Magistrates Court Courts are an integral part of the Australian Legal system and the Magistrate Court is most offenders first and last point of call in their criminal trial. This report aims to outline the procedure of a hearing held in the Magistrates court as well as evaluating whether the process is fair. Observations were made at a local Magistrates court and a case will be utilized to assist in explaining the court process. Court Hearing: During a hearing in the Magistrates Court there are principal participants that play an important role throughout the process. Magistrates, located at the front and looking down on the courtroom hears all cases and tries both question of fact and question of law without a jury. Furthermore, the magistrate …show more content…
If the defendant pleads guilty the Magistrate shall convict the defendant, make an order against the defendant or deal with the defendant in any manner authorized by law. If the defendant pleads guilty the Magistrate will listen to submissions of both aggravating and mitigating factors by both the prosecutor and the defense lawyer and will either sentence the defendant immediately or set a date for a sentence hearing. Furthermore it is common in many jurisdictions magistrates and judges present discounted charges for pleas of guilt. The High Court of Australia acknowledged the general principle and stated that it should be take into account as a mitigating factor as it may be a sign of remorse as well as sparing the expense of a drawn out trial. Moreover, The court must take a guilty plea into account when imposing a sentence and may reduce the sentence that would have been imposing if there were a plea of not guilty. This reduction would depend on at which time the plea of guilty was entered and when imposing the sentence the court must state in open court that it took into account the plea of …show more content…
The police prosecutor will read out the information from the QP9 that is a document that gives their version of the events and alleged offences they also inform the magistrate of any previous convictions or traffic history, the defendant is entitled to see these. Moreover, the defense lawyer provided mitigating factors to the magistrate including an early plea, schizophrenia caused by a head injury in an accident. Furthermore, the defendant suffers from posttraumatic stress, and feels vulnerable in relationships and struggles with personal relationships as the defendant’s stepfather was abusive and biological father is deceased. Continuing, the defendant also did well previously on probation and successfully completed 80 hours of community service with a women’s group and the defendant felt that there was a positive impact from