A hearing in the Launceston Magistrates Court was adjourned when a 31-year-old woman apparently realised her lawyer was not present.
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Chantal Elizabeth Dance, of Dilston, had renewed her pleas of not guilty to driving without a licence and breach of bail [by driving ] on August 21 last year.
Constable Ben Grenda told the court he saw Ms Dance in a garage in Newnham about 8.30am standing near a VW Golf Hatch.
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He said she had bright purple-dyed hair which caught his attention.
Constable Grenda said he knew her from previous dealings in 2017.
He said Ms Dance had been living next door to a relative of his and he had seen her about 15 times over four months.
He said about 2.20pm the same day he saw her driving the VW and police had attempted to follow but had been unable to locate the vehicle.
Constable Grenda arrested Ms Dance about 8.30 pm for breach of bail and driving without a licence.
Ten minutes of body-worn camera footage of the arrest was played to the court in which Ms Dance claimed a friend Mel Beresford had borrowed her car.
Constable Grenda said he was sure it was Ms Dance driving the vehicle.
Shortly after Ms Dance queried "where's my lawyer?".
She told Magistrate Simon Brown that she was expecting Hobart-based lawyer Fabiano Cangelosi to represent her.
Mr Cangelosi was in a Supreme Court trial in Launceston defending James John Williams against an allegation of wounding.
Mr Cangelosi appeared by video on Monday for Ms Dance, but told Magistrate Sharon Cure that he was not instructed in relation to the driving matter.
"Why is he not here?" Mr Brown asked.
"He is up here for a trial but said he had not been instructed for this," Ms Dance said.
"That means he is not acting for you," Mr Brown replied.
"We are halfway through a hearing and you ask where is your lawyer," Mr Brown said.
Mr Brown adjourned while enquiries were made.
Police prosecutor Matt Hills said that a hearing date for the driving matter had been set for November 3, 2021.
"The hearing date was set nearly five months ago, you have had a very long time," Mr Brown said.
"I thought he was wrapped up with all the other matters, I didn't know this had been singled out," she said.
Ms Dance said she wanted an adjournment to obtain legal representation.
Mr Brown said that he believed he was within his rights to go on with the hearing but nevertheless adjourned the case until August 1 for further hearing.
Ms Dance said she was going to call two witnesses Melissa Beresford and her then landlord.
The court heard that Ms Dance was serving 15 days' jail for breaches of terms of a drug treatment order which has a 10-month custodial component.
The Department of Corrections has made an application for the order to be cancelled alleging that she substituted another person's urine during compulsory drug tests.
Ms Dance was arrested at the weekend after police believed that she was planning to flee Tasmania.
She appeared on Monday on a number of new charges.
She did not plead to four counts of perverting justice for the urine switch allegations between November 29, 2021, and March 3, 2022, comprising four counts of perverting justice.
Police also allege that she falsely claimed in court that she had paid $2500 to a Victorian legal firm and that they were going to represent her in court.
The effect of the allegedly false representation was that she secured an adjournment and walked out of court on bail.
On a sixth count, police allege she perverted justice by lying in the Magistrates Court about having an appointment with Bishops barristers on March 4, 2022, resulting in an adjournment on bail.
Ms Dance also faces two counts of perverting justice for allegedly trying to get two different women to put their hands up for the driving charge that she faces which allegedly occurred on August 21, 2021.
In the first count, police allege she instigated Tamara Clark to falsely confess to police that she was the driver.
In the second count, police allege she forged a handwritten letter in the name of Melissa Hill claiming that Ms Hill was the driver and submitted the letter to her lawyer as her criminal defence.
In Monday's case, Mr Cangelosi submitted that Ms Dance would suffer prejudice in the perverting justice cases, which must be heard in the Supreme Court before a jury if she pleads not guilty, if the drug treatment order was cancelled.
However, Magistrate Sharon Cure said Ms Dance had been "giving us the runaround for weeks we think". "We can't be held hostage by the delay in the Supreme Court, we need to look at her performance on the drug treatment order," she said.
Ms Cure remanded Ms Dance in custody and postponed the latest charges for plea until April 5.
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Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
