Magistrates Court The Magistrates Court is the lowest in the court hierarchy Its current jurisdiction is set out in the Magistrates Court Act 1989 Vic Presided over by a Magistrate NO JURY ID: 316045
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "Victorian Court Hierarchy" is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
Victorian Court HierarchySlide2
Magistrates’ Court
The Magistrates’ Court is the lowest in the court hierarchy. Its current jurisdiction is set out in the
Magistrates’ Court Act 1989 (Vic)
.
Presided over by a Magistrate– NO JURYSlide3
Magistrates’ Court
Function-
deals with small civil disputes and some less-serious criminal offences.
It is the busiest court and deals with about 90% of court appearances.
WHY?Slide4
Magistrates’ Court
Criminal Jurisdiction
Summary offences
Indictable offences heard summarily
Committal hearings
Issuing warrants
Bail applications
The maximum sentence that can given by the Magistrates’ Court is two years for a single offenceSlide5
Magistrates’ Court
Summary offences
These are minor criminal offences as outlined in acts of parliament (
eg
Road Safety Act, Summary Offences Act, Firearms Act
)
Examples include:
Speeding
Exceeding a blood alcohol content of 0.05
Being drunk and disorderly
Common assault
Can be heard without the defendant present –
ex-parte
hearingsSlide6
Magistrates’ Court
Indictable offences heard summarily
Indictable offences are more serious criminal offences, such as murder and manslaughter. These are listed in the
Crimes Act 1958 (Vic.)
. Every person who has been charged with an indictable offence has the right to be tried by a judge and jury
.
However, with the consent of the defendant, some indictable offences can be heard summarily in the Magistrates’ Court by a magistrate. Slide7
Magistrates’ Court
Indictable offences heard summarily
For an indictable offence to be tried summarily three elements must be satisfied:
The prosecutor or the defendant must
apply
to have the case heard summarily
The court must be satisfied that the matter is
suitable
to be determined summarily; the court may decide that the offence is too serious or too complex to be heard by a magistrate
The defendant must
consent
; on the day of the hearing the court will ask the defendant “do you consent that charges against you shall be tried by us or do you desire that it shall be sent to trial by jury?”Slide8
Magistrates’ Court
Indictable offences heard summarily
Advantages:
The matter will be dealt with relatively quickly
and inexpensively
If the defendant is found guilty the maximum penalty is less than if it were heard by the County Court
The Magistrates’ Court is less formal and less intimidating (legal representation is not required)Slide9
Magistrates’ CourtSlide10
Magistrates’ Court
Committal Hearings
These hearings are held in the Magistrates’ Court for all indictable offences. They are a pre-trial procedure and held to determine whether a
prima facie
case exists
Prima facie-
there
is sufficient evidence to support a conviction by a jury in a higher courtSlide11
Magistrates’ Court
Civil Jurisdiction
Hears civil disputes up to $100,000
Matters worth less than $10,000 are referred to arbitration (this is still
via
the Magistrates’ Court as the arbitrator may be a magistrate or a court registrar)
The Magistrates’ Court has the jurisdiction to operate as a Family Court in certain matters
e
g
urgent injunctions, Child Support Agency applications, family violence mattersSlide12
Magistrates’ Court
The Magistrates’ Court has NO APPELLATE JURISDICTION for either civil or criminal cases.
This is because:
______________________________________________________________________________________Slide13
Magistrates’ Court
Criminal Appeals
Appeals on
sentence or conviction
County Court
Appeals of
points of law
Supreme Court (Trial Division)
Civil Appeals
Appeals on
points of law
Supreme
Court (Trial Division)Slide14
Magistrates’ Court
The Magistrates’ Court also has a number of specialist divisionsSlide15
County Court
Function-
Deals with a wide range of civil and criminal disputes
Hears about 10, 000 cases a
year
Busiest trial court in VictoriaSlide16
County Court
Criminal Jurisdiction
Has the jurisdiction to hear most indictable offences (drug trafficking, serious assaults and sex offences)
Cannot
hear serious indictable offences including:
Murder related offences
Conspiracy
Treason
Criminal
trials,
in which the accused has pleaded not guilty, are heard before a judge and a jury of 12Slide17
County Court
Civil Jurisdiction
Unlimited jurisdiction to hear all civil disputes, irrespective of the amount
claimed
Hears claims against councils (
eg
where loss or injury occurred from use of roads, buildings etc.)
Plaintiff, defendant and judge are present (parties must pay for the jury)Slide18
County Court
Appellate criminal jurisdiction
Against
sentence or conviction
from the Magistrates’ Court
Appellate civil jurisdiction
The County Court has NO civil appellate jurisdictionSlide19
County Court
Criminal Appeals
Appeals on
sentence or conviction or point of law
Court of Appeal
Civil Appeals
Appeals on
points of law , question of fact or damages
Court of AppealSlide20
County Court
Specialist divisions
The County Court
has
specialist
divisions of
the Koori Court and Sex Offences List
Specialist jurisdictions aim to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the courtSlide21
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is the highest Victorian court. The Supreme Court is presided over by a judge referred to as a ‘Justice’.
The Supreme Court consists of:
The Supreme Court (Trial Division)
The Supreme Court (Court of Appeal)Slide22
Supreme Court– Trial Division
Criminal jurisdiction
Hears all serious indictable offences including:
Murder related offences
Treason
Conspiracy
If the defendant pleads not guilty, a jury of 12 will determine the verdictSlide23
Supreme Court– Trial Division
Civil jurisdiction
Has unlimited civil jurisdiction (claims of any amount)
Usually hears the more complex cases or where the plaintiff is seeking significant damages
Heard by a single judge and an optional jury of 6Slide24
Supreme Court– Trial Division
Appellate criminal jurisdiction
Appeals on
points of law
from the Magistrates’ Court
Appellate civil jurisdiction
Appeals on
points of law
from the Magistrates’ Court and VCAT. Slide25
Supreme Court– Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal is a division of the Supreme Court.
Judges in the Court of Appeal are referred to as ‘Justice of Appeal’
Is usually presided over by 3 (sometimes 2) judges. At the court’s discretion, it can sit with up to 5 justices on matters of ‘significant importance’
The Court of Appeal has NO ORIGINAL JURISDICTION and can only hear cases brought to it from a lower court. Slide26
Supreme Court– Court of Appeal
Appellate
criminal jurisdiction
Appeals on
points of
law, conviction or sanction
from
a single judge of the County and Supreme Courts– provided that leave to appeal has been granted.
Appellate civil jurisdiction
Appeals on
points of
law, damages, question of fact
from a single judge of County or Supreme Courts or VCAT.