Going to court – pleading not guilty

Should I plead not guilty?

The decision to plead not guilty is up to you.

Think about the following:

• what advice you got from your lawyer (if you got advice)
• if the prosecution has a strong case against you. The prosecutor will need to prove beyond reasonable doubt that you are guilty
• what your defence is. Usually you will need a defence against the charge, saying that you did not know you were breaking the law is not a legal defence
• your chances of being found not guilty
• what type of penalty you might get if you are found guilty.

Preliminary briefs

If you plan to plead not guilty, it's important to find out what case the police have against you by getting the brief of evidence.

You can get this:

• in the documents police gave you with the charge sheets or summons.
• by asking police for a preliminary brief if you have received a summons, or a charge and summons.

The preliminary brief helps you to work out what the police know and what they might say at the contest mention or the contested hearing.

Full brief of evidence

You can also ask for the full brief of evidence. To do this, write to and ask the informant for this (the police officer or government official) at least 14 days before the first court date. Their details should be on the charge sheet you received.

You can still write to them after 14 days but they may not send you the information in time.

Carefully read the brief of evidence and note the evidence the police have. Use this to prepare your defence. You may need to think about the penalties for the offence. For some offences the only way to avoid the penalty is to plead not guilty and win your case.

Note that the law allows the magistrate to give you a less severe penalty if you plead guilty early in your case.

What should I do at court?

When you arrive on the day of your hearing, go to the court counter and tell the staff that you are pleading not guilty.

They will tell you to go to the prosecutor and have a summary case conference. This is a chance to work out what you and the prosecution disagree over. If you cannot agree and you want to keep pleading not guilty, the court staff will send your file into the courtroom. This lets the magistrate know that your case can be heard.

Go into the courtroom and wait for your name to be called. This may take a while. Make sure you bow to the magistrate as you go into the courtroom.

At the hearing

When your name is called, stand at the opposite end of the bar table from the prosecutor at the bar table. If you are with your lawyer, you will sit behind them.

There will also be a magistrate, court clerk, and witness box at the front of the court. The informant will sit behind the police prosecutor.

When asked, tell the magistrate that you want to plead not guilty. The magistrate will adjourn your case for a hearing on another day.

You may go to a contest mention

This is a possible step for a not guilty case. Whether your case needs a contest mention depends on how complicated it is and how long the case might take. If the magistrate decides you need a contest mention, it will happen before the contested hearing.

At the contest mention the magistrate will want to know:

• the main issues you and the prosecution disagree over
• the number of witnesses that will be called at the hearing
• how long your hearing will be likely to take.

The informant will usually be there as well as the prosecutor. The magistrate will try to get you and the prosecution to agree on as much as possible.

You can ask the magistrate what would happen if you were to plead guilty. The magistrate may give an idea of the penalty. This is called a sentencing indication.

You might now feel that the prosecution has a strong case. You can change your plea. If you are charged you with more than one offence, the prosecution may drop some charges if you plead guilty to others.

Contested hearing

A contested hearing usually happens after you have had:

• the summary case conference
  and/or
• the contest mention (if you had to do that).

The hearing happens if you decide to keep pleading not guilty.

It includes:

• witnesses giving evidence
• the magistrate listening to the evidence and deciding on whether you are guilty or not
• the magistrate deciding on penalties, if they have found you guilty.

If you change your mind and decide to plead guilty, your case can still go ahead on that day. You should tell the court and prosecution as soon as you can if you decide to plead guilty, so that the prosecution does not organise witnesses to come to court.

Preparing for the contest mention and contested hearing

It is a good idea to get legal help, and to ask for a lawyer to speak for you in court. Our lawyers can only represent you in a contested hearing if your case is of a certain level of seriousness, but they can give advice about how a contested hearing works.

Ask the court to arrange an interpreter if you or your witnesses need one. Do this at least five days before your case. If the court arranges the interpreter for you there will be no fee.

You should think about what you want to say to the magistrate in case they find you guilty. Visit Going to court – pleading guilty.

You might also like to visit the court again so you know what to expect.

Organise your witnesses and documents

Witnesses must be at court for the contested hearing. If you have witnesses, tell them when they have to come to court. You might need to get a witness summons if your witness will not come, or if their employer wants proof that they need to be in court.

Organise your support letters and any paperwork to do with your finances. The magistrate may need to know about your weekly wage and things you have to pay for.

Penalties

If you receive a fine, you should pay the fine via Fines Victoria, unless you were ordered to make the payment directly to the court.

Fines Victoria will send you a court fine collection statement which will tell you how much you must pay and when it is due. You can pay online or by phone.

It’s important to make sure Fines Victoria has your current address, so you receive the statement. If you have a driver’s licence, make sure you also update your address with VicRoads.

If you need help paying your fine or more time, visit the Fines Victoria website. You can make a payment plan (called an instalment order) so you can make part payments over time, or there may be other options.

Can I appeal the magistrate’s decision?

If you do not agree with the decision you can appeal to the County Court. You have 28 days to do this. Get legal advice before you decide. You could end up with a higher penalty.

Visit Appealing a magistrates' court decision.

Explore our publications and resources

• Help at court
• Other support for going to court
• Going to court for a criminal charge
• Appealing a magistrates' court decision
• Criminal records
• Going to court – pleading guilty
• Going to court – writing a character reference.