VICTORIAN COURT HIERARCHY. Magistrates’ Court The Magistrates’ Court is the lowest in the court hierarchy. Its current jurisdiction is set out in the

VICTORIAN COURT HIERARCHY

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


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?


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 offence


Summary offencesThese 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 hearings


Indictable offences heard summarilyIndictable 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.


Indictable offences heard summarilyFor 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?”


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)



Committal HearingsThese 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 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 eg urgent injunctions, Child Support Agency applications,

family violence matters


The Magistrates’ Court has NO APPELLATE JURISDICTION for either civil or criminal cases.

This is because:______________________________________________________________________________________


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)

Magistrates’ CourtThe Magistrates’ Court also has a number of specialist divisions


The Drug Court

The Koori Court

The Family Violence Division

Neighbourhood Justice

Centre

Sexual offences

List

Assessment and

Referral Court List

County Court

Function-

Deals with a wide range of civil and criminal disputes

Hears about 10, 000 cases a year

Busiest trial court in Victoria

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 12

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)

County Court

Appellate criminal jurisdiction

Against sentence or conviction from the Magistrates’ Court

Appellate civil jurisdiction The County Court has NO civil appellate

jurisdiction

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 Appeal

County Court

Specialist divisionsThe County Court has specialist divisions of the Koori Court and Sex Offences List

Specialist jurisdictions aim to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the court

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)

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 verdict


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 6


Appellate criminal jurisdiction Appeals on points of law from the


Appellate civil jurisdiction Appeals on points of law from the

Magistrates’ Court and VCAT.

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.

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.

Documents

VICTORIAN COURT HIERARCHY. Magistrates’ Court The Magistrates’ Court is the lowest in the court hierarchy. Its current jurisdiction is set out in the