A young Brimbank migrant who could not afford legal representation was allegedly under pressure to plead guilty to an assault he claimed he didn’t commit.
This was despite ‘‘serious’’ flaws in the investigation.
The man represented just one example of the difficulties migrants face getting adequate legal representation, according to a Brimbank Melton Community Legal Centre (BMCLC) report, Justice Out West.
The report, released last week, said ‘Mr A’, who was charged with seven counts of assault, did not qualify for legal aid.
BMCLC lawyers found “significant deficiencies” in the investigation and said an interpreter was not present during Mr A’s police interview.
“[Police] failed to obtain CCTV footage that Mr A had referred to in the interview as demonstrating his innocence,” the report stated. “After the first two mentions at court, the prosecution suggested withdrawing six charges if Mr A would plead [guilty] to one. Mr A maintained his innocence.
“However, the pressure to plead was strong, given that he would not qualify for a grant of legal assistance to fund his representation.”
According to the report, the BMCLC represented the migrant so he was not “pressured to plead guilty due to his financial resources”.
The prosecution eventually dropped all charges.
Justice Out West recommends that community legal services work more closely with other legal assistance providers and non-legal community organisations.
The report said improved access to advice, advocacy, casework and community legal education could help meet the area’s unmet legal needs.
It revealed residents in Sunshine, St Albans, Deer Park and Keilor were most in need of better legal help.
‘‘There is extremely high demand for community legal assistance in Brimbank,’’ the report said.
‘‘The second-highest number of calls to the [Victorian Legal Aid] help line for all Victorian local government areas were from Brimbank.”
Most legal needs involved family law, debt, rights and government inquiries, but a survey by support body Community West found 54 per cent of respondents were unaware of a community legal centre in Brimbank.
The Sunshine Youth Legal Centre said better education and access for young people was crucial. “An area we find is not being effectively addressed is tenancy issues for young people,” a spokesman said.
BMCLC’s managing lawyer, Stephanie Tonkin, said it would work with the Sunshine Magistrates Court on “fallout issues” arising from intervention orders and infringements.
