order Without Admission to The allegations and without Hearing Any Evidence at all, Then you have a Final Intervention Order issued by a court without any real Judgement or investigation as to whether the Order is really Necessary Under The Circumstances.

This Is Simply Sausage Machine Justice and there is virtually no Possibility of an applicant making False Allegations being Charged With Perjury. There is no Charge To Make an application for an Intervention Order and you are Virtually Guaranteed an Intervention Order given The attitude of Court Staff. One Senior Magistrate said to an applicant, you have listed a Series Of Facts in Your Statement of Complaint, so The Magistrate had automatically accepted the allegations as fact without any evidence being tested in the Court.

In another Intervention Order Case Heard in Courtroom 8, The applicant was the Estranged Wife Of The Defendant who had decided to Contest The Final Order.

 The Application was heard just Before Christmas and the Wife's Female Barrister said to The Defendant, Well You're going to have a very lonely Christmas. Which Meant if The Defendant didn't agree to The order without admission he wouldn't see his Kids During Christmas.



To Contest The order it would Cost the Defendant $1500 in Legal Fees. The Magistrate said to the Defendant, Surely there are Other ways you could Spend The $1500. You Don't Need to Be within 200 Metres of Your Estranged Wife's Home and you Won't Breech The Order asked The Magistrate. No was the Reply From The Defendant but I still want to Contest The Final Order.

The Magistrate had tried to talk the Defendant out of Going to a contested hearing and reluctantly turned to His Clerk and sighed, When is The Next Available Hearing Date.You have to ask yourself, If The Magistrate was Convinced that The Defendant was not going to go within 200 Metres Of His Estranged Wife's Home and was not going to Breech the Order, Why didn't The Magistrate just Strike out The Application???.

I have heard Barrister's say To Their Clients, this may be a ridiculous application for an Intervention Order but just Consent to The Order and save Yourself time and Money, because it will be around 4 Months Until The Contested Hearing could be heard, the Interim Order will Remain Until Then and the Courts Usually grant an Order for 12 Months, so take the easier and Cheaper Option and Consent to the Order without admission.

So you really have only 2 Options as a defendant, Either Consent to The Intervention Order Without Admission or spend a lot of Money to Contest The Order. As One Defense Barrister Described them, Intervention Order's are at The Arse End of The Legal System in Victorian Magistrate's Courts.

Cat Feeding Intervention Orders.

Just How Ridiculous Intervention Orders can Be Is Highlighted By The Cat Feeding Container Intervention Order that lasted from 2002 Until 2009, a Total of 7 Years.

In 2002 The So called Affected Family Member issued an Intervention Order claiming that her Cat feeding Containers as Pictured Left were Disappearing.

The Defendant in This case was the Former Son-In-Law of Her Best Friend.

The Woman Told The Magistrate that where she fed the stray and Feral Cats was her place of work, She said The Council Paid her to Feed the cats that lived behind shops at a strip Shopping Centre. The Woman asked The Magistrate that she be awarded costs from the Defendant to cover the costs of the missing Containers.

The Defendant had over a period of 11 years used the road at Left to attend a Gym and Leisureworks at The End Of The Street that the Woman Lived In.

At One Point The Defendant Parked his Car in Conway Court and walked up the Street To The Gym past the Woman's House.

In The Woman's Statement of Complaint she Claimed that The Defendant was Parking not far from Her House And was Stalking Her. Which was absolutely Complete Nonsense.

The Woman told the Magistrate that there had never been any incidents at Her Home, Her Only Concern was the Disappearance of her Cat feeding Containers which she fed on a Nightly Basis.

In 2002 The Woman agreed to an Intervention Order of 3 Metres to last for a period of 12 Months as agreed to with The Defendants Barrister.

You Have to ask yourself how ridiculous the Intervention Order Needs to Be Before the application is Rejected by The Magistrate. What makes it worse is the Registrar allowed the Woman to issue a Variation For 25 Metres just a few weeks later. When The Defendant went to Court The applicant didn't appear at Court and the Variation was Struck Out.

The Catwoman had also Given a false Statement to the Court, Because The Defendant Contacted the Local Council and asked them Whether They paid The Woman To Feed The Cats, they said they had never paid anybody to feed the cats, Nor would they in The Future.

