Electing to have a traffic offence to
be decided by the court which is in the criminal jurisdiction is known as a ‘Court
Election.’ Once a person ‘elects’ to have their matter heard in court, the
person must either enter a plea of guilty or enter a plea of not guilty.
It is also critical to note that ANY
conviction which (may) be imposed by the court after a person has elected to
have their matter heard in court will be recorded as a criminal conviction.
Why do people Elect to ‘Go To Court’?
People often choose to take a traffic offence
to court in circumstances where the person wants to avoid a licence suspension,
so this is particularly in circumstances where they have exceeded the demerit
point limit or in circumstances where they are breaching their good behaviour
licence which was imposed by the Transport for NSW.
If the Court decides to deal with a
matter by way of a ‘section 10(1)’ (Dismissal) or alternatively by way
of a ‘Conditional Release Order without recording of a Conviction’ then
there will be no demerit points incurred.
Any individual who is considering
electing to take a matter to court for any offence should be very cautious and
it is strongly advised to seek legal advice prior to electing to take a matter
to court and this is because ‘non conviction’ type orders which are granted
simply to avoid the operation of the demerit point system are considered as
improper by NSW courts.
It is very important that you speak
with a lawyer so that you can get the appropriate legal advice which you
require prior to going to court.
Our team of experienced solicitors are there for you and can
help you answer all your questions, so be sure to contact Nicopoulos Sabbagh Lawyers.
*This article correctly reflects
the Laws of NSW as at 19th October 2022.
*Please
note that this page or any other pages on our website (including any other
social media platforms for Nicopoulos Sabbagh Lawyers) are not to be considered
as a substitute for legal advice or even other professional advice. It should
also be noted that accessing of this information from this website does not create a client-lawyer
relationship.