The first 48 hours after you are charged

What has happened

Being charged means police have issued a Court Attendance Notice. It is not a finding of guilt and it is not the end of the process. The notice tells you the offence, the court, and the date you must attend. The facts sheet matters, because it is what a magistrate reads first.

The right to silence

A person who has been charged is not obliged to say anything further. In New South Wales there is a limited exception where a special caution has been given in the presence of a lawyer, which can allow a court to draw an unfavourable inference from something you failed to mention. In practice, discussing a charge with police, with a complainant, or on a messaging application creates evidence.

The first mention

No evidence is given at a first mention. The court asks whether the plea is guilty or not guilty, and where a person is not ready it will usually adjourn to allow advice to be obtained. For an offence dealt with summarily in the Local Court, s 22 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) requires the court to take a guilty plea into account, and the utilitarian discount for an early plea is conventionally up to 25 per cent. For an indictable offence dealt with on indictment the discounts are fixed by s 25D. Either way the value of the plea reduces the longer it is left.

What a solicitor generally needs to see

• The Court Attendance Notice and the police facts sheet
• Any bail conditions
• Your driving record, if it is a traffic matter
• A written account of events, prepared while recollection is fresh

When legal representation may not be necessary

For a first, low-range traffic infringement with no licence consequence, representation is often unnecessary.