Trials & Hearings. |
Pleading 'Not Guilty' means you are telling the court that you did not do the crime you are accused of committing. You don't have to prove your innocence - it is up to the prosecutor to prove you are guilty.
Our criminal lawyers have extensive trial experience. We'll go over the police evidence piece by piece. We'll present your case, vigorously questioning and holding the prosecutions case to account. |
TRIALS IN THE MAGISTRATES COURT:The trial is heard by a Magistrate alone and not in front of a Jury. |
Before you make a plea, you should go over the allegations with your Lawyer who will advise of any defences available or other factors that will assist your case.
If you intend to plead not guilty, a Magistrate will set a date for your trial, then order the prosecution to supply their brief of evidence. The police must provide everything they intend to rely on (such as witness statements and photographs or other evidence) to try and prove your guilt to a Magistrate. Your defence lawyer will review all of their material, and may ask for more information. Your lawyer will continue to negotiate the charges prior to the trial date. A Magistrates Court trial is heard only by the Magistrate; there is no Jury. At the trial, the prosecutor will present his/her evidence. Witnesses will be called in turn, and each will be asked questions by the prosecutor (called 'Evidence in Chief'). Your defence lawyer will test the witnesses evidence (called 'Cross Examination'). Each witness may refer to items such as photographs, video, drawings, etc that are presented to the court as physical evidence. When all the prosecution witnesses and other evidence is presented, the prosecution will close their case. The defence then has an opportunity to call witnesses and present evidence before closing the defence case. Both parties then give their closing arguments to the Magistrate who then decides the matter. |
TRIALS IN THE DISTRICT COURT OR SUPREME COURT:Trials in the higher courts are similar in process as the Magistrates Court, except they are usually before a Judge and a Jury of 12 people. |
A trial in the district or Supreme Court has a few extra steps before the trial commences. For a charge to proceed to the higher courts, it (in most cases) will be committed and indicted, after that, you will have the opportunity to tell the court if you intend to plead guilty or not guilty.
Committal. A committal is a hearing in the Magistrates Court to decide if there is enough evidence for a serious offence to be heard in a higher court. In some cases, witnesses may be called and cross examined, and statements presented to the court for consideration. However, in most cases now, the committal is conducted administratively (called a Registry Committal) avoiding the cost and delay of this extra step. There are a number of advantages and disadvantages to having a fill hearing committal as opposed to a simple registry committal. You should speak to your lawyer about what is best for your circumstances Indictment. An Indictment Presentation is where a Crown Prosecutor presents a written charge to a Judge in the District or Supreme Court. The indictment lists the crimes with which the defendant is charged. The prosecutor has 6 months to present the indictment or the defendant can apply to have the charges dismissed. At the time of the Indictment, the court will need to know whether you are pleading guilty or not guilty. If you are pleading guilty, a date will be set for your sentence. If you are pleading not guilty, a date will be set for a trial review (to check if your case is ready to proceed) and a date for trial. Trial. A trial in the higher courts is similar in process as the Magistrates Court, except it will be before a Judge and Jury, and will take several days to sometimes weeks for more serious offences. Usually Barristers in wigs and gowns are the advocates for the prosecution and the defence. A jury of 12 people (and sometimes extra reserves) from the community are chosen at random. They are given their instructions by the Judge and will listen to all the evidence presented by the prosecution and defence. At the end of the trial, the Barristers will sum up their case to the jury. The judge then sums up the case in neutral terms, and clarified any points of law the Jury must consider. The jury then goes to deliberate over the evidence until they reach a decision. During their deliberations, they can ask the Judge questions, or they can deliver their verdict as Guilty or Not Guilty. |
OTHER COURT HEARINGS:A hearing is simply where a Magistrate or Judge is asked to make a decision to a contested question |
There are a number of other types of hearings that may be heard in the Magistrates or the higher courts. A hearing is simply where a Magistrate of Judge is asked to make a decision to a contested question, or to make orders for someone to take certain actions or an event to take place. Some examples include:
Pre-Trial Hearings. Often prior to a trial, there may be some questions or issues that have to be resolved between the legal representatives to ensure the trial is fair, that all the relevant information disclosed and the irrelevant information is excluded. At Directions Hearings, the lawyers present their requests and arguments to the Magistrate or Judge, who then decides the outcome and makes directions to the lawyers. Other pre-trial hearing is the Pre-Record. This is where a special witnesses, such as an affected child in sexual offence matters, gives their evidence (and cross examined) while being recorded. The recording is then played to the Jury at the Trial. There are strict rules about these types of hearings. Contested Facts Hearing. If you have been charged with an offence and you intend to plead guilty, the Prosecution must provide a Schedule of Facts (or Statement of Facts in higher courts). This document tells the court in detail what it is you are said to have done. If you plead guilty, you are saying that you agree with the allegations as described in the schedule. The facts are then taken into account by the Magistrate or Judge when they hand down their sentence. Your lawyer will review the proposed Schedule of Facts with you prior to your sentence. If you do not agree with any of the facts as Witten, your layer can negotiate a correction with the prosecution. If the prosecutor agrees to the change, then the statement is updated before it is given to the court at your sentence. But, if the prosecutor does not agree to the change, you will have to have the matter heard at a Contested Facts Hearing. This hearing is just like a mini-trial and may involve calling of witnesses by the prosecution to prove the facts as they are alleged in the schedule. Your lawyer will be able to cross examine, or test, this evidence. The magistrate of judge then decides whether or not the facts document should be changed. Although a contested facts hearing is like a trial, it is not to decide if. you are guilty or not guilty. It is just to decide what are the facts of the offending that you are admitting. You will still be sentenced after the hearing. Vacate Plea Hearing. If you have officially pled Guilty to a charge before a Magistrate or Judge (called an Arraignment), but later wish to reverse this and plead Not Guilty, you will need to make an application and present your case to a Magistrate at a special hearing. This is a very difficult application that must meet certain criteria. If you believe you have wrongly made a guilty plea and wish to plead not guilty, you need to speak to a lawyer. Valeston Lawyers has experience in plea reversal applications. |
