Committal Proceedings

1. If you have been charged with an offence that is expected to be committed on indictment to the District or Supreme Court your matter will go through a process called the Early Appropriate Guilty Plea (EAGP) scheme.
2. The EAGP process includes several steps before your matter reaches the District or Supreme Court.
3. If your matter is to be dealt with in the District or Supreme Court, committal proceedings will take place prior to the commencement of your trial.
4. At the end of the Local Court proceedings, you will either be committed for sentence or trial in the District or Supreme Court.
5. If you plead guilty, or are found guilty, a number of different sentences can be imposed.

At the first stage of the EAGP process, the Magistrate will make orders for the brief of evidence to be served. You are entitled to receive all of the evidence the police are alleging before entering any pleas. This stage is an 8 week adjournment period.

The brief of evidence is likely to contain statements from Police officers involved in the matter as well as any alleged victims. Examples of other types of evidence that may form part of your brief of evidence includes CCTV, phone records, search warrant material.

Once the brief of evidence has been served, the Prosecution are then required to ‘certify’ the charges that they will be proceeding with. This involves a senior prosecutor reviewing the brief of evidence to determine whether the charges that were initially laid are the appropriate charges based on the evidence.

Essentially, a charge certificate is a document that states the charges that the prosecution will be proceeding with. It should also outline which charges (if any) have been withdrawn, and any back up or related offences that the Prosecution will rely on as an ‘in the alternative’ charge. This stage is a 6-week adjournment period.

This stage often involves negotiations. A case conference is arranged between your lawyer and the ODPP senior prosecutor who certified the charges. You need to be available to take a phone call or nearby for your lawyer to get instructions from you about the negotiations. The purpose of the case conferencing stage is to facilitate resolving the matter in an expeditious way.

If it resolves in a way that the parties ultimately agree about the charges and facts, then you will be committed for sentence. Further case conferences can be held if it assists to get closer to a resolution. If there is no resolution, then you will be committed for trial.

Following the case conferencing stage, a case conferencing certificate (‘CCC’) is prepared by the prosecutors. It is a formal document that states what charges you are currently charged with. It also contains an outline of any offers made by your lawyers or the prosecution during the negotiations, and whether the offers were accepted or rejected.

This document is then provided to the court at the final mention in the Local Court. It is placed in a sealed envelope.

Q: What is the purpose of committal proceedings?

A: There are two main purposes for these proceedings. They are:

1. For the prosecution to decide which charges to proceed with, and
2. For you to have ample opportunity to decide whether to plead guilty or not guilty to the charge(s).

Q: What does it mean to be committed for sentence?

A: This means that a plea of guilty is entered and you will be sentenced in the District Court by a judge.

Q: What does it mean to be committed for trial?

A: This means that a plea of not guilty is entered and your case will go to trial. A finding of guilty or not guilty will be decided by a judge or jury.

Q: Is the process any different if I don’t have a lawyer?

A: Yes, there are provisions that mean the process happens slightly differently if you don’t have a lawyer, including changes to the timing. This means that the proceedings take slightly longer than they would if you do have a lawyer.

Q: Can a Magistrate still dismiss the charges during committal?

A: No. Previously, the law about committal proceedings allowed a Magistrate to dismiss charges before they reach the District or Supreme Court. The introduction of recent amendments resulted in Magistrates no longer being authorised to dismiss matters or charges during committal proceedings. However, a Magistrate may exclude prosecutorial witnesses in certain circumstances.