Tuvalu Island Courts Bench Book - Federal Court of Australia

The person should be in attendance where the sentence is:
• an order disqualifying from driving; or
• imprisonment.
The case should be adjourned and the accused summoned for that purpose.
5.7 Not Guilty Plea
If the accused pleads not guilty, or the Court enters such a plea on behalf of the accused, the case
should be adjourned for hearing. This enables and ensures:
• witnesses are called by both parties;
• disclosure of Police papers to the defence (on request); and
• legal advice to be given so that a fair trial can take place.
6 Trial
Prior to the defended hearing, all witnesses should be asked to attend Court. This is done by
issuing a summons (Form 5) asking them to attend at a certain time and place.
Before the hearing begins, it is usual to confirm the plea. In some cases where advice has been
given, the plea may change to guilty. If this happens:
• send any witnesses away, as there is no further need for their attendance; and
• continue as for a guilty plea (see 5.5 above).
6.1 Unrepresented Accused
Often an accused will appear without a lawyer. Most have little idea what is involved in a
defended hearing.
You should begin by explaining:
• the elements of the charge that the prosecution must prove;
• how the case will proceed;
• their right to cross-examine witnesses and call their own witnesses, who will be crossexamined
by the prosecution; and
Tuvalu Island Courts Bench Book June 2004