If you have been charged with a criminal offence, being prosecuted in the summary stream of the Magistrates’ Court, the first thing you should do is contact an experienced criminal lawyer to discuss your case. It goes without saying that an experienced criminal lawyer will be able to navigate the negotiation of your charges and the progress of your criminal case with the skill you need to achieve the best possible results. However, if you are self-represented or simply interested in what the case conferencing process looks like, this is a quick guide which should hopefully assist.
Who are police prosecutors?
Unlike more serious indictable crime, all summary (less serious matters) are prosecuted by the police prosecutions office. Police prosecutors are not sworn members of Victoria Police. Rather, they are either lawyers or unsworn members who have completed a course in order to prosecute summary matters through the Magistrates’ Court. However, unlike matters prosecuted through the Office of Public Prosecutions, which prosecutes serious crime, summary cases are not allocated to one police prosecutor as they progress through Court. So, you shouldn’t expect to deal with the same prosecutor all the way through your matter. Rather, you may find that you discuss your matter with a number of prosecutors, each of whom have to familiarise themselves with the basic facts of your matter before they will discuss it with you.
Set your expectations
You may attend Court for your first Mention expecting that you will be able to negotiate your charges and, potentially, obtain a withdrawal of the charges. However, in reality, unless you are prepared to plead guilty to charges on the spot, it is unlikely that you will achieve anything other than an adjournment of your matter at the first hearing. This is unless you have already case conferenced the matter in advance of the Mention with a prosecutor. Prior to the first Mention, it is unlikely that your matter will have been considered by a Police Prosecutor. When it is considered, do not expect the prosecutor to have read the entire brief, nor watched any audio-visual materials. They will base their assessment of the case on the summary prepared by the Informant, which is the name assigned to the police member who charged you and was responsible for the investigation.
Don’t Expect Consistency Between the Courts
Each Magistrates’ Court Prosecutors Office sets its own processes for case conferencing. Some offices will not case conference at Court and require you to case conference in advance, by appointment, over the phone or via email. You should always contact the Prosecutors Office in advance of your court date to see what their case conferencing procedure is so that you are well prepared to get the most our of your court date. Otherwise, you might leave having achieved nothing at all except a pointless day off work.
Case Conferencing a Matter
When you are represented, your lawyer will case conference your matter for you, based on an assessment of the case, a familiarity with the applicable law and based on your instructions. Usually, the accused is not involved in the case conference between defence lawyer and prosecutor, because it allows them to speak more frankly about the matter, which maximises the prospects of negotiating an outcome or confining the issues in dispute. Also, where the Prosecutors Office requires that case conferences be conducted in advance, your lawyer will arrange the conference as far in advance of court as possible. This allows time to further negotiate and for the Prosecutor to make enquiries with the Informant if required. It also sets up a situation where, if the prosecution are not in a position to progress the matter at the next court date, your lawyer can seek that the prosecution pay any costs that are wasted. This provides a powerful incentive for the prosecution to properly consider your matter.
If you are self-represented and conducting the case conference yourself, you should ensure that you are across the brief of evidence and have researched the applicable law. You may benefit from speaking with a duty lawyer at court. You should also be prepared to case conference your matter in a short amount of time. Usually, prosecutors allocate no more than 15 minutes to case conference a matter at court.
When Case Conferencing Fails
If you have tried to achieve an outcome through case conferencing, but haven’t succeeded, the court will expect that your matter will progress. Often it will expect that the matter proceed to a Contest Mention in order that the issues in dispute can be raised for the consideration of the court. Obviously, this process is best navigated by an experienced criminal defence lawyer, particularly given that the court will expect the issues to be clearly defined and legal issues articulated. However, you should definitely turn your mind to which direction your matter will take if you cannot resolve it: to a Contested Hearing or to a Plea. Magistrates can get very irritated by accused individuals who seek to repeatedly adjourn matters because they cannot decide which direction to take.
Remember to Get Advice & Constantly Reconsider your Position
Notwithstanding the Magistrates’ Court generally deals with less serious matters, the consequences can still be significant. The Magistrates’ Court can impose a variety of penalties including periods of imprisonment. Even if you have been self-representing throughout your matter, it is rarely too late to get advice in relation to your case. Fresh advice might also allow you to reconsider your position and allow you to make better decisions for your matter moving forward. There may also be aspects of your case that require reconsideration or review, leading to a better outcome for you. There are a variety of firms that offer initial client, fixed fee, consultation which allow you to discuss your matter and receive advice before making a decision as to whether to engage a lawyer.
We hope this guide has been helpful. At Galbally Parker, we offer obligation-free consultations, giving you the chance to speak directly with one of our experienced criminal defence lawyers about your matter. Our team has extensive experience across a wide range of practice areas, including drug offences, assault charges, sex offence charges, and fraud and theft offences. Contact us today to arrange your consultation and get the support you need from Melbourne’s trusted defence team.
