plea, but an increase in the proportion of guilty pleas entered at an early stage of the proceedings. One of the aims of the current study was to examine whether or not the proportion of guilty pleas has remained stable and whether or not there have been any changes to plea timing since the introduction of the stated sentence discount scheme. The Council expected that: in Victoria there should be an appreciable change in the stage at which defendants facing indictable charges indicate a willingness to plead guilty once the effect on the sentence is made clear. We note, however, that the impact of this change will depend partly on the extent to which the parties are able to prepare the cases early enough to place the defendant in a position to benefit from an early guilty plea. In its 2005–06 Annual Report, the County Court identified a number of issues contributing to delays and low plea rates: The delays experienced in hearing cases in the criminal jurisdiction, combined with the significant increase in the number of cases initiated, had contributed to the reduced clearance rate. During 2005–06, this Court received considerably more cases proceeding to trial due to fewer pleas of guilty in the Magistrates’ Court. In many cases, defendants committed to this Court failed to receive a trial date for 12 months or more. Fuelling the influx of trials was the lack of incentive in the committal stream for considering sentencing options in exchange for pleas of guilty, driving defendants to take their chances at trial, where the possibility exists for acquittal[.] Another issue identified by the County Court was the 10 to 12 week delay between a committal and the initial directions hearing in the County Court, which represented ‘an unnecessary disconnect in the progress of a criminal matter between jurisdictions’. Other barriers to early guilty pleas include the late service of the prosecution brief; no or late legal representation of the defendant or changes in legal representation; a perception by the defence that closer to the trial charges may be reduced or further evidence disclosed; late acceptance by the prosecution of a
plea, but an increase in the proportion of guilty pleas entered at an early stage of the proceedings. One of the aims of the current study was to examine whether or not the proportion of guilty pleas has remained stable and whether or not there have been any changes to plea timing since the introduction of the stated sentence discount scheme. The Council expected that: in Victoria there should be an appreciable change in the stage at which defendants facing indictable charges indicate a willingness to plead guilty once the effect on the sentence is made clear. We note, however, that the impact of this change will depend partly on the extent to which the parties are able to prepare the cases early enough to place the defendant in a position to benefit from an early guilty plea. In its 2005–06 Annual Report, the County Court identified a number of issues contributing to delays and low plea rates: The delays experienced in hearing cases in the criminal jurisdiction, combined with the significant increase in the number of cases initiated, had contributed to the reduced clearance rate. During 2005–06, this Court received considerably more cases proceeding to trial due to fewer pleas of guilty in the Magistrates’ Court. In many cases, defendants committed to this Court failed to receive a trial date for 12 months or more. Fuelling the influx of trials was the lack of incentive in the committal stream for considering sentencing options in exchange for pleas of guilty, driving defendants to take their chances at trial, where the possibility exists for acquittal[.] Another issue identified by the County Court was the 10 to 12 week delay between a committal and the initial directions hearing in the County Court, which represented ‘an unnecessary disconnect in the progress of a criminal matter between jurisdictions’. Other barriers to early guilty pleas include the late service of the prosecution brief; no or late legal representation of the defendant or changes in legal representation; a perception by the defence that closer to the trial charges may be reduced or further evidence disclosed; late acceptance by the prosecution of a
Guilty%20Pleas%20in%20the%20Higher%20Courts.docx