In NSW, the Local Court has summary jurisdiction over certain criminal offences. Broadly speaking, there are two classes of criminal offences, indictable and summary offences. Indictable offences are offences that carry the right to trial by jury. By contrast, a summary offence is an offence where the right to trial by jury has been removed by law, and the matter is dealt with in the Local Court. However, many Indictable offences can be dealt with in the Local Court depending on the offence, and if the prosecution or the defendant or both elect for the matter to be dealt with that way.
Generally speaking, less serious offences are dealt with summarily in the Local Court, and the more serious offences are dealt with by the District Court or the Supreme Court.
Often a defendant will choose to have the matter dealt with in the Local Court as it involves significantly less legal costs, and if the defendant pleads guilty or the charge(s) are proved against the defendant, then the maximum penalty that can be imposed by a magistrate is often considerably less than the District Court or Supreme Court. Although there may be good reason why a defendant may want a matter heard before a jury.
When the matter proceeds summarily in the Local Court, the defendant will plead "guilty" or "not guilty". If the defendant pleads "not guilty", then the matter will be set down at a later date for a "Summary Trial" or also commonly known as 'Summary Hearing". The defendant will usually be presented with a copy of all the evidence that the prosecution propose to present before the court, including any statements of witnesses.
The defendant is presumed to be innocent until proved guilty. It is for the prosecution to prove beyond reasonable doubt the defendant is guilty of the charges before the court.
At the Summary Hearing, the prosecution will present it's case first and the defendant has the right to challenge any evidence presented including cross-examining any witnesses. At the conclusion of the prosecution case, the defendant may make various legal submissions regarding the validity of the prosecution case, and if such submissions are made, the Magistrate will ultimately decide whether the matter proceeds further or whether to dismiss the charge(s).
If any charges proceed further, the defendant will then decide whether to call any evidence in defence, including the decision to give evidence himself or herself. This later decision can be significant as it allows the prosecution to cross-examine the defendant, and can be pivotal in determining the finding of guilt or otherwise of the defendant.
At the conclusion of the evidence presented, both the prosecution and the defence will have the opportunity to address the magistrate about the evidence. The magistrate will determine whether the evidence proves the commission of the offence(s) beyond reasonable doubt, ie, whether the defendant is guilty or not.
If the magistrate finds the defendant guilty, the magistrate will then hear submissions from the prosecution and defence regarding sentence. The magistrate may pass sentence on the defendant immediately, or may adjourn the sentence to a later date.
Alternatively, if the magistrate finds that the charge(s) are not proved beyond reasonable doubt, then the defendant is discharged.
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