A criminal defence lawyer provides you with advice when you are investigated for, or about to be charged with, or are charged with a criminal offence and can also provide you with representation in Court proceedings. If you’ve not yet been charged, a lawyer can provide you with advice regarding the police process and whether you should participate in a record of interview. This is an important decision that you will make, and it is likely to have a significant impact on what the potential outcome can be, including whether you are even charged with an offence. If you’ve been charged with an offence, a lawyer could make a bail application so that you are not kept in custody whilst the proceedings progress. They can also provide you with advice regarding the elements of the offence of which you’ve been charged (i.e., what the prosecution needs to demonstrate to prove the allegation), whether you have any defence(s) available to you, what the prospects are of securing an acquittal or of a conviction and what sentencing outcomes would be open if you were convicted. If you are facing criminal charges and want legal advice or representation from a leading Perth criminal lawyer, call BWP Legal.

A criminal defence lawyer can negotiate with police regarding your charges and may be able to secure a reduction in the number of charges or a reduction in the severity of a charge. They could possibly even secure a discontinuation of the prosecution, if the police have charged you with an offence that is not open or available on the evidence. If you are looking to instruct a Perth criminal lawyer, call BWP Legal.

You retain a right to silence and do not have to participate in a record of interview with police. The police should have given you a caution upon your arrest alerting you to the fact that you retain a right to silence. You are only required to provide to police your name, date of birth and address. You may also be required to provide something that will prove those details (e.g., a driver's licence). Generally, it is not in your best interests to do a record of interview. The record of interview is an opportunity for police to put questions to you regarding the offence and gather additional evidence on which they can rely. Anything you say in a record of interview, or to police generally, can later be used in evidence, which includes considering whether to charge you with the offence that you have been arrested for. You are presumed innocent of the offence. The obligation is on the police to prove the offence beyond reasonable doubt. In our view, it is best that you let police make the decision of whether to charge you or not based on the material that they’ve already collected. However, there are certain exceptions, where you do not maintain a right to silence (e.g., if questioned in respect of locating property that can be confiscated under criminal proceeds legislation or if required to identify a driver involved in an accident etc.). If you are ever questioned by police, and an exception is applicable, the police should inform you of the exception that they are relying on and the reasons for it. If you are looking for a Perth criminal lawyer who can assist you with determining if you want to participate in a record of interview, call BWP Legal.

It is possible to get a charge discontinued by the prosecution but only if a successful argument can be made that the charge either cannot be established at law or that it is not in the public interest to continue with the prosecution. It is often very rare for charges to be completely discontinued. A criminal defence lawyer may be able to make a public interest submission or negotiate several of your charges with police so that they are either downgraded or discontinued. However, it is critical to remember that the police will not necessarily drop charges due to a witness or victim stating that they do not want the charges to proceed. The decision to charge rests solely with the police and not with any witness or victim. If you are looking for a Perth criminal lawyer who can assist you with a public interest submission to WA Police or the State or Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, call BWP Legal.

If you are charged with a serious offence, you will need to go to Court. If you are charged with a relatively minor offence, it is possible to get convicted and sentenced in your absence. However, there are certain applications that you may wish to make (e.g., a spent conviction application), where it is best that you do attend Court, and come prepared with the relevant material. If you are charged not following an arrest, you will be served with either a Court Hearing Notice or a Summons. If you are provided with a Court Hearing Notice, you can enter an Endorsed Plea of Guilty by completing the document and returning it to the Court. You may get convicted and sentenced in your absence. However, the Court may still choose to require you to attend for sentencing, and if it does so, when the matter is first heard it can issue you with a Summons for you to attend for sentencing at a later date. If you are issued with a Summons, you must attend Court. If you fail to comply with a Summons, the Court may issue an arrest warrant for your arrest. If you are charged from an arrest but were released onto police bail or was granted bail from a Court, you are required to attend Court on each subsequent mention of your matter, or you will be in breach of your bail conditions, which means that the Court is likely to issue an arrest warrant if you do not attend. If you are looking for a Perth criminal lawyer who can assist you with a Court appearance, call BWP Legal.

If you want to plead guilty and it is a simple offence or either way charge which is remaining in the Magistrate’s Court, the Magistrate will read the charge to you, and you can then enter a guilty plea. You will then be convicted of the offence. The matter may be adjourned for sentencing to a later date, or you may be sentenced that day. At sentencing, the police officer will read the Statement of Material Facts to the Court and indicate what sentencing disposition they are seeking. You will then have an opportunity to address the Court and put any matters you wish to put to the Court in mitigation. If you want a criminal lawyer in Perth to assist you with preparing and presenting a plea in mitigation, and making an application for a spent conviction, call BWP Legal.

If you want to plead not guilty, and it is a simple offence or either way charge which is remaining in the Magistrate’s Court, the Magistrate will read the charge to you, and you can enter a not guilty plea. The Magistrate will list the matter for a Trial Allocation Date. The police will need to provide you with all the evidence that they intend to rely on at the Trial Hearing (i.e., disclosure) prior to the Trial Allocation Date. At the Trial Allocation Date, the matter will be listed for a Trial Hearing in the Magistrate’s Court if the police confirm all disclosure has been provided and you are ready to proceed to a Trial Hearing. At the Trial Hearing, the police officer and you may provide the Court with an opening address. The police officer will lead their evidence through witnesses by calling each witness and asking questions (i.e., examination in chief). You can then ask questions of each prosecution witness (i.e., cross examination). The police officer will then have an opportunity to ask additional questions clarifying any evidence (i.e., re-examination). The police officer will close their case after they’ve called all their evidence. You will then have an opportunity to call any evidence you wish to call, including giving evidence yourself, if you wish to do so. However, as an accused person you do not have to give evidence. The process you need to follow in giving your evidence will be the same as the process that was followed by the police officer leading their evidence. You can close your case after you’ve called all your evidence. The police officer and you may provide the Court with a closing address. The Court will consider each case, and either decide whether you are guilty or not guilty at that point and provide oral reasons or adjourn their final decision to another hearing where they will deliver their decision. To convict you, the Court must be satisfied that you committed the offence beyond reasonable doubt. If you are convicted, you may be sentenced on that date, or it may be adjourned for a sentencing hearing at a later date. If you are acquitted, the matter will come to an end. If you are looking for a criminal lawyer in Perth to assist you with a Court appearance related to a Trial or represent you at a Trial Hearing in the Magistrate's Court, call BWP Legal.

