A man with a heart condition came perilously close to going to jail in Orange Local Court on Thursday when the magistrate called for corrections officers partway into hearing his case.
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Joshua Bryce Harris, 50, of Adina Crescent had pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified after driving with an illicit drug in his system while serving an earlier ban at the start of 2023.
Harris told the court he didn't realise his driver's licence had been disqualified.
"I hadn't received anything in the mail saying I had court," Harris said when he represented himself on Thursday.
"I wouldn't have driven if I had known, my health isn't the best and I wouldn't have risked losing my licence for longer."
Magistrate David Day referred to a submitted report and said Harris had a heart condition and asked him what drug he had in his system that caused him to be disqualified in the first place.
He was dumbfounded when told it was "meth".
"Really, when you have a heart condition? You are doing meth when you have recently had heart surgery," Mr Day said.
"It seems a bit destructive, Mr Harris."
Mr Day also reviewed Harris' criminal and traffic records and said he had reached the custody limit.
"It's your seventh drive-while-disqualified," Mr Day said.
"It's my first since I got my licence, your Honour," Harris added.
A moment later, Mr Day said, "I'll have corrections up, please," and Harris was indicated to take a seat and a new case was mentioned while they waited for the corrections officers to come in from the cells.
The offence
According to court documents, Harris was driving north on McLachlan Street in Orange about 11am on May 29, 2023, and police stopped him in Byng Street for a breath test.
Harris showed the police a digital copy of his driver's licence on his phone that was still listed as active.
However, further checks revealed his driver's licence was disqualified in Orange Local Court on May 25, following a conviction for driving with methamphetamine in his system.
Harris said he did not attend court because he was not aware of the date, he denied receiving any paperwork regarding the offence and did not make any inquiries himself.
Mr Day gave Harris a community based jail sentence by way of a seven-month supervised intensive correction order. It will require him to participate in rehabilitation and treatment.
Harris' driver's licence was also disqualified for a further six months.
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