Directions
Hearing
Directions hearings are pre-trial procedures designed
to require practitioners to provide to the Court
information relevant to the running of the criminal
trials. They are essentially a procedural step
that helps the Court to manage their lists efficiently.
They are heard before a Judge and will require
the appearance of the Defendant and his lawyers.
The Court has issued an outline
of what they want to occur at a final directions
hearing
Practice
No 1 of 2004 Criminal Division: Final Directions
Case conference
Generally, case conferences are
heard a week prior to the Directions Hearing date
and are conducted by the Criminal Coordinator
at the Criminal Trial Listing Directorate (CTLD)
Lawyers from the Prosecution and Defence are required
to attend. The aim is to set a date for a a plea
or a trial hearing.
The defence are required to file
answers to a number of questions which will effect
the length and running of the plea/ trial.
Trial
A trial is where the case against
the accused is put before a jury of twelve people
who decide on the facts of the case. The prosecution
get all their witnesses to come along and give
evidence and produce any other evidence that they
have in their possession.
A defendant can give evidence
(tell their version of events) at their trial
if they want to but they are not obliged to do
so.
Trials have a lot of procedure
surrounding them, such as selecting a jury, and
they inevitably will go for a number of days.
Depending on the complexity of the matter and
the number of witnesses they can continue for
long periods of time.
Guilty plea
Is where a plea of
guilty is entered and then submissions are made
on your behalf by your lawyer. Obviously the more
positive things that can be put on your behalf
the better result you will get. It is important
to get character
references from your work and references from
people who know you well and can talk about your
positive characteristics.
At a guilty plea the accused
can tell the Judge how the offending occurred
and other people who know the defendant can speak
on their behalf. If the defendant has other issues
(for example; medical or psychological) witnesses
can give evidence or reports be given to the Court.
Sentencing
Often the Judge will want to
have a think about what penalty he is going to
impose. The matter will be adjourned to a later
date and they will then “sentence”
the defendant on that date. It is not normally
the case that any further submissions will be
made on that date.
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