c r i m i n a l t r i a l s
Introduction | Legal advice | Interpreters | At court on the day | Pleading guilty | Pleading not guilty | Bail | Committal hearings | After your case is finalised | Further questions
[last updated 06 August 2010]
If you are charged with committing an offence, you will have to
appear in the Magistrates Court to answer the charge. The Magistrates Court of
South Australia has five metropolitan courts (Adelaide, Christies Beach,
Elizabeth, Holden Hill and Port Adelaide), and nine country courts (Mount
Barker, Berri, Mount Gambier, Murray Bridge,
Port Augusta, Port Lincoln, Port Pirie, Tanunda and Whyalla). To see the full
details of each court location click here.
Some courts also operate circuits to outlying regions. Court
circuits are trips made by magistrates and court staff to conduct court hearings
in smaller towns and remote areas.
Usually, you will be required to appear in the court nearest to
where the alleged offence was committed. You can request that your case be
transferred to another court (for example, if you live closer to another court),
but you can only do so if you intend pleading guilty to the charge. In recent
years, specialist courts have been established to deal with offenders with
particular circumstances. Examples of specialists courts are the Drug Court, the Court
Diversion (mental impairment) Program, the Domestic
Violence Court and the Aboriginal
Court. If appropriate,
your case may be transferred to a specialist court.
Minor offences such as traffic violations and council by-laws are expiable
offences, i.e. offences for which you receive an expiation notice (‘on-the-spot
fine’, ‘camera fine’, ‘parking fine’, etc). Expiable offences do not
require your attendance in court at all, unless you intend pleading not guilty,
in which case you must elect to be prosecuted by filling out the appropriate
section on your expiation notice. You may then receive a summons to appear in
court at a later date.
All non-expiable
offences are dealt with by the court. If you are reported or arrested and
subsequently charged with a non-expiable offence, you will either be issued with
a summons to attend court at a later date, or the police may require you to
enter a bail agreement to appear in court at a later date (click here for
more information about bail).
In some circumstances, you may be held in custody to appear in court at the
first available opportunity. This must be by 4pm on the first working day after
the day on which you were arrested.
It is advisable, even if you do not intend to be represented in
court by a lawyer, to get some legal advice before your first court appearance.
If you appear in court unrepresented, one of the first things the magistrate
will ask you is whether you have had legal advice, and if the answer is
“no”, your case may be adjourned for you to get some. For more information
about legal advice, click here.
You may also be
able to get legal advice on the day you are in court from the duty solicitor. The
duty solicitor is a lawyer who is at the court to give free legal advice to
people attending court that day. Duty solicitors are available at most criminal
court sittings, mainly to assist people who have been arrested overnight, or who
have not been able to obtain legal help beforehand.
If you need an interpreter, the court will arrange one for you, but
you must let the court know well in advance, preferably as soon as you know the
date you have to attend.
You should attend court on the date and time specified in the
summons or bail agreement. When you arrive at court the first thing you should
do is look at the case list to find out which courtroom you are listed
in. The case list is a list of matters which are set before the courts that
day. The list is usually displayed in the court’s public waiting area - if you
can’t find it, ask at the information counter or court registry counter.
When you have found the courtroom you will be in, tell the
Sheriff’s officer in that courtroom who you are and why you are there. Then
take a seat and wait until your name is called. If you want to see the duty
solicitor, get to court earlier and ask for directions to the duty solicitor’s
office.
When your name is called, you will be required to stand in the dock.
The dock is a booth-like structure near the front and to the side of the
courtroom. To get an idea of what a courtroom looks like, click here
to take a virtual tour. Even though this virtual tour shows you a
courtroom in the District Court, the general set-up is the same in the
Magistrates Court. Three noticeable differences are: (a) there are no juries in the Magistrates Court, (b) judicial officers
and lawyers don’t wear wigs or gowns in the Magistrates Court, and (c) whereas
judges preside in the District Court, magistrates preside in the Magistrates
Court.
