Disgraced former Rockhampton lawyer Doug Winning’s High Court of Australia application dismissed

Disgraced former Rockhampton lawyer Doug Winning, once described as ‘foul-mouthed’, has lost his last battle to get his legal career back on track after trying to bribe police.

Disgraced former Rockhampton lawyer Doug Winning, once described as ‘foul-mouthed’, has lost his last battle to get his legal career back on track after he was found guilty of trying to bribe police when he was picked up drink driving.

Wining was 67 when he was found guilty of the attempted bribery charge in Rockhampton District Court on October 7, 2020, and sentenced to nine months’ jail, wholly suspended and operational for 18 months.

He had practised law for about 34 years before his conviction.

Winning no longer holds a Queensland practising certificate but had not yet been struck off the role of legal practitioners in Queensland as of September 2021.

He appealed the conviction in Queensland’s Court of Appeal and a decision was handed down on November 12, 2021.

Winning then lodged an application with the High Court of Australia to seek leave to appeal the Queensland Court of Appeal decision.

The High Court handed down its decision on the matter on March 17, dismissing Winning’s application.

Bianca Yule

“There is no reason to doubt the decision of the Court of Appeal,” the High Court decision stated.

“The application otherwise raises no question of principle of general importance and has insufficient prospects of success to warrant a grant of special leave.”

Winning was found guilty of trying to bribe two Rockhampton police officers – Senior Constable Jesse Parkin and Constable Naomi Davies – who had intercepted Winning at 1am driving while intoxicated on February 17, 2019.

They had been patrolling and witnessed a car driving erratically and knocking over a street sign which was seen bouncing off the vehicle.

Winning pulled over on Elphinstone Street near the Dean Street intersection and his car had significant damage to the bonnet and a front tyre was deflated when police inspected it.

Winning’s roadside blood-alcohol content reading was .191 and the second test, conducted later at the police station, was .146, the court heard.

He had $300 cash in $50 notes in his possession at the time.

Winning told police he had drunk two bottles of Bundaberg Rum in the 24 hours earlier, along with taking his antidepressant medication which he had taken for 20 years.

He said he had been drinking since Friday night after returning from Blackwater court and had also been asleep for many hours before getting behind the wheel.

Crown prosecutor Nigel Rees leaving Rockhampton courthouse.

Crown prosecutor Nigel Rees said Winning waved around a fist full of $50 notes while saying the words the crown alleged was an offer of bribery.

Body worn footage of the incident played in court showed a shirtless Winning behind the wheel of a VW wagon, later identified to the court by Winning as belonging to the CQ Legal Centre, with a wallet looking object in his left hand and $50 notes in his right hand which he waved around and said “I can’t pay my way out of this, can I?”.

Senior Constable Parkin said ‘no’.

Later, once Winning was out of the vehicle, he was heard on the video to say “you want a lazy quid” twice.

During the course of three videos shown to the jury at the trial, Winning spoke about his daughter being threatened by someone and he was driving to his former wife’s house to deal with the matter.

He also threatened to kill the person threatening his daughter, and told police he wanted to kill himself and was “f---ed in the head”.

The court heard Winning also made unprofessional and inappropriate comments to Constable Davies, which he was repeatedly told were not appropriate.

He told police he was “Queensland’s best criminal lawyer” and “I act for the police”.

Former police officer Warren Williams, who was a watch house sergeant when Winning was arrested for the drink-driving matter, said Winning pulled the money and car keys from his pocket, placed them on the counter, flicked a $50 note towards himself and another police officer and said “you are good c---s. Have a drink on me”.

The incident with the police was not the only time Winning was reprimanded for his bad behaviour.

He was convicted in 2015 for professional misconduct over a whispered comment in court and was again pulled up about his unprofessional conduct by Justice Graeme Crow months before his attempted bribery trial.

Justice Crow roasted Winning over the contents of an email meant for a prosecutor that landed in the inbox of a Supreme Court staff member.

Justice Crow would not go into the details of the contents of the email in open court, but told Mr Winning senior solicitors drafting emails like this was a very serious case of professional misconduct.

He said it went against the Australian Solicitors‘ Conduct Rules, of which Mr Winning should be well aware of given he had been a solicitor for 34 years.

Justice Crow said part of the code was for solicitors to carry out dealings in a courteous manner (4.1.2 of the Fundamental Duties of Solicitors).

“This is not courteous,” he said.

“I cannot turn a blind eye to this.”

Winning apologised for the contents of the email in a follow-up email, and then apologised to the court, the prosecutor, Justice Crow and his associate.

Winning pleaded guilty to professional misconduct in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal in 2015 after he admitted he whispered “f---ing idiot” in court with the jury present and said the word ”c---” towards high-profile prosecutor Danny Boyle in Rockhampton in May 2012.

When Winning pleaded guilty to the drink driving charge in Rockhampton Magistrates Court in March 2019, he told the court he started “drinking alcoholically” at the age of 14 and spent years living on the streets.

He said he had managed to be sober for quite some time but had three recent triggers – both of his parents died and a friend died.

The Morning Bulletin approached Winning for comment about the High Court decision, but he had not responded at the time of publication.

Doug Winning leaving court with a client.

Some of the cases and campaigns Winning led during his 30 plus legal career:

Winning slammed the former Liberal State Government, led by Campbell Newman, over the crackdown on bikies.

He described the legislation introduced by the Newman Government as “draconian” and looked at running as a politician as he believed the ordinary citizen needed to take a stance against the “neo-Nazi politics” of the Newman government.

Winning, who represented bikies on numerous occasions, said he did not believe people would receive a fair trial in Queensland due to recent political interference and the unprecedented attack on the judiciary system.

He also supported legalising marijuana, possessed in non-commercial quantities, for personal use.