Over The Next 12 Months there were no complaints made to Police for any Breeches of the Order By The Catwoman and She did Not apply to the Magistrate's Court for an Extension of The order , But 2 Months later when The Defendant applied to Vary his Ex-Mother-in-laws Intervention Order, The Catwoman went to The Court and applied for another Intervention Order.



The Defendant considered the Catwoman's New Order, Pure Retaliation for applying to Vary His Ex Mother-in-law's Intervention Order, who was her Best Friend. The Catwoman was trying to be a Pest With Her False allegations by creating a Legal Roadblock to the Defendant's access to the Gym and Leisure Centre at the End Of Her Street.

  In 2003 the matter came before Magistrate Denise O'Reilly over the Disappearance of The Cat Feeding Containers at Left.

Despite the Fact The Original Magistrate said that he Couldn't issue an Intervention Order to Cover the Cat Feeding Containers that were in a Public place.





Magistrate Denise O'Reilly Issued an Order that Covered The Whole Shopping Centre For a Period of 5 Years!!!!. The Defendant and His Barrister Could't Believe it???. She also Ordered that any Future Variation's of the Orders had to Be Heard By Her.

What Magistrate Denise O'Reilly Decision did was make it a Criminal offense for The Defendant to shop at Any of the Stores Pictured Below for a Period of 5 Years!!!. Despite there being no allegations of Violence, Threats Or Property Damage Whatsoever. Simply Unbelievable when you Consider that some of these shops are at least 100 Metres from The Catwoman's Cat feeding Containers!!!!.

  

  You would Wonder what The Magistrate's Decision would be if people placed Cat Feeding Containers out the front of a Magistrate's Court as  Pictured Left???. According to The Local Council there is no By Law that makes it a criminal offence to feed Stray and Feral Cats in Public Places???. Would the Magistrate issue an Intervention order against anybody who removed the Containers from this site outside the Court??. I Don't think any Magistrate would do this, let alone issue one for a period of 5 Years.  A leading Magistrate has said he doesn't issue Intervention orders for any longer than 3 Years!!!.

This Took The Order out from 2003 Until 2008, Over This Period the Defendant had no Contact at all with the Catwoman, but in 2008 the Catwoman applied to the Court to have the order extended for another 12 Months stating that she had been receiving hang up Phone calls.

In Court The Catwoman produced no Evidence to support her Allegations, when asked if she had the Phone calls traced she Replied, well I Don't know whether it was the Defendant or The Indians, Who are telemarketers. She was then asked why she hadn't reported the Phone calls as a Breech of an Intervention Order to Police, Once again she gave The Same Reply.

When The Catwoman was asked to supply a list of The Times and Dates of The Calls, she went to her bag and then said she had left the List at Home.

The Magistrate then asked the Defendant to consent to an Undertaking, to which the Defendant replied that there was no evidence to support the Signing of an Undertaking. The magistrate then granted the Extension of the Order For another Year, which stated the Defendant Could Not Stalk the Catwoman.

The Defendant had not driven down The Catwoman's Street Since 2003!!, This was Five Years later and the Extension was still granted, Totally Ridiculous and Unneccessary, But That's Exactly what happens in many cases that are heard before Victorian Courts. There was no Criminal Intent in this case The Defendant Merely wanted to use The Gym Facilities at The End Of The Street and there was no way to do that except drive Down The Street.

What is very strange about this Intervention order is On The Other side of The Street The woman also fed Stray and Feral Cats Under a Community Hall as well, The Catwoman must have fed them well on a daily basis, because the owners of the Hall ( Pictured Left ) Went to the expense of Installing Thick Chicken wire around the Base Of The Hall to stop the cats getting to the food that the catwoman Fed Them, She also left Milk and water Under The Hall for the Cats Too!!.

Also The Catwoman never attended the facilities at the end of her street that the Defendant had been going to either.What makes it even more Ridiculous is the fact the Court deemed The Woman to be a protected Witness??? Over Cat Feeding Containers????. Totally Ridiculous.

Wasting Court Time On Ridiculous Intervention Orders.

The Newspapers in Melbourne have Run Reports on How Intervention Order applications are Clogging Magistrate's Courts In Melbourne And Victoria, Here is an example.

The applicant was sitting in The Witness Box In Courtroom 8 and had applied to extend the Intervention Order For another 12 Months.