When you are in the dock the charge will be read out to you, and you
will be asked, “How do you plead?” to which you reply “guilty” or “not
guilty”. If you plead
“guilty”, the prosecutor (most cases in the Magistrates Court are prosecuted
by the police) will then give the court a run-down of the facts surrounding the
offence. The presiding magistrate will then ask you if you want to say anything
about the matter. When talking to the magistrate you should address him or her
as “your Honour”.
If you plead guilty, and you have already had legal advice (or you
don’t want legal advice), your matter can usually be finalised there and then.
You may be convicted, or the magistrate may find the charge proved without
recording a conviction. With or without a conviction, a penalty is usually
imposed. The penalty may be a fine, good behaviour bond, community service order
and/or (for driving-related offences) disqualification of your driver’s
licence. For some more serious driving offences eg drink driving, a licence
disqualification of some duration must be
imposed.
Usually you will also be ordered to pay court costs
(which vary depending on whether there is one offence, or two or more offences on the same charge
sheet), a Criminal Injuries Compensation levy, and prosecution costs (the amount varies
depending on the circumstances). The court can also order
that you pay compensation if, for example, you are charged with damaging
someone’s property.
For very serious offences which may incur a penalty of imprisonment,
it is unlikely that your matter will be dealt with on the first occasion or
without legal representation.
If your matter cannot be finalised on the first occasion, your case
will put off to another date. This is called an adjournment. If you are on bail, it is called being remanded to another date. Remand or adjournment, it is important that you
know and remember the next date you have to appear. Usually the court orderly
will give you a note with the next date on it. If that doesn’t happen you
should ask the orderly for a written note of the date.
If you are pleading not guilty, your case may be set down for a pre-trial conference (PTC).
Information about PTCs for self-represented litigants.
What is a PTC?
The Magistrates Court Rules require parties to proceedings to be ready to proceed to trial by the date of the hearing at which a trial date is set. Once a trial date has been fixed it will not be postponed unless there are very good reasons
Rule 8 and Rule 26 set out what is meant to happen before a matter is listed for trial.
This should be complied with as much as possible before the PTC.
Why has your matter been listed for a PTC?
To make sure that parties have complied with this rule and are ready for a trial date to be set, you are required to attend a PTC to find out:-
Can the matter be sorted out without a trial; and
Sort out what evidence will need to be given, whether some of the evidence can be agreed and other matters to make the progress of the trial easier; and
If a trial is needed, find out how long the trial will take and set a date that is convenient to the parties and witnesses.
How long will the PTC take?
A PTC will usually take between 5 and 20 minutes.
What am I required to do or bring?
Prior to the PTC you should make contact with the prosecution unit to discuss the issues fully and frankly. Their contact details should be on the court documents that were given to you.
Examples of the sort of thing that should be discussed with the prosecution before the PTC date so that the prosecution can consider it before the PTC:-
any evidence of alibi (you could not have committed the offence because you were somewhere else at the time);
any documents which may assist your defence;
tell them your version of the events, including what witnesses you have and what you think that they will say
The Magistrate will need the co-operation of both parties to attempt to resolve your matter.
You must attend the PTC. If you do not attend either personally or by a solicitor you may be found guilty and a penalty imposed in your absence.
If you are on Bail you must attend or a warrant may be issued for your arrest.
Your witnesses do not need to come to the PTC.
The purpose of a pre-trial conference is to:
find out what facts or legal issues are in dispute;
fully explore the possibility of dealing
with the charge other than by way of trial;
enable the length of the trial to be
estimated as accurately as possible;
decide if any evidence can be proved by
affidavit (ie, by using sworn written statements of witnesses as opposed to
oral evidence given in court), and
if a trial cannot be avoided, ensure that it ultimately runs as smoothly as possible.
If your case cannot be settled by the pre-trial conference or by
subsequent negotiations with the prosecution, it will be set down for trial.
It is highly advisable to go to trial
with legal representation.
