SA court convicts, but imposes no further penalty, upon bribe-offering and cocaine-snorting lawyer Andrew Robert Graham
He faced a 10-year prison term, a $50,000 fine or both for cocaine and bribery offending – but a court says this Adelaide lawyer deserves a second chance, not “extra punishment” for his actions.
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A lawyer “should have known better” than to try to bribe a security guard who caught him snorting cocaine but does not “get punished extra” due to his profession, a senior judge says.
Andrew Robert Graham faced a maximum 10-year prison term, $50,000 fine or both for his criminal actions in an Adelaide nightclub’s toilets in August 2019.
On Wednesday, District Court Chief Judge Michael Evans convicted Graham of his offences but said no further punishment was warranted, releasing him on a 12-month bond.
Chief Judge Evans said that, since his “moment of madness”, Graham had worked hard to rehabilitate and end his “descent into self-destruction”.
“As a member of the legal profession, you should have known better – however you did not commit your (bribery) offence in the course of your work,” he said.
“You do not get any favours for being a legal practitioner but, by virtue of the circumstances in which this was committed, you don’t necessarily get punished extra for it either.
“It was indeed a moment of madness but, importantly, you have taken responsibility … you have shown contrition, remorse and insight.”
Graham, 36, of Vale Park, pleaded guilty to administering a controlled drug to another person and to attempting to pervert the course of justice.
In August 2019, he followed two men into a nightclub’s toilets and asked to share their cocaine, showing them how to snort it off a car key.
That interaction was filmed by a security guard and, in the mistaken belief his actions would not result in a trial, Graham offered him $50 to look the other way.
His counsel had asked he be shown mercy, saying Graham was labouring under an “incredible sense of loss” over the imminent closure of his beloved community football club.
In sentencing on Wednesday, Chief Judge Evans said Graham had been heavily intoxicated and affected by alcohol at the time, due to longstanding substance abuse problems.
“You enjoyed the image you portrayed as someone who could work hard and play hard, considering it acceptable so long as it did not affect your performance in court,” he said.
“Your psychologist says this was ‘a way of reinventing your image from socially-awkward teen and social misfit’ and a way of dealing with stress from the ‘trauma’ of practising criminal law.”
He noted Graham not only enjoyed strong support from, but also contributed positively to, the community through mentoring, respite care, fundraising and a “commitment to justice”.
He said Graham had “dissolved” his “busy and successful” firm, no longer practised law and had focused his efforts on staying sober and educating others about his mistakes.
“You have the support of many people around you, however it’s only you that can ensure you continue on the path to complete rehabilitation and becoming what you want to be,” he said.
“That is someone who can help others, as you’ve done in the past, who are marginalised and socially disadvantaged.”