THE high number of late guilty pleas in Orange Local Court has led magistrate David Day to warn people they will not be entitled to a sentencing discount.
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Mr Day said off all the places he had worked, Orange had the highest number of plea changes he'd ever encountered.
Mr Day made the comments while sentencing a man for domestic violence offences including common assault and intimidation as well as resisting and assaulting a police officer.
Initially the 51-year-old man had pleaded not guilty but like many others who appear before Orange Local Court, he made a late plea change on the day of the hearing after prosecution material had been gathered and witnesses assembled.
"I wish the story would get out there in the community so those in the community who come to court are aware that the timing of the plea is crucial," Mr Day said.
"To turn up on the day [of the hearing] and plead guilty they get no discount [according to sentencing guidelines].
"If they enter a plea early, they get a 25 per cent discount."
Mr Day has worked at various courts in NSW and said he has seen it happen regularly in Orange Local Court.
"It's much higher here than in Sydney and the Central Coast," he said.
In the case of the 51-year-old Orange man, he was accused of assaulting his adult step-daughter during an argument over money on July 19 last year.
According to police, the woman was sitting on the arm of a couch when he pushed her backwards and then "pushed his fist" into the right side of her face. She kicked at him to get him away.
He then threatened her and his partner who went to a neighbour's house. The man followed them but the neighbour phoned police and he left.
He arrived back at his own home when police were recording a domestic violence statement with the step-daughter.
The man resisted arrest and there was a brief struggle when police tried to handcuff him.
Once handcuffed he kicked a police constable's leg on the way out of the kitchen and again outside.
The man's partner was also arrested for threatening police with a small pink bat when the man was being led away.
The man was given two-year community correction orders for the offences after Mr Day took into account an 18-month CCO that was previously given to his partner.
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Tanya Marschke
I am based at Orange and cover a wide range of subjects as well as the weekly business column. I've worked consistently in the the media industry since 2006 including the past seven years at the Central Western Daily. Before moving to Orange, I worked as a journalist at weekly newspapers the Beaudesert Times and the Gold Coast Sun in Queensland, as well as the Scone Advocate in the Hunter Valley. I started my career at the Ridge News in Lightning Ridge while I completed my journalism studies remotely at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
I am based at Orange and cover a wide range of subjects as well as the weekly business column. I've worked consistently in the the media industry since 2006 including the past seven years at the Central Western Daily. Before moving to Orange, I worked as a journalist at weekly newspapers the Beaudesert Times and the Gold Coast Sun in Queensland, as well as the Scone Advocate in the Hunter Valley. I started my career at the Ridge News in Lightning Ridge while I completed my journalism studies remotely at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