Have There Been any Breeches of Your Intervention Order asked The Magistrate??.



Yes There Have Been Your Honour replied the applicant, On Many Occassions But he has not been charged by The Police.

Can You tell the Court an Example of How the Order is Breeched asked The Magistrate.

Well, He Comes Over to Our House, Sometimes He Knocks, Other Times he walks straight in, he then goes to our fridge and Drinks Our Beer and then we can't get rid of Him, He Comes Over To Our Place because he hasn't got any Friends. He Uses Our Telephone and he stays until 2 O'clock in The Morning, we Ring The Police but they don't Charge Him With Breeching an Intervention Order, They Just Take Him Home.

Incredibly, The magistrate adjourned the case until the Defendant could be found and served with the Court Documentation on the application for the time extension of the Order.

Police Inaction & Rhetoric

On December 8 2009, I went to a local 7/11 store at about 5.15PM to fill my car with Petrol. Out of the 7/11 store came a man and a woman and a young Child. The Man started waving his arms around and yelling at the woman and the Young Child, as I approached the store the man grabbed the woman by the Blouse in a very aggressive way and the woman began to cry, all this happened with the young child by their side. I Entered the Store and told the Attendant he should call the Police as this situation was becoming very serious, the Police were called and given the Registration Number of the Vehicle the People were driving. A woman who entered the Store said she knew the people involved and could give us the Address of Where the People Lived.

  I then Left The Store to attend a gym class after which I went to the Local Police Station to tell them I had witnessed the family Violence incident outside the 7/11 Store, I gave the Police my name and Phone Number to contact me so I Could give them information on the Assault.

 Later that day I got a call from a Policewoman saying that a van from a neighboring Police Station had attended the Store. I Then Rang that Police Station and told them I had witnessed The Incident and gave them my name and Phone Number.  The next day I went to the police station where the police car was dispatched from and spoke to a police woman at the Counter. She seemed very disinterested; I said to her that in these cases Police have the Power to apply for an Intervention order on behalf of the woman who was being threatened. The Police woman said she was unaware of this Police Power and said it was up to the Woman to apply for an Intervention Order from the Court.

The Police woman then said there were strict Guidelines that the Police had to follow to gain an Intervention Order; an Order wouldn't apply if the couple wasn't actually in a relationship, the Police Woman's attitude was one of  Complete Disinterest. Later that day I rang the Police Station again and this time spoke to a Police Officer who had actually attended the incident at the 7/11 store. I gave Him My name and Phone Number and told him I had witnessed the family Violence Incident out the Front of the 7/11 store. He thanked me and I have heard nothing from the Police since that Time.

   On The Morning of June The 1st 2010 I was again at The Gym and other members were saying that they had heard of a Fire at a Local Service Station. On The Way Home I called Into The Local Supermarket and saw what had happened at The Service Station Next to The Supermarket (Pictured Left).


A woman had been stabbed and set alight, It was not The Police who tried to come to the Woman's Aid but a number of Very Brave Members Of The Public. Tragically the Woman Died later that Night and Her Male Partner was Charged By Police With Her Murder.

 On The Television and in Local Newspapers a Senior Policeman said that they were taking a Zero Tolerance To Family Violence and The Force needed to take a Tough approach To Offenders.

Ironically The Police officer was from The Same Police Station that I approached the Police Woman at The Front Desk at, Over The Dec 9 2009 Family Violence Incident at the 7/11 Store. Somehow I Don't Think The Rhetoric Really Matched The Reality.

Your Honour, This is My Home not Hers.

Intervention Orders can affect where you live in many ways and can also produce some very strange and inconsistent Court Decisions.

 The female Owner of The property who also Lived at The House was having Disagreements with the Female Boarder who lived With Her. The Owner went on Holidays to stay with Friends and Told The Boarder the address of where she was staying while on her Holidays.

The Boarder then went to a Magistrate's Court in Melbourne and had an Interim Intervention Order Issued against the owner and it was served on The Owner at the Holiday address of Her Friends.

The Owner appeared at Courtroom 8 and Told The Magistrate that she wanted to return to Her Home.

 It was then explained by the Magistrate that the Boarder had a legal Right to be in Her Home Because She was paying Rent To Her and the Owner would have to stay 200 metres away from The House until the Contested Hearing could be heard by The Court, which was some weeks away.


