Trial by judge alone qld

The fact that there is no automatic right to trial by judge alone remains controversial. The amendments effectively reverse the existing process. That is, following a request from an Accused, a Court must make an order for a criminal trial to be judge alone, unless the Court was satisfied it was not in the interests of justice.

In that case, the Court upheld the application, holding that Mr Wark had been the subject of considerable publicity regarding both the Hayley Dodd disappearance and an unrelated matter. Accordingly, the Court held that it would have been very difficult to safeguard a jury against lingering prejudice and it would therefore lead to an unfair trial.

Twelve angry peers or one angry judge: An analysis of judge alone trials in Australia. Jodie O'Leary. Faculty of Law. Overview Fingerprint. Abstract Recently, New South Wales amended its legislation to provide for judicial discretion when determining upon request whether an accused will face a trial by judge alone for indictable criminal matters. Twelve angry peers or one angry judge:An analysis of judge alone trials in Australia Accepted author manuscript, KB Licence: Unspecified.

In cases where there is a lot of publicity, which is likely to prejudice potential jurors against you, it may be more beneficial to choose a judge-alone trial. If you are dealing with a complex or potentially lengthy matter, a judge-alone trial may also be better as a judge will have a better understanding of the legal complexities involved. Going to Court? Book Your Free First Appointment. Book a Lawyer. Fixed Fees We have competitive Fixed Fees for a range of Criminal and Driving cases so you will know exactly how much your case will cost.

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Kent Park. Sherleen Chand. Vinny Vijay. Mariecar Capili. Eddie Nedim. Deniz Nedim. Fred Cao. Karina Diec. Rasheen Mahmodian. Mehmet Yilmaz. Barristers We Instruct. Clive Steirn. William Brewer. Luke Brasch. Jack Tyler-Stott. Wali Shukoor. AJ Karim. Our Offices. Parramatta 27 Hunter Street. Liverpool George Street. The court may refuse to make an order if it considers that the trial will involve factual issues that require the application of objective community standards, [8] including reasonableness, negligence, indecency, obscenity or dangerousness.

Further, the court must be satisfied that the accused person has sought and received advice from a legal practitioner pertaining to the effect of a judge-alone trial before it makes such an order. The court has the power to make an order for trial by judge alone despite any of the above restrictions if it is of the opinion that an offence such as threatening a witness, interfering with a juror or similar [12] is likely to be committed and such a risk cannot be reasonably mitigated by other means.

Section A of the Criminal Procedure Act NSW contains various procedural requirements for the making of an application for trial by judge alone. An application must be made at least 28 days before the date fixed for trial, except where leave has been granted by the court. On the other hand the fact that the accused has decided on legal advice to relinquish his right to a jury trial is a matter to be weighed in determining where the interest of justice lie.

The court may make a no jury order if it considers it is in the interests of justice to do so. Where the prosecution has applied for a no jury order, the court may only grant it if the accused person consents to the order. The court may refuse to make a no jury order where the trial will involve a factual issue that requires the application of objective community standards. An applicant for such an order, prosecutor or accused, must satisfy the court that it is in the interests of justice that that be the mode of trial.

If the [ Criminal Code Qld ] expressed neutrality and no preference for a trial by a jury the order could be had for the asking. As it is the sections make it clear that there must be an application for a trial without a jury and, in accordance with ordinary principles, demonstrate why such an order is in the interests of justice. Section 7 of the Juries Act SA provides that in a criminal trial before the Supreme Court or District Court, a trial can proceed with a judge alone where the accused has elected to be tried by a judge alone, and where the presiding judge is satisfied that the accused, before making such an election, sought and received advice from a legal practitioner.