If you want to plead guilty and it is an either way charge which is to proceed to a superior Court or is a strictly indictable charge, the Magistrate will read the charge to you, and you can indicate a guilty plea. The matter will then proceed to the superior Court and be listed for a Sentence Mention, where a date for a sentencing hearing will be determined. At Sentencing, a Judge’s Associate will read the charge to you, and you can enter a guilty plea. You will then be convicted of the offence. The State or Commonwealth Prosecutor will read the Statement of Material Facts to the Court and indicate what sentencing disposition they are seeking. You will then have an opportunity to address the Court and put any matters you wish to put to the Court in mitigation. If you want a criminal lawyer in Perth to assist you with preparing and presenting a plea in mitigation, call BWP Legal.

If you want to plead not guilty and it is an either way charge which is to proceed to a superior Court or is a strictly indictable charge, the Magistrate will read the charge to you, and you will indicate a not guilty plea. The Magistrate will list the matter for a Police Committal Mention. The police will need to provide you with all the evidence that they view as being able to prove the allegation (i.e., disclosure) prior to the Police Committal Mention. At the Police Committal Mention, the matter will be listed for a Committal Mention in the Magistrate’s Court if the police confirm all disclosure has been provided. The matter will be transferred to a State Prosecutor from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. At a Committal Mention, the Magistrate’s Court will consider whether you and the State Prosecutor are ready for the matter to proceed to the District Court. You can confirm a not guilty plea, and the matter will be listed for a Trial Listing Hearing in the District Court. At the Trial Listing Hearing, the District Court will make enquiries on whether you are ready to proceed to Trial. If you and the State Prosecutor are, the matter will be listed for Trial. At the Trial, the process depends on whether it is a judge alone trial or a jury trial. Most matters proceed as a jury trial. In a jury trial, the jury will be empaneled. In a judge alone trial, no jury will be empaneled. In either case, the matter will proceed as follows: The State Prosecutor and your defence counsel will provide the Court with an opening address. The State Prosecutor will call witnesses and ask them questions (i.e., examination in chief). If you participated in a record of interview, it may be shown at this point. Your defence counsel could ask questions of the prosecution’s witnesses (i.e., cross-examination). If necessary, the State Prosecutor may ask further questions to clarify evidence that was provided (i.e., re-examination). The State Prosecutor will close their case after they’ve called all their evidence. Your defence counsel will then have an opportunity to present your case to the Court. If you are to give evidence this is when you would do so. You are not required to give evidence as an accused person. Your defence counsel will follow the same process that the State Prosecutor did to lead their evidence. Your defence counsel will close your case after they've called all the evidence to support it. The State Prosecutor and your defence counsel will provide the Court with a closing address. If there is a jury, the judge summarises the case to the jury and may provide directions to the jury on legal aspects of the case. The jury will consider all the facts and determine whether you are to be convicted of the offence. If it is a judge alone trial, the judge will determine questions of law and fact and will consider all the facts and determine whether you are to be convicted of the offence. To convict you, the jury or the judge must be satisfied that the offences were proven beyond reasonable doubt. If you are convicted, you may be sentenced on that date, or more likely the Court may adjourn the matter for a sentencing hearing at a later date. If you are acquitted, the matter will come to an end. If you are looking for a criminal lawyer in Perth to assist you with a Court appearance related to a Trial or represent you at a Trial in the District or Supreme Court, call BWP Legal.

It is difficult to determine how much a criminal defence lawyer will cost because most often charge on a time-based model and most factors that impact on the amount of time that is required to be spent on a criminal law matter are outside the control of the lawyer who is acting. If the matter is such that the amount of time that will be spent on it can be confidently estimated, costs may be agreed to be fixed in advance. If you are looking for a criminal lawyer in Perth that offers fixed-fee services, check out our Legal Costs page to see what services that BWP Legal may agree to offer on a fixed-fee basis.

In the Magistrate's Court, you may be able to recover some of the costs that you spent on your matter. However, costs will be determined by a pre-set scale of rates that are permitted to be recovered in any criminal matter and so you will not be able to recover all legal costs related to your matter. In the District or Supreme Court, you cannot recover your costs. If you have any questions regarding legal costs, contact BWP Legal. BWP Legal will always provide you with an upfront estimate of costs and keep you updated on any cost issues during the progression of your matter.

This can be a difficult question to answer. A lawyer can never predict definitively what a Court may do and can only provide you with advice regarding what sentencing dispositions are open to the Court. The sentence that may be imposed depends on a myriad of factors including, but not limited to: - the severity of the offence on which you’ve been charged with; - the circumstances surrounding the offending; - your own personal circumstances; and - what other cases say about what an appropriate sentence is. If you are looking for a criminal lawyer in Perth who can provide you with advice regarding what sentencing dispositions are open in your matter, call BWP Legal.