Lisa Sherlock – serial drink driver – appeals jail term claiming it is too harsh
A serial drink-driver caught six times over the legal alcohol limit says a two-month jail stint is too harsh.
Police & Courts
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A serial drink-driver caught six times over the legal alcohol limit says a two-month jail stint is too harsh.
Lisa Sherlock was sent to prison on Monday after crashing her Nissan X-Trail and blowing 0.33 per cent in December last year.
It was the sixth time since 1988 the 53-year-old had been caught drunk behind the wheel. The legal limit is 0.05.
Her licence was suspended at the time after she recorded a reading of 0.226 in August last year.
In the Southport Magistrates Court on Monday, Magistrate John Costanzo sentenced Sherlock to six months’ prison, to be released on parole after two months, and disqualified her from driving for five years.
On Tuesday, Sherlock lodged an appeal against that decision, claiming the imprisonment was manifestly excessive.
Her lawyer Blake Fraser, of Fraser Lawyers, on Wednesday applied to have Sherlock released from prison while she waited for her appeal to be heard.
In documents tendered to the court Mr Fraser said the sentence was “manifestly excessive in all the circumstances”.
“The learned sentencing magistrate erred in imposing a sentence that was disproportionate to the gravity of the subject offence,” he said.
It was claimed that although Sherlock had five previous drink-driving offences, the fourth and fifth were nine-and-a-half years apart.
Mr Fraser also claimed the court failed to take into account Sherlock’s mental health issues, and give him the opportunity to address the magistrate on whether Sherlock should be imprisoned.
Prosecution did not object to bail being granted.
Magistrate Jane Bentley granted bail to Sherlock on the condition she report to police every Wednesday.
The appeal will be heard in the Southport District Court in the coming weeks.
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