Home > For lawyers > Benchbooks and UCPR Bulletin > Supreme and District Court Benchbook

Supreme and District Court Benchbook

Supreme and District Court

Open/Close Media Item List with Areas on Page

Click on the RedDot to open or close the content.

This section will allow you to manage;

Text Before the links to the areas on the page
Rows of links to areas on the page
Text after the links to the areas on the page
Areas on the page

Commonwealth offences	Introductory information
Direction on sexual offences	Summing-up
Directions before summing-up	Criminal responsibility
During the trial	Offences


Introductory information
	1	Contents index
		Update notes February 2009
		Update notes November 2008
		Update notes September 2008
		Update notes April 2008
		Update notes March 2008
	2	Foreword by Chief Justice and Chief Judge
	3	Table of cases
	4	Introduction


During the trial
	5A	During the trial
	5B	Trial procedure
	6	Unrepresented defendant
	7	Fitness for trial
	8	Protected witnesses: s 21m evidence act 1977
	8E	Cruelty to children under 16 s 364
	9	Protected witnesses s 5 criminal law (sexual offences) act 1978
	10	Evidence of affected children
	11	Special witnesses
	12	Competency of witnesses, including children


Directions before summing up
	13	Directions before summing-up
	14	Directed verdict
	15	Jury questions
	16	Evidence admitted against one defendant only
	17	Dismissal during the trial of some charges against single defendant
	18	Discharge of defence counsel during trial
	19	Disposition of charge against co-defendant
	20	Tape recordings and transcripts
	21	Translation and interpretation
	22	Retrial warnings


Summing up
	23	Summing-up
	24	General summing up directions
	25	Views and demonstrations
	26	Evidence of defendant in respect of a co-defendant
	27	Defendant giving evidence
	28A	Defendant not giving evidence, where no adverse inference
	28B	Defendant not giving evidence, where an adverse inference may follow from that
	29	Defendant's right to silence
	30	Co-offender who has pleaded guilty
	31	The rule in Jones v Dunkel
	32	The rule in Browne v Dunn
	33	Alternative charges
	34	Separate consideration of charges-single defendant
	35	Separate consideration of charges-multiple defendants confronting multiple charges
	36	Out-of-court confessional statements
	36A	Out-of-court expulpatory confessions
	37	Accomplices
	38	Lies told by the defendant (consciousness of guilt)
	39	Lies told by the defendant (going only to credit)
	40	Alibi
	41	Good character
	42	Bad character/previous convictions
	43	Cross-examination as to complainant's motive to lie
	44	Prior inconsistent statements evidence act 1977: ss 17, 18, 19, 101 and 102
	45	Privilege against self-incrimination
	46	Circumstantial evidence
	47	Motive
	48	Flight as demonstrating consciousness of guilt
	49	Identification
	50	Similar fact evidence
	51	Jury unanimity-specific issues
	52	Jury failure to agree
	52A	Majority verdict
	53	DNA
	54	Fingerprints
	55	Expert witnesses
	56	Intention
	57	Reasonable doubt
	58	Caution in using hearsay s 93C(2) evidence act 1977
	59	Corporate defendant
	60	Witnesses whose evidence may require a special warning (Robinson direction)
	61	Closed Court Exceptions to the general rule of openness
	61A	Defence not raised but available


Directions on sexual offences
	62	Directions on sexual offences
	63	Absence of fresh complaint
	64	Preliminary complaint
	65	Delay between (sexual) incident and complaint (longman direction)
	66	Uncharged sexual (or violent) acts


Criminal responsibility
	67	Criminal responsibility
	68	Attempts s 4
	69	Conspiracy
	70	Evidence in conspiracy cases
	71	Parties to an offence ss7,8
	72	Accessory after the fact
	73	Claim of right s 22(2)
	74	Unwilled acts (automatism) s 23(1)(a)
	75	Accident s 23(1)(b)
	76	Mistake of fact s 24
	76A	Mistake of fact in sexual offences
	77	Extraordinary emergency s 25
	78	Insanity
	79A	Unintentional intoxication s 28
	79B	Intentional intoxication s 28
	80	Capacity s 29
	81	Compulsion 31(1)(c)
	82	Compulsion 31(1)(d)
	83	Defence of a dwelling house s 267
	83A	Defence of moveable property
	84	Provocation ss 268, 269
	85	Criminal negligence s 289 (in charge of dangerous things)
	86	Self defence s 271(1)
	86A	Self defence s271(2) self defence against unprovoked assault when there is death of GBH
	86B	Self-defence s272 self defence against provoked assault when there is death or grievous bodily harm
	87	Provocation s 304
	88	Diminished responsibility s 304A


