What happens if you dont attend court

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Australian courts have found that a person cannot be convicted in absentia in the higher courts, except in two situations:. In cases where a defendant conducts him or herself in such a way that the trial cannot continue in their presence, the judge has discretion regarding whether to proceed in their absence.

An authoritative English case which has been quoted with approval by Australian courts held that courts must be fair to both the defence and the prosecution. The case found that judges should consider a range of factors when deciding whether to proceed, including:. In the case of R v Gee , the South Australian Supreme Court was called upon to decide whether a trial should go ahead despite the defendant, Mr Gee, not turning up.

The initial District Court Judge recognised his own discretion to proceed without the defendant, but declined to exercise it. In reaching that decision, the Judge expressed the view that he would need to act in a way that was incompatible with his role as a judge in order to proceed.

On appeal, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trial Judge made an error by not exercising his discretion to proceed, primarily because the defendant was aware of his trial date, but decided not to attend nor obtain legal representation.

The case was sent back to the District Court to hear the prosecution application to have the case heard in the absence of the defendant. So in a nutshell — while trials cannot start in the absence of the defendant in NSW, the law is not so settled in other parts of Australia. Most solicitors will be able to offer a fixed fee for a case.

It is useful to contact a few solicitors to get the best idea of what a fair price is. If you cannot afford a solicitor, or do not want one, you can represent yourself. The Bar Council has a detailed guide on representing yourself at court. At court you or your solicitor will be given a copy of the prosecution papers. If you have a solicitor they will spend some time with you in private talking about the evidence and getting your side of the story.

If you do not agree that you committed the offence you have been charged with, you should enter a plea of not guilty. Your case will be put off to another date for a trial. You can plead guilty to one offence possession, for example , but not guilty to another offence for example, intent to supply. There will be a separate hearing for these cases, where the Magistrates will check there is enough evidence and then decide if they can deal with it themselves.

If they can, you can still decide to go to the Crown Court. Many people like to have a trial in the Crown Court as it will be a jury of 12 people who decide the case and they may understand your situation better than a judge.

If you agree that you committed the offence you are charged with you should enter a plea of guilty. The Court might sentence you straight away or they may need to put it off to another day to allow the Court to decide what sentence to give you. You may be have to see a probation officer who will write a report for the Court about the offence and your personal situation, which the Court can use to help them decide on a sentence. If your case is a serious case, you will not be asked for a plea and your case will be sent to the Crown Court.

Should you attend court during the coronavirus lockdown? The short answer is YES unless you have a valid reason not to do so. However, these rules MAY not apply in the event that: You are now exhibiting symptoms that may indicate you are infected by the coronavirus as defined by the NHS guidelines, or; Someone you live with is exhibiting coronavirus symptoms, or; You fall into a high-risk category including but not limited to having pre-existing lung complications such as COPD.

Golden Rules: Open a dialogue and talk to those involved Providing there is sufficient time before your court date then the first step is to make your lawyer aware of the situation if you have one. Clients Contact As social distancing continues, we are able to offer the following alternatives to face-to-face meetings but should stress we may still arrange to meet you in very urgent situations. Telephone — Existing clients can call on the usual office number and be transferred to the relevant legal professional.

If you know the mobile number of the person you need to speak to then you may contact them directly. New Enquiries Email — You can contact our team directly by enquiries ashmanssolicitors. Online video platforms — If you have access to a computer or phone, we can be contacted via Skype. Your contact will tell you how. Similar Articles Category: Articles. October 30, Category: Articles.

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