The Owner Protested telling the Magistrate that Her Holidays were over and she needed to return home and go back to Work. She was advised that she would have to find alternative accommodation until the Contested Hearing could be heard by The Court. To say the owner was Unimpressed with the Magistrate's Decision was an Understatement.

Compare that decision with an Application made to The same Court by a Male Applicant.

The Guy had been Living in Rented accommodation With His girlfriend who had decided to Move Out and Live with Another male who was Involved with Drugs. Unfortunately The Ex Girlfriend would turn up to The Ex Boyfriends Place in The Early Hours Of The Morning High On Drugs and very abusive.

The Ex Boyfriend Applied for an Intervention Order to Stop His Ex Girlfriend From Waking him up and disrupting his Routine at the House.

The Female Magistrate in Courtroom 8 Explained to the Applicant that his ex Girlfriend had a right to enter the House Because her name was on The Rental Agreement and therefore had a legal Right to enter The Property and Because there weren't any Children Involved, there were no Grounds for her to issue a Final Intervention Order against His Ex Girlfriend.



The applicant then said, what am I supposed to do about this Situation. The Magistrate replied, this is a Rental Property, The Best Solution Is for you to Move. I Don't want to Move replied the Applicant. Well that's the Best Solution replied the Magistrate and Then rejected The application For The Intervention Order.


 There are also other Various ways for people to apply for Intervention Orders.

A father was having disagreements With His 25 Year Old Daughter who was still living at Home With Her Parents. The Father suggested that it was probably about Time for The Daughter to Move out Into a place Of Her Own. Much to the Father's Frustration his Daughter issued an Interim Intervention Order against him.

He appeared Before the Magistrate and Told His Honour that this was a Frivoulous Order By His Daughter and all he wanted was for his daughter to Move Out and Stop Disrupting his Home.

The Magistrate said that the Court did Not issue Frivolous Intervention orders and The matter would be adjourned to a Contested Hearing.

 Why didn't the Magistrate simply suggest to the Daughter that she Find Alternative accommodation and Move Out Into a Home of her Own??.

Victorian Courts are issuing Orders Against The Elderly.

Everybody thinks that Courts only issue Intervention Orders against Violent and Threatening People, In Victoria this is not True, It doesn't matter what age you are or what the Situation is, You can Have an Intervention order issued against you, Here are Some examples.

The elderly Woman's Daughter had issued an Intervention order against Her Mother. I was in Courtroom 8 as the woman shuffled into the Court On Her Walker. The Woman was seeking a variation to Her Daughter's Intervention order because her daughter worked in a store that had branches at 2 Large Shopping Complexes in Melbourne's East and a smaller Store.

Your Honour the Woman said, I am Having trouble shopping and need the Court To Clarify which Shopping Centres I can Use so I Don't Breech My daughters  Intervention Order. I have to be able to Shop Somewhere the Woman Pleaded.

The Magistrate agreed that the Matter needed to be clarified and Granted the woman Leave Of The Court To apply to Vary the Intervention Order. The case would need to come back before the Court at a Later Date. These Types of Orders are Not unusual in Victorian Magistrate's Courts.

    In another case an Elderly Woman in a Retirement Village issued an Interim Intervention Order against another Elderly Woman From The Retirement Village. The elderly applicant Told the Magistrate she wanted the Defendant stopped From going past her unit 4 Times a day to Only Twice a day. The Defendant responded by saying that she was only going past to Visit other People in the Village.

The Magistrate asked The Elderly applicant's carer about the Layout of The Retirement Village and was told that there were Concrete Paths 20 Metres either Side of The Woman's Unit.

The Magistrate then issued an Intervention Order for 12 months that the Defendant was not Permitted to go within 20 Metres of The Applicant's Unit and would have to use The paths either side of the Unit.

I am Not kidding, These are Real Intervention Orders issued in Victorian Magistrate's Court's. I was Outside Courtroom 8 where a Woman Told me that she was 63 Year's old and had never been in a Court in Her Life But Her Son Had Gone to the Registrar's Counter and had an Interim Order Issued against her, she was there to Contest the Order. I have seen another Woman Crying in Court pleading with The Magistrate to let her at Least be able to Ring Her Son.

