Award-winning Australian actor Simon Baker has been spared a drink-driving conviction, a court was told because officers were unable to take blood alcohol readings due to the global outage at Microsoft.
Baker, who starred in The Mentalist and was nominated multiple times for his role in the Netflix drama Boy Swallows Universe, quietly left the courtroom accompanied by his attorney, Peggy Dwyer.
The award-winning actor pleaded guilty to one charge during an earlier court hearing: driving under the influence of alcohol.
Another charge, attempted driving under the influence of alcohol, was dropped on the same date.
Baker, 55, faced a maximum sentence of 30 penalty units or 18 months in prison, or both, Magistrate Kathy Crittenden said.
But the Hollywood star left court on a conditional release order, requiring him to behave himself for nine months.
No conviction has been established.
An unknown man followed Baker and Ms. Dwyer out of the courtroom holding a sign that read “Uber for Baker.”
Award-winning Australian actor Simon Baker has avoided a drink-driving conviction after a court was told officers were unable to measure blood alcohol levels due to the global Microsoft outage
Mr. Baker, who starred in The Mentalist and was nominated for multiple awards for his role in the Netflix drama Boy Swallows Universe, was silent as he left court accompanied by his lawyer, Peggy Dwyer
The award-winning actor pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence of alcohol during an earlier court appearance
Mullumbimby District Court was told that Baker was caught by police in Bangalow on July 20, 2024.
Police saw him drive across the center line of the road and appear to speed up and slow down before pulling him over.
Reading the agreed facts, Mrs Crittenden said Baker had ‘bloodshot eyes, slurred speech’ and was ‘unsteady on his feet’.
The court was told that a blood alcohol test returned a positive result.
However, police were unable to conduct further breath analysis due to the global outage of Microsoft systems caused by a faulty CrowdStrike update.
Instead, officers were required to administer an “old-fashioned breathalyzer test.”
Ms Crittenden said Baker was “candid” with police about drinking four glasses of red wine at a dinner party.
“He kept apologizing and saying he shouldn’t have been driving,” she said.
“He was polite, cooperative and very remorseful for his actions.”
A bundle of materials was offered to support Baker, including completing a traffic offender rehabilitation program in the following months.
Baker, 55, faced a maximum sentence of 30 penalty units or 18 months in prison, or both, but he left court on a conditional discharge order to be of good behaviour for nine months.
Ms Crittenden said Baker was “frank” with police about drinking four glasses of red wine at a dinner party
The Mullumbimby District Court was told that Baker was caught by police in Bangalow on July 20, 2024
Police were unable to conduct further breath analysis due to the global Microsoft systems outage caused by a faulty CrowdStrike update
A bundle of material was offered in support of Baker, including his completion of a rehabilitation program for traffic offenders in the following months
Baker is best known for his portrayal of Patrick Jane in The Mentalist between 2008 and 2015, which earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013.
Character references have noted Baker’s “significant” contributions to the community, including following the “catastrophic” 2022 floods in New South Wales’ Northern Rivers region.
“On the basis of the material, the court has no difficulty in finding that Mr Baker shows remorse and is unlikely to re-offend,” Ms Crittenden said.
She said drink-driving offences are taken seriously because of the risk they pose to community safety.
Baker was sentenced to nine months of good behavior as part of his conditional release.
Baker received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his portrayal of Patrick Jane in The Mentalist between 2008 and 2015.
He was recently nominated for a TV Week Logie Award and eleven other awards for his role in Boy Swallows Universe, an adaptation of Trent Dalton’s acclaimed novel.
After rising to fame in Australia, Baker moved to the United States, where he appeared in films such as LA Confidential and The Devil Wears Prada, before returning Down Under.