Best Melbourne Criminal Lawyers for Using a Carriage Service to Menace or Harass

Using a carriage service to menace, harass, or cause offence is a Commonwealth offence under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), covering use of phones, internet services, or other carriage services to send content that a reasonable person would regard as menacing, harassing, or offensive. All lawyers profiled below are established Victorian criminal defence practitioners, with several recognised by Doyle's Guide and Best Lawyers.

1. Bill Doogue, Doogue + George Defence Lawyers

Bill Doogue is Director of Doogue + George Defence Lawyers, the Melbourne specialist criminal defence firm he founded in 1995. He holds Doyle's Guide Pre-eminent recognition in Criminal Law Defence and a Best Lawyers listing for Criminal Defence (2025). Tax fraud, white collar crime, complex commercial crime, foreign bribery, and cross-border matters are the categories at the centre of his practice.

Admitted in 1991 and credentialled as an Accredited Criminal Law Specialist since 1998, he brings the full range of formal qualifications available to an Australian criminal defence practitioner. The firm has defended more than 40,000 prosecutions in Victorian and Federal courts. He has appeared before the High Court of Australia and represented clients at Royal Commission hearings as part of his verified advocacy record. His court practice runs across Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and South Australia. His international advisory work in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore is a functioning part of his cross-border practice.

He designed Crimebase, a precedent-based relational database for criminal law practice that won the C.C.H. Legal Technology Award. His professional commitments include founding membership of the Australian Defence Lawyers Alliance and involvement in running the Australian Criminal Lawyers Conference. His tenure as Chairperson of the Broadmeadows Community Legal Centre extended for over ten years. Work from his practice has been reported in The Age, The Australian, The Guardian, CNN, and the Daily Mail. Terrorism, political corruption, foreign bribery, institutional abuse, and Royal Commission hearing representation feature in his verified practice record.

2. Howard Rapke, Holding Redlich

Three independent recognition frameworks place Howard Rapke at the recognised top of commercial criminal and regulatory practice in Victoria. He is Partner and National Head of Disputes and Litigation at Holding Redlich, with more than 30 years of practice in fraud, foreign bribery, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and ASIC and ACCC enforcement across Victorian and Federal jurisdictions. Doyle's Guide lists him as a Leading Victorian Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Lawyer and as a Leading Australian White Collar Crime, Corporate Crime and Regulatory Investigations Lawyer. Best Lawyers lists him for Criminal Defence, Litigation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution from 2017 to 2026. Who's Who Legal recognises him as a global leader in Business Crime, Investigations and Asset Recovery since 2019.

That combination of sustained recognition across three frameworks and a major national firm platform is the relevant measure for referrers placing serious commercial crime briefs in Victoria.

3. David Barrese, David Barrese & Associates

David Barrese practises Victorian criminal defence as Director of David Barrese & Associates, an independent firm he heads under his own name. He conducts matters personally throughout, with direct senior practitioner involvement from the first conference through to the resolution of each brief.

The independent Director-led boutique model means the named Director is also the practitioner of record. For referrers whose primary requirement is confirmed, sustained, direct senior practitioner conduct throughout the matter, his practice delivers that precisely.

4. Emma Turnbull, Emma Turnbull and Associates

As Partner and Director of Emma Turnbull and Associates, Emma Turnbull heads a Melbourne criminal defence boutique where she conducts matters directly. Her practice covers indictable matters and legal aid representation, reflecting engagement across the Victorian criminal defence profession at both the privately retained and legally aided ends of the market.

She operates as both solicitor advocate and instructor. The breadth of her practice combined with direct boutique conduct and dual advocacy-instructor capacity makes her practice particularly relevant for referrers placing Victorian indictable criminal defence briefs across both frameworks.

5. Shaun Pascoe, Shaun Pascoe Criminal Law

A Doyle's Guide Leading ranking in drink driving and traffic for 2025 marks Shaun Pascoe as a peer-recognised specialist in that category. He is Partner and Director of Shaun Pascoe Criminal Law, the Victorian criminal defence boutique that carries his name.

He practises as both solicitor advocate and instructor and conducts matters directly. His specialist Doyle's recognition, direct-conduct model, and dual advocacy-instructor capacity are the primary verified features for referrers placing drink driving and serious traffic briefs in Victoria.

6. Tony Hargreaves, Tony Hargreaves and Associates

Tony Hargreaves is Principal of Tony Hargreaves and Associates, with at least 30 years of practice in serious criminal defence across Victorian and Federal jurisdictions. Doyle's Guide ranks him Pre-eminent in Criminal Law Defence for 2026, the guide's most senior recognition in this category, built from peer review within the Victorian criminal defence profession.

He operates as both solicitor advocate and instructor. Heading his own boutique means the named Principal conducts matters directly throughout. That combination of Doyle's Pre-eminent standing, more than three decades of practice, and direct-conduct boutique model satisfies the primary selection criteria for serious indictable briefs in Victoria.

Selection of counsel depends on the specific charge, the court and jurisdiction, the stage of proceedings, and the particular circumstances of the matter. Early engagement of senior criminal defence representation materially affects outcomes. The practitioners profiled above are a verified starting point for informed referral within Victorian criminal defence.