Jonathan Bolton: Inner west lawyer appealing AVO breach case
A lawyer is bizarrely appealing to have his guilty plea reversed despite successfully having the charges thrown out of court in a suburban stoush with his council.
Inner West
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An inner west lawyer who had his charges dismissed in a protracted stoush with his local council is now appealing the decision.
Despite the charge being thrown out, solicitor Jonathan Hugh Douglas Bolton is asking the District Court to reverse his guilty plea to contravening an AVO.
The AVO was taken out on behalf of Inner West Council staff and its then-CEO Michael Deegan in 2019 after police alleged Bolton made more than 190 calls and emails to Mr Deegan and others over a bitter feud with his neighbour about a fence.
Police alleged six months later Annandale-based Bolton breached the AVO when he called up the council to ask about leaflets he had sent to councillors while several harassment and order breaching charges were also still before the courts.
Bolton pleaded guilty but the case was dismissed in the Local Court earlier this year.
Bolton told the Inner West Courier he was now appealing the decision because he now believes he had a lawful defence to the charge when he initially pleaded guilty.
The case is separate to 15 charges laid by police in 2019 who allege he intimidated and used a carriage service to menace council staff in his campaign to solve the fence issue with his neighbour.
Bolton has pleaded not guilty to all counts and is representing himself in the matter in which a decision is due at the end of the month almost a year and a half after the charges were first laid.
The case has dragged on since October 2019 and has heard evidence from locals, councillors, and the inner west’s former CEO who told the court he was “scared” after he received calls from Bolton.
Bolton will return to court on June 29 where a magistrate will hand down a decision in the case.
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