During the District Court List Hearing

This topic outlines the procedures for the court officer during a district court list hearing.

The judge

The judge is the most significant priority in the courtroom. Maintain a constant state of awareness of the judge, and be ready to respond to their enquiries at any time.

The judge is to be addressed as "Your honour". Alternatively they can be addressed as "Sir" or "Ma'am".

If a justice of the peace or magistrate is presiding, they are addressed as "Your Worship", "Sir" or "Ma'am".

Note: Justices of the peace or magistrates do not have the same powers that judges have. This is provided for in the Summary Proceedings Act 1957.

Setting up in court

Ensure enough time is allowed to set up before the start of court. This includes time to:

order the breach/application files, court diary, legislation, etc. on the desk
log into the computer, open IOMS and email (if available)
answer enquiries of lawyers, court staff, police, etc., and
make enquiries with police, mental health staff, etc., as required.

Tracking defendants

Undertake the following tasks as the registrar announces names from the court list.

Step

Action

Check to see if the defendant is known or on-strength and be ready to advise the court if CPPS has any relevant information concerning the defendant.

If a defendant is called in relation to a CPPS matter, see the following block:

Prosecuting CPPS breaches/applications

Prosecuting CPPS breaches

Follow the steps below if the defendant pleads guilty to a CPPS breach matter. Any material for the judge must be submitted via the court registrar.

Step	Action
1	Give the summary of facts to the court registrar to hand up to the judge.
2	Approach the offender and have them confirm their combined criminal and traffic history before submitting it to the registrar.
3	Stand and read the summary of facts clearly for the judge. Note: Some judges do not require this so ask before commencing.
4	Make any further comments about the offender's progress since the charge was laid, and offer a further sentencing option or report if appropriate.
5	Recommend if any current sentence(s) should be cancelled.
6	In the case of CW, inform the judge how many sentenced hours of CW are available for the offender (i.e. maximum number of hours is 400).
7	Answer any questions from the judge.
8	Enter the outcome in the file cover, court diary and under the relevant sentence in IOMS, and if time allows, email the supervising probation officer informing them that: the offender has appeared in court, and notes are recorded in IOMS.

Prosecuting applications

Follow the steps below when an application is accepted by an offender. Any material for the judge must be submitted via the court registrar.

Step	Action
1	Have the offender confirm the combined criminal and traffic history and give this to the court registrar to hand to the judge.
2	Stand and orally summarise the application and affidavit for the judge. Notes: Some judges do not require this so ask before commencing. The judge will already have a copy of the application before them.
3	Make any further comments on progress since the application was laid, and offer further sentencing option or report if appropriate.
4	Recommend if any current sentence(s) should be cancelled.
5	In the case of CW, inform the judge how many sentenced hours of CW are available for the offender (i.e. maximum number of hours is 400).
6	Answer any questions from the judge.
7	Enter the outcome in the file cover, court diary and under the relevant sentence in IOMS, and if time allows, email the supervising probation officer informing them that the offender has appeared in court, and notes are recorded in IOMS.

Failure to appear

Follow the guidelines below if the defendant fails to appear in court to face a CPPS breach/application matter.

If…	then…
the defendant has been served	provide proof of service to the registrar for hand up to the judge inform the judge there is no appearance from the defendant and request a warrant to arrest, and record the result on the prosecution file cover and in IOMS.
the whereabouts of the defendant is unknown and the summons could not be served	inform the judge that the whereabouts of the defendant is unknown and you have an affidavit in support of an application for a warrant in lieu of summons hand the affidavit to the court registrar for the judge to receive, and record the result on the prosecution file cover and in IOMS.
the defendant has not been served (or you have no proof that they have been served)	request that the matter be enlarged to another date so the summons can be served, and return the file to the probation officer for service.

Not guilty pleas and defended applications

Record the following information on the file when an offender pleads not guilty to a breach or opposes an application:
- lawyer's name (if represented)
- next court of hearing (i.e. status hearing, fixtures)
- date and time of next hearing
- CPPS court officer's name (in case of further questions), and
- any notes that may assist the CPPS prosecutor (i.e. any reasons for the not guilty plea and disputes with the summary of facts).
Update IOMS with any additional information.
Check to see if the offender, or counsel (if represented) has the disclosure documents:
- summary of facts
- the information, and
- combined criminal and traffic history.
Record on the file and in IOMS if disclosure has been provided, and include the date.

Note: Many not guilty matters are resolved at status hearings. Court officers may consider requesting a status hearing for some CPPS prosecutions.

Voluntary appearances and appearances on a warrant

In some courts, offenders can make voluntary appearances or be brought before the court on a warrant to arrest.

If an offender makes a voluntary appearance for a CPPS matter, have the matter stood down. Attempt to have the file located and brought to the court. Apply for leave from the court to cancel the warrant.

If it is not possible to have the file brought to the court before the end of the court list, have the matter remanded to the next suitable hearing date.

If the offender's whereabouts have been unknown, be proactive in asking the court to verify residential bail conditions.

Update IOMS with any additional information.

Note: The same attempts to locate a file should be made when an offender appears on another charge and the CPPS court officer is aware of an outstanding breach or application.

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