The COURT PROCESS FOR TRAFFIC LAW CASES IN NSW?
Licence Suspension
A licence suspension which has been
imposed by:
·
The RMS; or
·
The Police
Can be appealed to the Court;
however, it should be noted that the decision of the Local Court in these types
of Licence Appeals is final. Once your Appeal document(s) have been filed at
the Court Registry (or in some cases Online) you will be given a Court date and
you must attend that Court date to have your matter dealt with.
RMS Suspensions and Police
suspensions are usually dealt with on the first return date so you must ensure
that you have prepared your case prior to going to Court.
Pleading Guilty
As we have previously mentioned in
other articles, it is critical that you obtain legal advice prior to going to
Court. When a person enters a plea of Guilty to an offence, that person is
admitting each element of that offence and (presuming that the facts are agreed
and have been handed up), that person has also agreed on the facts and the
matter will proceed to sentence.
It must be noted that if the accused
does not agree with the facts (as the police allege), the accused must inform
the Court as to which aspect in the facts that they don’t agree with and the
matter will then proceed to a contested facts hearing.
It should also be noted that just
because a person has entered a plea of guilty to an offence, this does not mean
that they will have a criminal record as the Court is empowered with disposing
of a matter by way of a Conditional Release Order (CRO with No Conviction), s10
Dismissal (with no further penalty) etc.
It should be noted however that the
more serious the offence and the circumstances surrounding the offence, the
more likely it is that the person’s matter will be dealt with by way of either:
i.
CCO
(Community Corrections Order)
ii.
ICO
(Intensive Corrections Order)
iii.
Full Time
Imprisonment
Pleading NOT Guilty
If a person comes before the court
for an offence which they did NOT commit, if the person believes that they have
been charged incorrectly, if a person has a defence and if the person would
like to put the prosecution to proof then that person may enter a plea of not
guilty and request a Hearing date. It should be noted that the prosecution bears
the onus of proving their case beyond a reasonable doubt and it is not the defendant’s
responsibility to prove their innocence.
Other Court Applications.
Other Court Applications such as when
making an application to remove the Habitual Traffic Offender Declarations
(HTOD) as well as the Driver Licence Disqualification Removal Applications are
usually dealt with on the first return date, and it is critical that you obtain
legal advice prior to filing any appeal or any application as you must have
grounds for your appeal.
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.