Commonwealth offences
	89	Proof of mental and physical elements


Offences
	90	Offences
	91	Administering a stupefying drug
	91A	Administering poison with intent to harm s 322
	92	Arson
	92A	Endangering particular property by fire s 462
	93	Assault occasioning bodily harm
	94	Assault on police officer in execution of his duty s 340
	95	Attempt to prevert the course of justice s 140
	96	Bomb hoaxes s 321A(1)
	96A	Bomb hoaxes s 321A(2)
	97	Burglary s 419
	98	Carnal knowledge s 215
	98A.1	Involving child in making exploitative material
	98A.2	Making child exploitation material
	98A.3	Distributing child exploitation material
	98A.4	Possessing child exploitation material
	98B	Child Abduction
	98C	Child stealing
	98D	Child taking
	99	Circumstances of aggravation (robbery, assault, burglary)
	100	Circumstances of aggravation in sexual offences
	101	Conspiracy s 541
	101A	Conspiracy - commonwealth criminal code s 11.5
	102	Corruption of a witness s 127
	103	Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle
	104	Defrauding the commonwealth s 29D crimes act
	104A	Deprivation of liberty
	105	Drugs commonwealth drug offences under s 233B of the customs act 1901 before the application of the criminal code act 1995
	105A	Drugs commonwealth offences under s 233B of the customs act after the operation of ch2 of the criminal code act 1995
	105B	Drugs commonwealth drug offences under the criminal code act 1995
	106	Drugs misuse act DMA
	107	Drugs trafficking in a dangerous drug
	108	Escape from lawful custody
	109	Extortion s 415(1) Before 1 December 2008
	109	Extortion s 415 (1) (From 1 December 2008)
	110	False statement under oath s 193
	111	Forgery s 488(1)(a)
	112	Fraud
	113	Going armed in public
	114	Grievous bodily harm
	115	Imposition
	116	Improper interference with a corpse 236(b)
	117	Incest s 222
	118	Indecent Assault s 352
	119	Indecent dealing indecent dealing with a child under 16 s 210(1)(a)
	120	Indecent dealing unlawfully procuring a child under 16 to commit an indecent act s 210(1)(b)
	121	Indecent dealing permitting indecent dealing s 210(1)(c)
	122	Indecent dealing wilfully and unlawfully exposing a child under 16 to an indecent act s 210(1)(d)
	123	Indecent dealing exposing a child under 16 to an indecent object etc s 210(1)(e)
	124	Indecent dealing taking an indecent photograph etc of a child under 16 s 210(1)(f)
	124A	Kidnapping
	124B	Kidnapping for ransom
	125	Maintaining a sexual relationship with a child s 229B (offences between 3 July 1989 and 1 July 1997)
	126	Maintaining a sexual relationship with a child s 229B (offences between 1 July 1997 and 1 May 2003)
	127	Maintaining a sexual relationship with a child s 229B (after 1 May 2003)
	127A	Malicious acts with unlawful intent s 127A
	128	Official corruption s 87(1)
	128A	Official corruption s 87(1)(b)
	129	Perjury
	130	Possession of child abuse computer game
	131	Possession of housebreaking implements s 425(1)(c)
	131A.1	Privacy offences observations or recordings in breach of privacy s 227A(1)(commencement date 8 December 2005)
	131A.2	Privacy offences observations or recordings in breach of privacy s 227A(2)(commencement date 8 December 2005)
	131A.3	Privacy offences distributing prohibited visual recordings s 227B (commencement date 8 December 2005)
	132	Procuring prostitution
	133	Rape s 347 (now repealed) (for offences occurring prior to 27 October 2000)
	133A	Rape s 349 (offences occurring after 27 October 2000)
	134	Receiving s 433
	135	Receiving s 433 from 1 December 2008
	136	Recent possession
	137	Riot and unlawful assembly s 61 and 62 (offences prior to 1 December 2008)
	137A	Riot s 61 (offences after 1 December 2008)
	138	Robbery s 409 and s 411
	139	Stalking (offences alleged to have occurred between 23 November 1993 and 30 April 1999)
	140	Stalking (offences alleged to have occured after 30 April 1999)
	141	Stealing
	142	Threatening violence s 75(1) or (2)
	142A	Threats s 359
	143	Torture s 320A
	144	Unlawful killing murder s 302(1)(a)
	145	Unlawful killing murder s 302(1)(b)
	146	Unlawful killing manslaughter s 303
	147	Unlawful killing attempted murder s 306(2)
	148	Unlawful sodomy of a person under 18 s 208(a)
	149	Unlawful sodomy permitting sodomy by a male person under 18 s 208(b)
	150	Unlawful sodomy of an intellectually impaired person s 208(c)
	151	Unlawful use of a motor vehicle etc s 408(1)(a)
	152	Unlawful possession of a motor vehicle s 408(1)(b)
	153	Unlawful wounding s 323
	154	Using internet etc to procure children under 16
	155	Uttering s 488(1)(b)
	156	Wilful damage

Supreme and District Court Benchbook

Supreme and District Court

Open/Close Media Item List with Areas on Page

Introductory information

During the trial

Directions before summing up

Summing up

Directions on sexual offences

Criminal responsibility

Commonwealth offences

Offences