These Women were not Violent And aggressive or Dangerous Women on Drugs, just average people you would see on the train or the street everyday.

Nunzio's Backyard and Intervention Orders.

It had been a Typical Day in Courtroom 8, The Usual Consent with Admission Cases were steam Rolled through the Court, but Things were about to change. There was a Neighborhood Dispute which Rapidly turned into an Episode of Burke's Backyard and Fawlty Towers.

The Applicant couldn't Speak English and Needed an Interpreter, a dispute had occurred over the Pruning of The Next door Neighbour's Trees.



Photo's were passed between The Magistrate and The Defendant with His Honour describing how he thought the trees Needed to Be Pruned.

The applicant took the Witness Stand in Courtroom 8 and despite The applicant's lack of English, he told the Magistrate that the Defendant had told him to Get Fucked. At one Point the Magistrate made it very clear that he didn't want the Interpreter and The applicant discussing anything without tranlating it into English for the Magistrate. It reminded me of an Episode of Fawlty Towers, with the assembled people being very amused with the Court Proceedings.

After The Lunch Break the Case Continued with More Photo's of The Trees being passed Between The bench and The Bar Table, The Defendant asked the Magistrate whether he would be happy for him to get an Aboreist  in to Check the Trees.

The Magistrate frustratingly replied, I don't care how you do it, But I Take Breeches Of Undertakings Seriously, if you Don't Get The Trees Pruned in the Next 3 Weeks, then The Intervention Orders will be Reinstated and The Police could Then Become Involved. The case had taken an Hour of the Court's Time!!!.

Sausage Machine Justice & Serial Pests.

Hey, Where the hell are you??? he frustratingly gasped into his Mobile in The Foyer of The Magistrate's Court, What!!!!, Your Cars Got Battery Trouble again??, That's what you said the Last Time I came to Court only a few Weeks ago.

The Defendant had come to Court again and His Ex Girlfriend had once again failed to appear.


 They'll have to stop her doing this, because I've Lost a day's Work again. The Defendant was a Victim of The Intervention Order Pest. A Person who Rocks up to have an Intervention Order served on Someone Else and Then Doesn't come to Court Themselves.

For Some Defendants this can be a very Expensive Exercise If The Courts don't Stop Issuing Orders to The Repeat Applicant. At The Heidelberg Magistrate's Court Before Magistrate Denise O'Reilly a defendant appeared a second Time at The Court on an Intervention Order Matter, Only to Find The Applicant failed to appear. The Defendant was out of Pocket $3000 in Legal Fees. They are the Legal Equivalent of a Practical Joke, But the Magistrate's Courts allow it to Continue.

How many times in a Court will you Hear, Calling The Matter of????, No appearance by Either Party Your Honour, and The Matter is then Struck Out by the Magistrate. Valuable Police Time has been wasted Serving Orders that are simply Struck Out. One Police Officer I Spoke to said he had Served around 370 orders in a year but only about 30 were for Genuine Family Violence.

The Reason for this lies with The Magistrate's Courts Lack of Counterintelligence, Orders are issued like Confetti at a Wedding without regard for Appropriate Screening of The Applications

   The Whole Process has Become Sausage Machine Justice where anybody that Wants an Intervention Order Gets One. When The Matter then comes Before a Magistrate, The Goal is to get the Defendant to Consent to the Order without Admission. The Defendant who wants to save Time and Money then Simply Agrees to Consent Without Admission. The Magistrate is Pleased because he doesn't get Bogged Down in a Contested Hearing. The Whole Process is Like Buying a Hamburger, it's Quick, It's easy and Doesn't Cost very Much.


The Magistrate's Court has just churned out another Pointless Intervention Order that will last for 12 months. What Everybody fails to realise is that no matter what Conditions a Magistrate Places on an Intervention order, if SOMEBODY is determined to HARM YOU, an Intervention Order will Not Stop Them.

As Nicholas Cowdrey The Former NSW DPP said, we Need Smarter Laws not Tougher Laws. Unfortunately this Doesn't happen in Victoria where we have Intervention order Laws So Draconian that even Reinhard Heydrich would be impressed with the Legislation.

Son, I Don't want you going out with The Woman Next Door.

