COMMITTALS Committals REPORT REPORT MARCH 2020 Committals Report
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COMMITTALS COMMITTALS Committals REPORT REPORT MARCH 2020 Committals REPORT GPO Box 4637 Melbourne 41 Victoria 3001 Australia REFORM COMMISSION VICTORIAN LAW Level 3 333 Queen Street Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia Telephone +61 3 8608 7800 Freecall 1300 666 555 (within Victoria) Fax +61 3 8608 7888 Email [email protected] www.lawreform.vic.gov.au VLRC_Committals_Report.indd 9 26/3/20 11:28 am Published by the Victorian Law Reform Commission CHAIR Reports published by the Victorian Law Reform Commission The Hon. Anthony M. North QC The Victorian Law Reform Commission was established COMMISSIONERS under the Victorian Law Reform Commission Act 2000 1 Criminal Liability for Workplace Death and Serious Injury 24 Guardianship (2012) Liana Buchanan as a central agency for developing law reform in Victoria. in the Public Sector (2002) Bruce Gardner PSM 25 Birth Registration and Birth Certificates (2013)* © Victorian Law Reform Commission 2020. 2 Disputes between Co-owners (2002) Dr Ian Hardingham QC 26 Succession Laws (2013) This publication of the Victorian Law Reform Commission Professor Bernadette McSherry 3 Failure to Appear in Court in Response to Bail (2002)* follows the Melbourne University Law Review Association Inc, 27 Jury Empanelment (2014) Dan Nicholson 4 People with Intellectual Disabilities at Risk: Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed., 2018). 28 Review of the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Alison O’Brien PSM A Legal Framework for Compulsory Care (2003) This report reflects the law at 12 March 2020. Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 (2014) Gemma Varley PSM 5 Sexual Offences (2004) Title: Committals: Report / Victorian Law Reform Commission 29 The Forfeiture Rule (2014) The Hon. Frank Vincent AO QC 6 Defences to Homicide (2004) ISBN 978-0-9943725-6-7 (until October 2019) 30 Trading Trusts—Oppression Remedies (2015) 7 Workplace Privacy (2005) Series: Report (Victorian Law Reform Commission) 41 CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 31 Photographing and Filming Tenants’ Possessions Merrin Mason 8 Implementing the Uniform Evidence Act 1995 (2006) for Advertising Purposes (2015)* Ordered to be published Victorian Government Printer ACTING CEO 9 Uniform Evidence Law (2006) 32 Medicinal Cannabis (2015) PP 122, Session 2018–20 Lindy Smith (11 Feb–12 Jul 2019) 10 Review of Family Violence Laws (2006) 33 Use of Regulatory Regimes in Preventing the REFERENCE TEAM Infiltration of Organised Crime into Lawful 11 Residential Tenancy Databases (2006)* Michael McKiterick Occupations and Industries (2016) Team Leader 12 Assisted Reproductive Technology and Adoption (2007) 34 The Role of Victims of Crime in the Criminal Dr Emma Larking 13 Review of the Bail Act 1997 (2007) Trial Process (2016) Senior Research and Policy Officer 35 Funeral and Burial Instructions (2016)* Briana Proud 14 Civil Justice Review (2008) Senior Research and Policy Officer 15 Law of Abortion (2008) 36 Review of the Adoption Act 1984 (2017) Jonathan O’Donohue 16 Assistance Animals (2008)* 37 Access to Justice—Litigation Funding and Senior Research and Policy Officer Group Proceedings (2018) 17 Jury Directions (2009) COVER DESIGN 38 Review of the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996 18 Surveillance in Public Places (2010) Letterbox (2018) 19 Protection Applications in the Children’s Court (2010) TEXT LAYOUT 39 Neighbourhood Tree Disputes (2019)* GH2 design 20 Review of the Property Law Act 1958 (2010) 40 Contempt of Court (2020) 21 Supporting Young People in Police Interviews (2010)* 41 Committals (2020) 22 Easements and Covenants (2010) 23 Sex Offenders Registration (2011) * Community law reform project. For a full list of publications, and to access the above reports, see www.lawreform.vic.gov.au VLRC_Committals_Report.indd 10 26/3/20 11:28 am Committals REPORT MARCH 2020 Victorian Law Level 3 Telephone Email Reform Commission 333 Queen Street +61 3 8608 7800 [email protected] GPO Box 4637 Melbourne Freecall www.lawreform.vic.gov.au Melbourne Victoria 3000 1300 666 555 Victoria 3001 Australia (within Victoria) Australia Fax DX 144, Melbourne +61 3 8608 7888 VLRC_Committals_Committals_TitlePage.indd 1 17/3/20 9:33 am Victorian Law Reform Commission Committals: Report Contents Preface ......................................................................................................................................vii Terms of reference ....................................................................................................................ix Glossary ......................................................................................................................................x Executive summary ................................................................................................................xiv Recommendations .................................................................................................................xvii 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................2 Terms of reference ...........................................................................................................2 Scope of the reference ....................................................................................................2 Purposes of committal proceedings ................................................................................3 Objectives of pre-trial indictable procedure ....................................................................3 The value of committal proceedings ...............................................................................4 Reforms in other Australian jurisdictions .........................................................................4 Recent reforms and reform proposals in Victoria ............................................................6 Terminology ...................................................................................................................6 The approach of the Commission ...................................................................................7 Commission Chair ..........................................................................................................7 Committals Division .......................................................................................................8 Commission process .......................................................................................................8 Reform objectives ...........................................................................................................8 Reducing trauma experienced by victims and witnesses ..................................................8 Improving efficiency ..................................................................................................... 10 Maintaining the right to a fair trial ................................................................................ 10 An overview of the Commission’s conclusions ............................................................ 12 Statutory sentencing discount schemes ........................................................................ 13 2. The present committal and pre-trial system ..................................................................16 Introduction ...................................................................................................................16 Prosecuting indictable offences .................................................................................... 16 Figure 1: The present committal and pre-trial system ................................................ 17 Direct indictment by the DPP ........................................................................................ 18 Committal proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court ...................................................... 19 The purposes of committal proceedings ....................................................................... 19 ii The component parts of committal proceedings .......................................................... 19 Filing hearing ...............................................................................................................20 Hand-up brief ..............................................................................................................20 Election to stand trial ................................................................................................... 21 Application for summary jurisdiction ............................................................................ 21 Case direction notice (Form 32) ....................................................................................22 Committal case conference .........................................................................................22 Committal mention .....................................................................................................23 Committal hearing ......................................................................................................23 Costs orders ................................................................................................................. 24 List management in the Magistrates’ Court .................................................................. 24 Pre-trial procedure in the higher courts ......................................................................25 Procedure immediately following committal .................................................................25 Filing an indictment