1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2007
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 24/01/2007
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COURTS 11.24 HIERARCHY OF COURTS CRIMINAL COURTS A system of courts for the hearing of criminal matters exists in all Australian states and territories. Once charges are laid by police, the court will hear evidence by both prosecution and defence, and will make a decision as to whether or not the defendant is guilty. In cases where the defendant is found guilty, the court may also record a conviction and impose a penalty. The lowest level of criminal court is the Magistrates' Court or Court of Summary Jurisdiction. The majority of all criminal cases are heard in these courts. Cases heard in Magistrates' Courts do not involve a jury and a magistrate determines the guilt or innocence of the defendant. This is known as a summary proceeding. More serious offences are dealt with by the higher court levels. All states and territories have a Supreme Court that can deal with all criminal matters. The larger jurisdictions also have an intermediate level of court, known as the District or County Court, that deals with the majority of serious offences. The Supreme Courts and Intermediate Courts are collectively referred to as the Higher Courts. All defendants that are dealt with by the Higher Courts have an automatic entitlement to a trial before a judge and jury. In some jurisdictions, the defendant may elect to have the matter heard before a judge alone. Offences that must be heard before a judge and jury are known as indictable offences. These include offences such as murder, manslaughter and drug importation as well as serious sexual offences, robberies and assaults. A defendant proven guilty in a criminal matter is entitled to appeal against the conviction or against the severity of penalty imposed. Under some circumstances, the prosecution is also entitled to appeal against the leniency of the penalty. The states and territories differ in the ways in which they deal with appeals. Some appeals from Magistrates' Courts may be heard before the Intermediate Courts. In other jurisdictions the Supreme Court may hear these appeals. In most jurisdictions an appeal court or Court of Criminal Appeal may be constituted to hear appeals from the Supreme or Intermediate Courts, with the highest court of appeal for all jurisdictions being the High Court of Australia. NATIONAL CRIMINAL COURTS STATISTICS The aim of the Criminal Courts collection, conducted by the ABS, is to provide comparable statistics for the states and territories and for Australia on the characteristics of defendants dealt with by the Criminal Courts. This includes information on the offences and sentences associated with those defendants. In order to ensure consistency between the states and territories, the statistics have been compiled according to national standards and classifications. However, some legislative and processing differences may limit the degree to which the statistics are comparable across the states and territories. Differences may also arise as a result of other factors, including refinements in data quality procedures and modifications in the systems used to obtain and compile the figures. CRIMINAL COURTS DEFENDANT SUMMARY CHARACTERISTICS Diagram 11.25 presents summary characteristics of defendants dealt with by the Higher and Magistrates' Courts of Australia. 'Finalised defendant' refers to all charges against a person or organisation having been formally completed so that the defendant ceases to be an item of work to be dealt with by a particular court. Adjudication is a method of finalisation based on a judgement or decision by the court as to whether or not a defendant is guilty of the charge(s) laid against them. In 2004-05, 573,949 defendants were finalised in the Higher and Magistrates' Courts. Of these, 16,523 (3%) were in the Higher Courts and 557,426 (97%) were in the Magistrates' Courts. The majority (87% or 14,428) of defendants finalised in the Higher Courts during 2004-05 were adjudicated. Those proven guilty comprised 91% (13,169) of all adjudications, while acquittals comprised 9% (1,259) of the total. Of those proven guilty, 88% pleaded guilty and 12% were declared guilty at trial. The remaining defendants (13%) were finalised by a non-adjudicated method such as all charges withdrawn by the prosecution. The Magistrates' Courts finalised 557,426 defendants during 2004-05. Adjudications comprised 88% (493,297) of all finalisations. Defendants proven guilty (i.e. pleaded guilty or were declared guilty) and defendants acquitted comprised 96% and 4% respectively of all adjudications. Non-adjudicated methods (such as all charges withdrawn by the prosecution or transferred to another court level) comprised 12% of finalised defendants. 11.25 CRIMINAL COURT FINALISATIONS - 2004-05 CRIMINAL COURTS FINALISATIONS For all court levels, New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria accounted for 71% of finalisations nationally (29%, 24% and 18% respectively). Queensland accounted for the highest proportion of finalisations for the Higher Courts (37%) and New South Wales for the highest proportion of finalisations in the Magistrates' Courts (29%) (table 11.26).
Men represented the majority of finalised defendants (78% or 447,140) in the Higher and Magistrates' Courts during 2004-05. Just under half (282,620) the total number of finalised defendants were men aged less than 35 years. Men in the 20-24 year age group had the highest number of finalised defendants in both the Higher Courts (3,095) and Magistrates' Courts (97,034) while the 35-44 year age group was the highest for women in both the Higher Courts (476) and Magistrates' Courts (23,850) (graphs 11.27 and 11.28). ADJUDICATED DEFENDANTS - PRINCIPAL OFFENCE Defendants were more likely to be adjudicated in the Higher Courts during 2004-05 for the following categories of principal offences that fall within the Division of the Australian Criminal Standard Offence Classification (ASOC): acts intended to cause injury (21%); illicit drug offences (16%); sexual assault and related offences (13%); unlawful entry with intent/burglary, break and enter; and robbery, extortion and related offences (both 11%) (table 11.29). There were 10,328 (72%) defendants adjudicated by the Higher Courts with a principal offence in one of these five categories.