I can't Believe She Got an Intervention Order against Her Son!!!, The Barrister Told Me.as he related the Story to me in a Melbourne Magistrate's
Court. We Had a client who was going out with a Woman who Lived Next Door To His Mother, So mum Goes down to The registrar's Counter at the Local Magistrate's Court and gets an Interim intervention Order Served On Her son.

 We advised Our Client to Consent to the 12 Month Intervention order without Admission Because it would Cost him Over a Thousand Dollars to Contest It and it would be 3 Months before The matter Could be Heard by a magistrate at The Court. Our Client didn't Really have any Other Options. If He wants a relationship with this woman He'll have to do it at Least 200 Metres away from His Mother's Place or until the Mother accept's her Son's Relationship with Her Next Door Neighbour and they have the Order Revoked.

These Types of situation's happen Regularly in Victorian Magistrate's Court's, The Defendant doesn't really want to spend his hard Earned Money on an Expensive Contested Hearing and The Magistrate doesn't want to sit through a Contested Hearing and Usually advises the Defendant To Consent Without admission to the order anyway.

 As One magistrate Commented, I don't really want to become Bogged Down with Contested Hearings.

How People Give Misleading Evidence to a Court.

The Respondant to the Intervention Order headed off To The Hotel To watch The Big Game, The Mighty Saints versus That Bloody Collingwood. The Hotel had Foxtel and a large Plasma Screen and their were Plenty of St.Kilda And Collingwood Supporters There To watch The Big Game. The atmosphere was Fantastic. It was a Great Game with plenty of Cheering From The Hotel Crowd and The respondant and Everything was set for a big Last Quarter.


At 3 Quarter Time Of The Match into the Hotel walked the Responant's Ex Brother-in-law and a group of Friends from The Local Ballroom Dancing Academy. As the Place was packed the group sat at a table near the bar, away from the Footy Mob.


The Respondant went to the bar and got himself a drink to watch the Exciting last Quarter but Just to Be Vindictive the Ex Brother-In-Law reported this so Called Breech of an Intervention Order  to the local Police.The mighty Saints won The game, Much to the Disappointment of the Collingwood Supporters

Sometime later The Respondant sought a variation to the intervention order issued by his ex Brother -in-law and the Matter was Heard By Magistrate Denise O'Reilly at a Magistrate's Court In Melbourne, His ex Brother-in-law took an Oath to Tell The Truth, The whole Truth and Nothing But The Truth, Which Didn't happen.

Has There been any Breeches of Your Intervention Order asked Magistrate Denise O"Reilly, Yes There Has Your Honour, He Replied. I Went Down to the Local Hotel with a Group of Friends after the dance closed and i was approached by the respondant while sitting with my friends having a Drink, Was He with Other People asked  the Magistrate, no he was by himself and he didn't immediately leave the Hotel.

Magistrate O'Reilly advised  The Respondant, that Despite the Hotel being a public Place, He should have Left because the Intervention Order only applied to the Respondant and Not The Applicant.

This was Not The Only Time The Applicant Misled The Court, The Next Time was by using a Fax Machine which led to an Unbelievable Outcome.

When The respondant arrived at The Magistrate's Court, His Barrister Advised Him that a Fax Had Been Sent To The Court asking That The Matter Be Adjourned Because the Other party was Interstate. He also said that the other party had asked That The Matter Be Heard By Magistrate Denise O'Reilly.


 Much to the respondant's Disbelief  The barrister Advised him that the matter Would Be Heard By The Magistrate they had Asked For In The Fax.

The Matter was then Adjourned By Magistrate Denise O'Reilly so she " Could hear what Abuse Had Taken Place". It was obvious that a decision had already Been Made.

On Any Fax That is Sent, There is alway a Fax Header with the Name of the sender of The Fax. When The respondant arrived Home from The Court he rang Directories for a Phone Number for the Company's Name and was given a phone Number of a Business in Oakleigh.

When The respondant rang That Number, Much to his Surprise it was answered by The Other Party, who was not interstate but was at work in Oakleigh.

The Respondant rang his Barrister To tell him Of The situation. Sorry we can't use That Evidence, Why asked The respondant???. If you get up in Court and Give Evidence that You rang The Other Party at His Place Of Work. It Is Highly Likely that Magistrate Denise O'Reilly Will Put You In Jail For Breeching an Intervention Order, I'm Not Going to Let You do that and end up in Jail.

Yes Folks there are many and varied ways that people give Misleading Evidence in Court and They Get away with Doing It very easily. That's What happens in Courts In Victoria and Other Places too and they are Never Charged for Giving False and Misleading Evidence.

Please Help Me, Your Honour.

The Woman Sat Quietly, But Nervously In Courtroom 8 in a Victorian Magistrate's Court waiting for Her Intervention Order application to be Heard. When Her case was called she moved to a seat at The Bar Table, Is The Respondant here today asked The Magistrate, No The Woman Replied he's in Jail.



Oh Yes Said The Magistrate, He's in There For Armed Robbery and Firearm's Offence's is that Correct, yes said the Woman.

What relation are you to him???, he is my ex Boyfriend and I have Moved well away from Melbourne and he has absolutely no reason to come to that area and I am seeking an Indefinite order, because i am really scared of him as he has access to Firearm's.

As I sat at the back of Courtroom 8, I was shocked when The Magistrate told the Woman that the respondant had a right to Contest The Intervention Order despite being in Jail, I'll Have to adjourn this matter to The Dandenong Magistrate's Court as we don't have a Court Video Link Here. The woman Told the Magistrate that she would have to drive a long way to Dandenong and Didn't want the Respondant to see her on the link and she Didn't want to look at Him Either. That can Be arranged said the Magistrate.

Very unhappy with the Court's decision, she left Courtroom 8, Later on I saw the Woman in The shopping Centre Opposite The Court, I Told her that I Thought the Magistrate's Decision was wrong and he should have automatically granted her the Order She Wanted.

All My Ex Want's is a day Out Of Jail, but it will cost me a lot of time and effort to get to The Dandenong Magistrate's Court. I wished Her well and i hope The Court's Eventually grant you the Order you are after.

The Crazy Ex- Wife.

The Bride And Groom were Busy Finalising Plans for TheIr Wedding in Just A Few weeks. Everything was going To Plan and their tickets were booked for their Honeymoon, Invitations had been Sent Out and the Couple were Really looking forward to a happy Life Together, but there was something they hadn't planned on at all.

There was an Unexpected Knock at The Door and Standing there were Members of The Victorian Police. We are here to serve you With An Intervention Order.

How can this be, replied the Groom, I am not a violent man and have Never Been Involved with The Police Before. Sorry, You'll have to read the Order Sir and attend at The Magistrate's Court.



On Reading the Order, it was an Interim Order From The Groom's Ex Wife who he hadn't seen in a long Time, I spoke to the Future Groom near the Registrar's Counter at the Local Court, The Groom said to me, My Ex Wife has Found out that I'm Remarrying and has issued an Interim Order Just to Upset my wedding Plans. I have no wish to be in Contact with her, I have moved on with My Life and My marriage is in 3 Weeks.

Yes Ladies, if you want to Upset Your Ex Husband, just roll up to the Registrar's Counter at a Victorian Magistrate's Court and you can instantly annoy the shit out of Your Ex. The Friendly Registrar Staff will Bend Over Backwards to give you all the advise you'll need to be a first Rate Bitch and it's all free. I Don't Think The New Bride and Groom will be sending Tracey's Mob a Thank You Card.

How To Breech an Intervention Order while Swimming

A Magistrate's Court in Melbourne issued an Intervention Order to an applicant with the Usual 200 Metre Restrictions, The Defendant had been a regular Gym Junkie at a Gym around the Corner from Where the applicant Lived, Even Though the applicant was not actually in the Gym or Pool area at the time, they would ring the Police anytime they saw the defendant's car in the Carpark Of the gym.

The Situation became farcical even when the defendant had a swim.in The 50 Metre Pool, the applicant told Police that the defendant was actually Breeching The Intervention Order because one end of the Swimming Pool was within 200 Metres of the Applicants Rear Fence, What was the Defendant supposed to do in This Case???. Swim halfway down The Pool and Then Swim back so as to Not Technically Breech The Order.

Could you imagine what the reaction of Other Swimmers when the Defendant suddenly stops halfway down the laplane.


The Defendant found about these Complaints after the Police Knocked on his Door saying the Applicant had made a complaint to them and they were shown maps explaining that part of the the Gym was within 200 metres of their place. The Defendant went to the Local Council and was told he would need a surveyor to accurately measure where the 200 Metre Restriction Ended.