Standard procedure for summary matters in NSW

If you have been charged with a criminal offence and the Police Prosecutor or the Commonwealth or State Prosecutors have confirmed it will be a ‘summary matter’ or proceed in the ‘summary jurisdiction’, the matter will be dealt with in the Local Court of New South Wales. This means the matter will start and finish in the Local Court and will not, at any stage, be committed or transferred to the District Court Supreme Court where more serious charges are heard.   

A list of summary matters can include:

• Proceedings for an offence pursuant to the Summary Offences Act 1988
• Proceedings for offences listed in Table 1 or 2 of Schedule 1 to the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 where no election to proceed on indictment by the Commonwealth or State Prosecutors

The matter will not be listed before a jury, instead it will be a Magistrate/Judge that will determine the sentence if a plea of guilty has been entered or preside over a hearing if a plea of not guilty has been entered.

First Mention

Ordinarily at the first mention, the Court requires a plea to be entered.

If an adjournment is required to obtain legal advice, the Court may make that order.

Plea of Guilty

If a plea of guilty is entered, the Prosecutor will hand up the Police Fact Sheet, criminal history and/or traffic record. The matter may:

1. Proceed to sentence on that occasion; or
2. An adjournment may be sought for a Sentence Assessment Report (SAR) to be prepared if ordered by the Magistrate/Judge or for the preparation of sentence material.

Not Guilty

If a plea of not guilty is entered, a Magistrate/Judge or the Registrar is to:

1. Make orders for service of the prosecution brief of evidence upon the defendant or their legal representative in 4 weeks; and
2. Adjourn the proceedings for mention for reply in 7 weeks.

An exception to this rule is if the matter is contained in clause 24 of the Criminal Procedure Regulation 2017, which do not require a brief of evidence. An example of this type of matter includes a possess prohibited drug charge or a low, mid or high range drink driving offence. For these types of matters, a hearing date will be allocated at the time the plea of not guilty is entered.

Second Mention

Upon review of the brief of evidence that was required to be served, the Court requires confirmation of the pleas at the second mention.

If a plea of guilty is subsequently entered upon review of the brief, the Prosecutor will hand up the Police Fact Sheet, criminal history and/or traffic record. The matter may;

1. Proceed to sentence on that occasion; or
2. An adjournment may be sought for a Sentence Assessment Report (SAR) to be prepared if ordered by the Magistrate/Judge or for the preparation of sentence material.

If a plea of not guilty is maintained, the Court will list the matter for hearing at the earliest available opportunity.

A Court Listing Advice must be prepared by the defence which lists the prosecution witnesses that will be required for cross-examination, the hearing estimate and how many defence witnesses will be required.

At Hearing

The Magistrate/Judge will listen to all of the evidence from the Prosecution and any from the defence, and deliver a verdict of guilty or not guilty.

The Prosecution will present their evidence by calling witnesses, tendering statement and/or electronic evidence in support of their case and the defence will have the opportunity to cross-examine each of these witnesses.

Once the Prosecution have concluded their case, that is, they have presented all of the evidence they wish to rely on, the defence have an opportunity to call a case.

The defence case may consist of:

1. The calling of the defendant as a witness to give evidence;
2. Calling other witnesses in support; or
3. Tendering documents as exhibits.

At the conclusion of the defence case, the prosecutor and defence representative have the opportunity to make closing submissions.

The Magistrate/Judge then delivers a verdict and judgment at the conclusion of the matter.

If the Magistrate/Judge finds the defendant guilty, the matter will proceed to sentence.

If the Magistrate/Judge finds the defendant not guilty, the matter is dismissed.

Standard Procedure for Domestic Violence Matters

Where a person is charged with a domestic violence offence, the prosecution must serve on the defendant at the first available opportunity, and no later than the first mention date, a copy of the mini brief of evidence relied on to establish the charged conduct.

The mini brief is to include:

1. The alleged facts;
2. A copy of the complainant’s statement; and
3. Any photographs or videos on which the prosecution will rely.

First Mention

The Local Court’s approach to domestic violence matters requires pleas to be entered at the first mention.

If an adjournment is required, an application may be made for up to 14 days to obtain legal advice.

If a plea of guilty is entered, the Prosecutor will hand up the Police Fact Sheet, criminal history. The matter may;

1. Proceed to sentence on that occasion; or
2. An adjournment may be sought for a Sentence Assessment Report (SAR) to be prepared if ordered by the Magistrate or for the preparation of sentence material.

If a plea of not guilty is entered, the matter will be given a hearing date with expedition. The Practice of the Local Court is to list domestic violence hearings within 6 months from charge.   

Should you or someone you know be charged with an offence, it is essential you receive legal advice from an experienced criminal defence lawyer at any early stage. To discuss your options, call Hugo Law Group in Sydney, NSW (02 9696 1361), Canberra (02 5104 9640), Perth (08 6255 6909) or Northern NSW (02 5552 1902) to make an appointment to speak to one of our lawyers.