Rev Nile Supports Criminal Case Conferencing Trial Bill

Thursday 10th April 2008

The Rev Fred Nile, Leader of the Christian Democratic Party, has supported the Criminal Case Conferencing Trial Bill 2008 in State Parliament.

“The Christian Democratic Party supports the Criminal Case Conferencing Trial Bill 2008. This bill will establish a 12-month trial scheme commencing on 1 May 2008 that will codify the discounts on sentence to be allowed by the courts in respect of guilty pleas, reduce the maximum amount of sentence discount that may be allowed for guilty pleas in those proceedings, and require the legal representative of an accused person and the prosecution to participate in a compulsory conference. The "NSW Criminal Courts Statistics Annual Report for 2006" of the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research reported that 1,839 cases were finalised up to committal for trial in the District Court, that 496 proceeded to trial and that 1,060 had proceeded to sentence. In 283 matters no charges were proceeded with at all. They were either no billed by the Director of Public Prosecutions or were otherwise disposed of”, said Rev Fred Nile.

“Trauma and distress caused to witnesses, particularly victims, waste of resources of criminal justice agencies and uncertainty for the accused resulting from non-starter actions have been apparent to all. A guilty plea by the offender at the beginning of the process would have eliminated all the strain, stress, trauma and distress of witnesses, particularly victims. Experience has shown that criminal trials often settle close to or on the day of trial, and that happens for a number of reasons. By the time of the trial prosecution evidence has been finalised and served on the defence. The parties, including the accused, the defence representatives, the Crown prosecutor, the solicitor from the Director of Public Prosecutions, the police officer in charge of the investigation and, if applicable, the victim, are brought together to commence the trial. In that context an accused may be more inclined to face the reality of the situation, accept the advice of their counsel regarding the state of the evidence and whether conviction is likely, and, if conviction is likely, accept counsel's advice to plead guilty.

We support this trial, which will have three key components. The first is a compulsory conference between the parties; the second is the procedures involving the holding of a conference; and the third is the introduction of identifiable and appropriate discounts that attach to an early plea of guilty. The first part of the scheme requires parties, while still in the Local Court, to attend a compulsory conference. This is an important aspect of the trial that we trust will make the trial successful, and it can then be extended. As I stated earlier, it is to operate only for 12 months. The bill provides for a discount of 25 per cent if the offender pleads guilty at any time before committal. A discount of up to 12.5 per cent may be allowed if the offender pleads guilty at any time after committal. However, a discount that is greater than 12.5 per cent but not greater than 25 per cent may be allowed if substantial grounds exist for allowing a greater discount.