Progress of a Typical Matter from Charge to Trial

To assist readers gain an appreciation of the role of the Office, an outline of the progress of a typical defended matter appears below:

1. police charge defendant with indictable offence(s)

2. police refer the matter to the Office and provide a brief, including charge sheets and statements of the witnesses

3. the matter is allocated to a Crown prosecutor to prosecute at the Magistrates Court committal hearing

4. the Crown prosecutor reviews the charges to ascertain if it is more appropriate for the prosecution to proceed to finality before the Magistrates Court

5. the Magistrates Court committal hearing is held: defendant committed for trial to the Supreme Court if sufficient evidence to justify trial (defendant is from now on known as the accused)

6. the Crown prosecutor prepares an indictment, case summary and list of witnesses for trial

7. a pre-trial conference is held shortly before arraignment day before the Registrar at which the issues between the Crown and the defence are canvassed

8. there is an arraignment before a judge to ascertain whether a plea of guilty is to be entered into by the accused or if the matter is to proceed to trial

9. the trial date is set at a callover; depending on the availability of judges, the date fixed may be some months away

10. a Crown prosecutor is allocated the brief

11. the witnesses are subpoenaed

12. the Crown prosecutor appears at the trial, assisted by an instructing officer

13. in the event of a conviction, a Crown prosecutor will appear at the subsequent sentencing of the accused if this does not occur immediately upon the conviction

14. if an appeal is lodged against the conviction and/or sentence, General Counsel will brief the Director or other senior appropriate prosecutor before the Court of Criminal Appeal

15. some matters may be taken to the High Court.

Of course, not all matters proceed all the way to trial:

• the defendant may be discharged in the Magistrates Court
  
  
• the defendant may, depending on the seriousness of the charge(s), be dealt with summarily in the Magistrates Court
  
  
• the defendant may plead guilty in the Magistrates Court to the indictable charge(s) and, again depending on their seriousness, be committed for sentence to the Supreme Court
  
  

• after committal for trial the accused may enter a plea of guilty (at arraignment or at any time up to and including the trial)

• the Director can, at any stage, discontinue proceedings, for example, for want of sufficient evidence or in response to the wishes of the victim.