At a trial, it is the prosecutor’s job to prove the charge beyond
a reasonable doubt. The
prosecution will present its evidence, which may comprise of any number of
witnesses, affidavits, exhibits, etc. You are allowed to cross-examine any of
the prosecution’s witnesses. When
the case for the prosecution is finished, it is your turn to present any
evidence and witnesses you have. The prosecution is allowed to cross-examine any
of your witnesses.
When all the evidence has been presented, it is up to the magistrate
to decide whether the charge has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Often,
the magistrate will adjourn the case to consider all the evidence before making
a judgment. When the magistrate has made a decision, it will be delivered in
court. If the charge has been found
proven, the magistrate may proceed to convict you and impose a penalty. As well
as the usual cost penalties, you may also be ordered to pay the costs of the
trial, namely witness fees. If the charge has
not been found proven, the case will be dismissed and you may ask for the
prosecution to be ordered to pay your costs.
When you enter into a bail agreement you are making a promise that you will appear in court on a specified date and time. You are not
permitted to leave the State while you are on bail unless you get permission
from a magistrate. Bail agreements usually specify a monetary amount, which you
only have to pay if you breach your bail. A cash bail is one where you are required to pay the sum up front when
entering the bail agreement. You get the money back (provided you don’t breach
your bail) when the case is finished. A bail agreement can also specify certain
conditions of bail, for example you may have to reside at a particular address,
or obey a curfew, or be under supervision of a probation officer.
If you fail to attend court when you are required, or if you breach
any other condition of your bail, a warrant for your arrest can be issued, and
you may also have to pay the amount of your bail (or in the case of a cash bail,
you may forfeit the amount you have already paid).
A bail agreement can also require one or more guarantors. When someone acts as guarantor for you they are making a
promise that you will appear in court at every required hearing and will
obey all the conditions of your bail agreement. As with bail, a monetary amount
is usually attached to the guarantee. If you breach your bail agreement, your
guarantor may have to pay the amount of the guarantee (or in the case of a cash
guarantee, the guarantor won’t get back the money they were required to
pay up front).
A bail agreement lasts until your matter is finalised or until a
court orders it to end or change. You can apply
to the court to vary the conditions of your bail if you have good reasons for
doing so.
The Magistrates Court can hear, determine and sentence on charges
for offences which are defined as summary offences or minor indictable offences.
The definitions are contained in the Summary Procedure Act. While the definitions are complicated, these are generally offences
which carry a maximum of two years imprisonment. For serious offences where the
penalty can exceed two years imprisonment, the Magistrates Court conducts a preliminary
examination to determine if there is enough evidence to put the defendant on
trial in a higher court. This preliminary examination is called a committal
hearing. If the magistrate determines that there is enough evidence to sustain
the charge, the defendant is committed to
stand trial in either the District Court or the Supreme Court, depending on the
seriousness of the charge.
After
your court case is finalised
If you receive a fine, costs or any other type of monetary penalty,
you will automatically have 28 days to pay the amount due. If you require more
than 28 days, you should see someone from the Fines Payment Unit (FPU) located
in the court office. For more information about the payment of fines, click
here.
If you receive a good behaviour bond or a community service order,
you will have to wait while the appropriate paperwork is prepared. When it is
ready, a justice of the peace (JP) or a court officer will explain the
conditions of the bond or order to you, and then you and the JP/court officer
must sign it. If it is a good behaviour bond without supervision, there is nothing more you have to do (except of
course to be of good behaviour!). If it is a bond with supervision, or a community service order, you must usually
report within two working days to the Department of Correctional Services. You
will then be placed under the supervision of an officer from that department,
and must obey all of their instructions as to fulfilling the obligations of the
bond or community service order.
Telephone:
Adelaide Magistrates Court (criminal)
61 8 8204 2444
E-mail:
AMCregistry@courts.sa.gov.au
Mail:
The Managing Registrar
Adelaide Magistrates Court
Level 1
260-280 Victoria Square
PO Box 6115 Halifax Street
Adelaide, South Australia 5000
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