In contrast, the five categories of principal offence that accounted for the majority of adjudicated defendants in the Magistrates' Courts in 2004-05 were: road traffic and motor vehicle regulatory offences (46%); public order offences (9%); dangerous or negligent acts endangering persons (8%); theft and related offences, and acts intended to cause injury (both 7%). Overall, approximately three out of every four defendants adjudicated in the Magistrates' Courts had one of these five categories of principal offence (table 11.30).
When defendants with a principal offence related to traffic are excluded from the adjudicated population in the Magistrates' Courts, the five categories of principal offences that accounted for the majority of defendants nationally were: public order offences (20%); theft and related offences and acts intended to cause injury (both 15%); offences against justice procedures, government security and government operations (14%); and illicit drug offences (12%) (graph 11.31). In the Higher Courts, the most prevalent principal offence was acts intended to cause injury (21% for men and 22% for women) (graph 11.32). Proportionally, more women were adjudicated for the principal offence of deception and related offences (18%) than were men (6%). In contrast, there were proportionally more men than women with a principal offence of sexual assault and related offences (14% and 2% respectively). Nationally, the proportions of principal offences for defendants adjudicated were different across age groups in the Higher Courts. Defendants aged less than 25 years were more likely to be adjudicated for a principal offence of: acts intended to cause injury (25%); robbery, extortion and related offences (18%); and unlawful entry with intent/burglary, break and enter (17%). Those within the age group of 45 years and over were more likely to be adjudicated for: sexual assault and related offences (28%); illicit drug offences (21%); and deception and related offences (13%) (graph 11.33). In the Magistrates' Court, the proportion of defendants with a principal offence of road traffic and motor vehicle regulatory offences tended to increase with age. This was the principal offence category for 40% of adjudicated defendants aged 24 years and under, increasing to 53% for defendants aged 45 years and over. Excluding traffic offences, defendants aged less than 25 years were more likely to be adjudicated for a principal offence in the categories of public order offences (24%) and theft and related offences (17%). Those 45 years and over were more likely to be adjudicated for public order offences (17%) and acts intended to cause injury, theft and related offences, and offences against justice procedures, government security and government operations (all 16%) (graph 11.34). ADJUDICATED DEFENDANTS BY TYPE OF ADJUDICATION Nationally, 91% (14,428) of adjudicated defendants were proven guilty or pleaded guilty in the Higher Courts, while the rate in the Magistrates' Courts was 96% (493,297). Of the 2,796 adjudicated defendants that had a trial outcome in the Higher Courts, 55% (1,537) were found guilty while 45% (1,259) were acquitted (table 11.35). The majority (81% or 11,632) had a guilty plea. Only 3% (19,309) of adjudicated defendants that had a trial outcome in the Magistrates' Courts were acquitted. Defendants adjudicated in the Higher Courts were most likely to be acquitted for the principal offences of sexual assault and related offences (24%) and homicide and related offences (18%), whereas defendants adjudicated in the Magistrates' Courts were most likely to be acquitted for homicide and related offences (31%) and abduction and related offences (28%). The principal offences in the Higher Courts that had the highest proportion of defendants finalised with a plea of guilty were weapons and explosives offences and unlawful entry with intent/burglary, break and enter (both 91%). In contrast, adjudicated defendants with a principal offence of homicide and related offences and sexual assault and related offences were least likely to plead guilty (50% and 58% respectively) and therefore, most likely to have a trial outcome (acquittal or guilty verdict). Defendants with a principal offence of illicit drug offences had the highest proportion of defendants either pleading guilty or proven guilty in the Higher Courts (97%). Defendants with a principal offence of dangerous or negligent acts endangering persons and illicit drug offences both had the highest proportion of defendants either pleading guilty or proven guilty in the Magistrates' Courts (99%).
DEFENDANTS PROVEN GUILTY - PRINCIPAL SENTENCE Defendants proven guilty in the Higher Courts were more likely to receive custodial orders (i.e. custody in a correctional institution or the community or fully suspended sentences) compared with those in the Magistrates' Courts (81% and 9% respectively) (table 11.36). Acts of a more serious nature are usually dealt with in a Higher Court and are, therefore, far more likely to incur a custodial sentence. Defendants proven guilty in the Higher Courts for homicide and related offences; robbery, extortion and related offences; and sexual assault and related offences incurred the highest proportion of custodial orders (96%, 92% and 88% respectively). Defendants proven guilty for theft and related offences in the Higher Courts incurred the highest proportion of non-custodial sentences (34%).
Defendants proven guilty in the Magistrates' Courts predominantly received non-custodial sentences for all principal offences except for robbery, extortion and related offences (55% custodial) and unlawful entry with intent/burglary, break and enter (53% custodial) (table 11.36).
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