A defendant’s first appearance in the Grand Court is commonly referred to as a ‘Mention for Arraignment’.
If an indictment has not yet been filed or the defendant requires further time to consider whether to plead guilty or not guilty, the proceedings will be adjourned for a further Mention for Arraignment which are held fortnightly on a Friday.
Where the defendant enters a not guilty plea, a trial date and case management hearing date will be fixed. The likely duration and mode of trial (jury or judge-alone) is also canvassed at this stage.
Where the defendant enters an acceptable guilty plea, a Social Inquiry Report and Victim Impact Report are ordinarily ordered by the court for the purpose of sentencing.
Where a defendant is on bail at the time, the Grand Court will the re-impose conditions bail for the defendant to attend on the next occasion.
Trials in the Grand Court are before a judge and jury, unless the defendant has applied for the case to be tried by judge-alone. The prosecution has the responsibility of proving beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the offence/s that they are charged with.
The victim and other prosecution witnesses give their evidence at court and are cross-examined by the defendant’s lawyer. The defendant may also give evidence and call defence witnesses.
At the conclusion of all evidence in the case, the prosecutor and the defendant’s lawyer will make a closing speech. The judge will then provide a summary of the evidence and arguments in the case before the jury decides on the verdict.
If the judge or jury finds the defendant not guilty, he or she is free to leave the court. If the defendant is found guilty, he or she will be sentenced.
If a defendant has pleaded guilty or has been found guilty, he or she will next appear at the sentencing hearing.
Usually, pre-sentence reports have been previously ordered by the court. These are in the form Social Inquiry Reports for a defendant and Victim Impact Reports or Victim Impact Statements for a victim.
Ordinarily, the prosecutor will have filed a written document and folder of materials to assist the court in the exercise of its sentencing powers. This will include drawing the court’s attention to case-specific statutory provisions, sentencing guidelines, relevant authorities and aggravating features of the case.
The prosecution does not urge a particular sentence and must always adopt a balanced view in the public interest. The defendant’s lawyer then responds in writing.
At the hearing, the Prosecutor will provide a written and oral summary of the facts in the case (unless the defendant has been found guilty). The defendant’s previous convictions (if applicable) will also be made available to the court. Both the prosecutor and defendant’s lawyer will make oral submissions to the court.
The judge will either sentence immediately thereafter or postpone sentencing to further consider the appropriate sentence that should be imposed.
The Grand Court hears and determines over appeals from the Summary Court.
There are three ways of challenging a Summary Court decision:
A defendant may verbally appeal after sentenced is passed or has seven days after day of sentence to give written notice of an appeal (unless an extension time is given). An appeal does not automatically operate as a stay of the decision. Where a defendant has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment, bail pending an appeal will only be granted in exceptional circumstances. The prosecution can only appeal an acquittal by the Summary Court by way of case stated on a point of law.