The Law Handbook 2024

Chapter 2.3: Representing yourself in court 83 said to have used family violence. Please contact the court if you are interested in being referred to these services. Indictable vs summary cases Court procedures are different depending on whether a case is a ‘summary’ or ‘indictable’ case. Indictable cases Indictable cases involve serious charges that may be transferred to a higher court. Free representation is often available for people who have been charged with an indictable offence and who cannot afford a lawyer. An indictable case that the prosecution seeks to be heard in a higher court starts with a ‘filing hearing’. If you are facing a filing hearing, it is important to seek legal help. Summary cases The rest of this section deals with summary cases. Summary cases are heard and finished in the Magistrates’ Court. Victoria Police is responsible for prosecuting summary offences – that is, police officers present the case against you to the court. While the Magistrates’ Court can deal with quite serious charges, the most serious criminal cases are heard in higher courts. Some criminal charges are classified as ‘indictable charges that can be heard summarily’. This means that although they are more serious charges, they are often heard in the Magistrates’ Court, if the prosecution and the accused person agree to that (see below, ‘Pleading guilty to a criminal charge’). Police prosecutions and the brief of evidence You will need a copy of the ‘preliminary brief ’, which summarises what the police say happened and what evidence they plan to use to prove their case against you. This will help you to decide whether to plead guilty or not guilty. While police often provide this document automatically, you have a right to request the preliminary brief under section 35 of the CP Act. Police will most often give you either a summons or a charge sheet along with the preliminary brief. Both documents show the charges against you and the date of your court hearing. Both documents also contain the contact details of the ‘informant’, who is the police officer who charged you. If you need to, you can ask for a copy of the preliminary brief by emailing the informant. Always be calm and polite when speaking or writing to police officers. Keep detailed notes of any conversations with the informant and save copies of any correspondence. To prove a crime was committed, the police need to prove each ‘element’ of the offence. This usually involves proving that the physical actions occurred and that you had a certain state of mind at the time of the offending (e.g. you physically injured the victim and you intended to injure that person). There are many situations where you may have done certain actions, but you did not have the required state of mind for a crime to have occurred. On the other hand, your actions and intentions may mean that you have committed a crime, even though you think you did nothing wrong. Also, being unaware that something is against the law is never a defence. Therefore, you can commit a crime without knowing you have broken the law. This is why it is important to seek legal advice early in a criminal case when deciding to plead guilty or not guilty. Summary case conference A summary case conference is an out-of-court discussion (which is often conducted via email) with a police prosecutor who can negotiate about the charges or about what is said in the summary of facts about a case. They can change or withdraw charges if you both agree. A summary case conference is supposed to help both sides narrow down the issues in dispute, and to help you decide early on whether you will plead guilty or not guilty to some or all the charges. Ideally, you should try to have a summary case conference before your court date, but you can also have it at court on the day. If you are self-representing, it is important to seek legal advice before engaging in a summary case conference with the police. A lawyer can advise you on how to negotiate with the police and the importance of not making concessions or admissions about certain issues, to protect your interests. If you conduct a summary case conference via email, it is a good idea to write ‘Without prejudice’