7. The Hearing and Decision

Permissible date of hearing

A hearing for an application:

may be held after the sentence has expired, but
may not be held after the sentence has been cancelled or been deemed to be cancelled

Note: The application must be laid before the court before the termination date of the sentence.

On-strength information

Up-to-date information must be provided to the CPPS probation officer prosecuting the case. This information should be provided as

on-strength information and must be as up to date as possible.

This information should be provided at least one working day before the hearing.

Application may lapse

If, between the laying of the application and the hearing, the sentence is cancelled through any other means, the application lapses.

Participation in hearing

Applications are usually prosecuted by the probation officer specialising in court prosecution work. The supervising probation officer does not need to attend the hearing, unless the application is being defended and they are required as a witness.

Reference: Volume 1, Part III, Court Servicing.

Considering HD or CD as substitution of sentence

If the court is considering a substitute sentence of home detention (HD) or community detention (CD), they may remand the matter to enable CPPS to canvass these options.

Note: If this outcome has been canvassed with the offender and the appropriate information provided to the court for the hearing, the court may be able to determine the outcome on the same day.

After the hearing

Once the hearing is completed, the court notifies the applicant accordingly of the decision.

The probation officer must then:

update IOMS records (casenotes and application management tab), and
confirm to the offender in writing the effect that the court decision has on the requirements of their sentence.

Tasks following the decision

The following table shows the tasks to be completed when the court has determined their decision on the application.

Note: In all cases, record the decision in IOMS casenotes.

If the court decides to…	then…	and…
decline the application (of any type)	resume the requirements of the sentence immediately.	-
cancel (discharge) the sentence	terminate the sentence ensure the correct termination is entered in IOMS	carry out the sentence completion process and associated report.
suspend the sentence	suspend the sentence ensure dates are amended in IOMS	issue the offender with an instruction to report (ITR) for reporting or a direction to report on the date the sentence resumes, and ensure the offender knows the new termination date.
substitute the sentence with another	terminate the sentence ensure the correct termination is entered in IOMS	carry out the sentence completion process and associated report for the cancelled sentence ensure the offender receives the court order for the new sentence, and induct the offender into the new sentence.
change conditions	modify the conditions of the sentence	ensure the offender knows what changes have been made.
vary the requirements of conditions	modify the conditions of the sentence	ensure the offender knows about the changes to, or effects on, the requirements.

When decision takes effect

If the court grants the application, the decision takes effect:

on the date specified by the court, or
(if no date was specified) on the date the court determines the decision.

Previous Next Show Contents

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |