A former cricket star is seeking to have his assault and intimidation charges withdrawn after he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a court has heard.
Michael Slater, 52, beamed into Manly Local Court on Wednesday morning after being charged with two counts of assaulting a 36-year-old patient at the Northern Beaches Hospital in July.
The former Test opening batsman is also accused of intimidating the hospital patient.
Two months later, court documents show he allegedly breached a restraining order imposed to protect a woman living in Freshwater. He is charged with using a carriage service with intent to intimidate.
The court heard he contacted the woman with more than 100 messages, emails and calls when he had been directed not to communicate with her. The woman reported he had “slurred speech” during the calls, the court was told.
The ex-cricket commentator for Channel 7 was arrested on September 22 after the woman made several triple-0 calls.
He has denied all three charges before the court.
Mr Slater has been in a beachside rehabilitation facility in Bronte since his most recent court appearance.
He had domestic violence charges dismissed on mental health grounds in April and his lawyer is seeking a similar result for the remaining charges.
The court heard Mr Slater had recently been diagnosed with bipolar disorder by a psychologist and two doctors.
John Agius SC told the court the former cricketer was living with a “significant mental impairment” when he allegedly committed the offences before the court.
“That’s significant because if he has bipolar disorder and he’s not being treated for it, then … it’s likely that any treatment he has had hasn’t treated the whole of his condition,” his lawyer told the court.
The court heard the offences were a result of his bipolar disorder and not the consumption of alcohol.
Mr Agius argued the charges should be dismissed because of his client’s diagnosis and his self-driven participation in several residential rehabilitation programs since the beginning of his alleged offences.
“He should be given one more chance. He should be given that chance because his likely bipolar disorder had not been diagnosed at the time,” Mr Agius told the court.
“He clearly wasn’t in control of his behaviour.”
The former Australian cricket star wanted to put his efforts into rehabilitation and getting better, the court was told.
Police prosecutor Craig Pullen argued the charges were too serious to be dealt with under mental health legislation.
“It is too frequent that the courts are seeing these applications,” he said.
“He was given that opportunity.”
During his career as a cricketer, Mr Slater played 74 Test matches and 42 one-day internationals for Australia between 1993 and 2001.
He scored 5312 Test runs for Australia before he transitioned to television commentary for Nine and Seven.
The application continues before Magistrate Robyn Denes.
More to come.
