Court Appearances Lawyers

Do you have a court matter? If so, then don't delay contact us today! We handle all court matters in every jurisdiction including the Local, District, Supreme and High Court of Australia. We can help you with mediations, conciliations, arbitrations and tribunal matters and any other legal matters requiring legal representation.

If you have a Court matter and need legal representation, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

Lawyers who appear in Court generally understand the importance of representation and support in regards to court matters and litigation. Their services include representation in Court as well as meetings, appeals and settlements.

Court Appearance Lawyers services include court attendances for:

• Criminal matters
• Civil matters
• Divorce matters
• Family law disputes
• Custody matters
• Traffic Cases including drink driving cases

If you have a Court matter and need legal representation, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

Lawyers can appear in the following Courts and Tribunals:

• Local Courts
• Magistrates Courts
• Tribunals
• Supreme Courts
• District Courts
• High Court
• Family courts
• Federal courts
• Children's Courts
• Other courts and tribunals

If you have a Court matter and need legal representation, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

What Happens Before a Court Appearance?

If you are summoned to court as a witness or defendant you have a number of rights under the law.

If you are a Witness:

As a witness you have a number of rights that include:

• The right to see the courtroom before the trial begins.
• The right to bring someone with you to court.
• The right to wait in a separate area of the court from the rest of the people involved in your case.
• The right to refresh your memory of the statement you gave to the police. A representative of the Crown Prosecution Service will be able to make your statement available to read before you enter the court to give your evidence.
• The right to take your oath on a holy book of your choice, or to affirm your oath without a holy book.

All witnesses have a right to be protected against any intimidation as a consequence of them offering their testimony in court. If you feel that you may suffer intimidation from the defendant in your case, you have the right to apply to give your evidence as a written statement.

If you are a Defendant

Going to court as a defendant means you also have a number of rights that the courts and the police must abide by. These include:

• The right to have any unused evidence disclosed to you before the trial begins. This is any material that the prosecution will not be using in the trial you are about to take part in.
• The right to cross-examine any witness that the prosecution has bought into court to support their case against you.
• The right to object to any written statements being read out in court unless you or your solicitor have already been given copies in advance.
• The right to enter the witness box to defend your case.
• The right to call any witness in your defence.

Your Right to Privacy

Anyone under the age of 16 should not have their identity revealed by the press if the case involves a sexual offence.

The Australian court system - a general overview:

The Courts

The Federal Judicature

Chapter III of the Constitution (sections 71–80), called ‘The Judicature’, provides for the judicial branch of the Commonwealth. It establishes the High Court of Australia and empowers the Commonwealth Parliament to create other federal courts and to vest federal judicial power in State and Territory courts. ‘Federal judicial power’ is the power to decide a dispute of the kind set out in sections 75 and 76 of the Constitution.

There are four principal federal courts:

1.the High Court
2.the Federal Court of Australia
3.the Family Court of Australia, and
4.the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia.

Federal judges and magistrates are appointed by the government of the day.

The Australian Constitution does not set out specific qualifications required by federal judges and magistrates. However, laws made by the Commonwealth Parliament provide that, to be appointed as a federal judge, a person must have been a legal practitioner for at least five years or be a judge of another court. To be appointed as a federal magistrate, a person must have been a legal practitioner for at least five years. To be appointed as a judge of the Family Court of Australia, a person must also be suitable to deal with family law matters by reason of training, experience and personality.

All federal judges and magistrates are appointed to the age of 70. The Australian Constitution provides that a federal judge or magistrate can only be removed from office on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity, on an address from both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the same session. The Australian Constitution provides that the remuneration of a federal judge or magistrate cannot be reduced while the person holds office. These guarantees of tenure and remuneration assist in securing judicial independence.

The independence of the courts, and their separation from the legislative and executive arms of government, is regarded as of great importance in Australia and it is taken for granted that judges, in interpreting and applying the law, act independently of the Government.

If you have a Court matter and need legal representation, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

The Court system

Commonwealth courts

The High Court of Australia

The High Court of Australia is the final court of appeal in Australia.

The Court has a Chief Justice and six other judges.

One of the High Court’s principal functions is to decide disputes about the meaning of the Constitution. For example, if the validity of an Act passed by the Commonwealth Parliament is challenged, the High Court is responsible for ultimately determining whether the Act is within the legislative powers of the Commonwealth. The High Court is also the final court of appeal within Australia in all other types of cases, including those dealing with purely State matters such as the interpretation of State criminal laws.

The Australian Constitution vests two types of jurisdiction in the High Court: original and appellate.

Original jurisdiction is conferred by section 75 of the Constitution in respect of the following matters:

• matters arising under any treaty
• matters affecting consuls or other representatives of other countries
• matters in which the Commonwealth of Australia, or a person suing or being sued on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia, is a party
• matters between States, or between residents of different States, or between a State and a resident of another State, and
• matters in which a writ of mandamus or prohibition – or an injunction is sought against an officer of the Commonwealth, including a judge.
• Under section 76 of the Constitution, the Parliament may also make laws conferring original jurisdiction in other matters, including matters arising under the Constitution and matters arising under laws made by the Parliament.

The High Court is also the Court of Disputed Returns in relation to disputes about the validity of federal elections.

Section 73 of the Constitution confers appellate jurisdiction on the High Court to hear appeals from decisions of:

• the High Court in its original jurisdiction
• Federal courts
• other courts exercising federal jurisdiction, and
• State Supreme Courts.

In considering whether to grant an application for leave to appeal from a judgment, the High Court may have regard to any matters that it considers relevant, but it is required to have regard to whether the application before it:

• involves a question of law that is of public importance, or upon which there are differences of opinion within, or among, different courts, or
• should be considered by the High Court in the interests of the administration of justice.
• The Federal Court of Australia
• The Federal Court of Australia came into existence on 1 February 1977. It sits in each State and, as necessary, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.

If you have a Court matter and need legal representation, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

The Court has such original jurisdiction as is invested in it by laws made by the Commonwealth Parliament including, for example, in relation to matters in which a writ of mandamus or prohibition or an injunction is sought against an officer of the Commonwealth Government, and matters arising under Commonwealth laws, including bankruptcy, corporations, industrial relations, taxation and trade practices laws.

The Federal Court of Australia hears appeals from the decisions of single judges of the Court and decisions (except family law decisions) of the Federal Magistrates Court. It also hears appeals from some decisions of State and Territory Supreme Courts.

The Family Court of Australia

The Family Court of Australia is a specialist court dealing with family and child support disputes.

The Family Court exercises original and appellate jurisdiction throughout Australia except in Western Australia.

In Western Australia, the Family Court of Western Australia decides family and child support disputes. This Court is a State Court, funded almost entirely by the Commonwealth Government. The judges of the Family Court of Western Australia also hold commissions as judges of the Family Court of Australia.

The Federal Magistrates Court

The Federal Magistrates Court commenced operation in July 2000. It was established to deal with less complex disputes under Commonwealth laws. Its jurisdiction includes family law and child support, administrative law, bankruptcy law, discrimination, workplace relations and consumer protection law. It shares its jurisdiction with the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Court of Australia.

Industrial Relations Court of Australia

The Industrial Relations Court of Australia was established in March 1994 to deal with a range of industrial relations matters. Its jurisdiction was transferred to the Federal Court of Australia in May 1997. The judges of the Industrial Relations Court are also judges of the Federal Court and work full-time as judges of the latter Court.

State and Territory Courts

Australian State and Territory courts decide cases brought under State or Territory laws and, where jurisdiction is conferred on these courts by the Commonwealth Parliament, they also decide cases arising under federal laws. Most criminal matters, whether arising under Commonwealth, State or Territory law, are dealt with by State or Territory courts.

The Supreme Courts of the States, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and Norfolk Island are the highest State and Territory courts and deal with the most important civil litigation and the most serious criminal cases. They also hear appeals from decisions made by the lower State courts or single Judges of the Supreme Court.

State intermediate courts decide the great majority of serious criminal offences where a jury is required to decide the facts of a case. They also deal with civil litigation up to certain monetary limits.

State and Territory courts of summary jurisdiction deal with most of the ordinary (summary) offences, such as traffic infringements and minor assaults. These courts also deal with civil litigation for debt recovery, smaller claims by one citizen against another or against companies, and some minor claims under federal laws.

Magistrates in these courts also conduct committal proceedings in respect of the more serious offences to determine whether there is a prima facie case to be determined by a Judge and jury, either in an intermediate court or a Supreme Court. Juries are not used in courts of summary jurisdiction.

If you have a Court matter and need legal representation, then please complete your free legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

Further Resources - Court Appearances Lawyers