Disclosure/Committal Hearings WA

A disclosure/committal hearing serves two primary functions. The first function is a disclosure hearing. The second function is a committal hearing.

The term ‘disclosure’ refers to the process of providing, or disclosing, all material in a criminal investigation to the accused subject to that investigation or to their lawyer.

The term ‘committal’ refers to the procedure of having the charges taken from the summary jurisdiction (Magistrates Court) and having those charges committed (transferred) to a superior jurisdiction (District or Supreme Court).

Before a matter can be committed, the Magistrate must be satisfied that full disclosure, pursuant to section 42 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2004 (WA) has been complied with.

Issues relating to disclosure are often considered the Achilles heel which prohibits a matter being committed. It is therefore fitting that these two procedural hearings are combined to be called a disclosure/committal hearing.

utor from the WA Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) will be allocated the file. The disclosure/committal hearing process is important from the DPP’s perspective to assess the strength of the prosecution case and whether the matter should be committed for trial upon assessing the likelihood of success in a criminal trial.

If an accused pleads not guilty to their charge, and their matter must be heard in a superior court, the matter will proceed to a disclosure/committal hearing, unless it is administratively committed.

An accused can also elect to have their matter progress to a disclosure/committal hearing without entering a plea. The advantage in doing this is that the accused can obtain all the disclosure the police are relying upon to prove the charge against them. The disadvantage is that should the accused plead guilty after the disclosure/committal hearing, any discount authroised under section 9AA of the Sentencing Act 1995 (WA) will be reduced.

Following the matter being adjourned to a disclosure/committal hearing, the court will make an order that the prosecution serve full disclosure within 10 weeks.

Once the matter is listed for a disclosure/committal hearing, a prosecutor from the WA Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) will be allocated the file. The disclosure/committal hearing process is important from the DPP’s perspective to assess the strength of the prosecution case and whether the matter should be committed for trial upon assessing the likelihood of success in a criminal trial.

Some disclosure items must be made available to the accused or their lawyer shortly after the accused is charged.

Pursuant to section 117 of the Criminal Investigation Act 2006, if an accused takes part in a record of interview, is charged, and that record of interview relates to that charge, the interview must be disclosed within 14 days.

Initial disclosure must be provided as soon as practicable after a person is charged. Initial disclosure includes the statement of material facts, prosecution notice, copy of criminal history and any confessional material (i.e., record of interview).

Yes. If specific disclosure will benefit the facilitation of justice by resolving your matter early, the court is often minded to grant an order for specific disclosure. This is authorised under section 138 of the Criminal Procedure Act.

The application for specific disclosure must be just that: specific.

Depending on the complexity of the matter, it may not be possible for the prosecution to comply with the court order.

For example, drug related matters require a certificate of analysis. Depending on the complexity of the matter, the certificate of analysis may take anywhere from 20-40 weeks to obtain.

The purpose of the disclosure/committal hearing is to ultimately assess what disclosure items are still outstanding before the matter can be committed.

If the accused or their lawyer identifies items missing, they can make an application at the disclosure/committal hearing for an order to have the missing disclosure served within a certain time frame, pursuant to section 138 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2004.

The short answer is as many as it takes.

The major concern that the courts have, though, is the sheer number of disclosure/committal hearings that an accused can be subjected to. Not only does this cause strain on court resources, but can be extremely determinantal to the accused, particularly if they are remanded in custody or subject to onerous bail conditions.

The general consensus taken by some Magistrates is that a matter should be committed following four to five committal hearings, ideally sooner, following full disclosure by the prosecution.