Governing Legislation and Resources for Criminal Law (1:II): Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Governing Legislation and Resources for Criminal Law (1:II) (view source)
Revision as of 18:17, 22 August 2023
, 22 August 2023→7. Duty Counsel:
No edit summary |
|||
Line 66: | Line 66: | ||
=== 7. Duty Counsel: === | === 7. Duty Counsel: === | ||
If the accused does not have a lawyer (either retained privately or through Legal Aid) Duty Counsel (lawyers paid by the government) are there to assist unrepresented people (whether in custody or out of custody) by providing them with basic legal information and advice, and to assist them in conducting basic court appearances. Duty Counsel is often the first lawyer to give legal advice to people in custody. As Duty Counsel is there to assist anyone on a given day, they cannot conduct trials or other lengthy matters. Duty counsel can help the accused by: | If the accused does not have a lawyer (either retained privately or through Legal Aid) Duty Counsel (lawyers paid by the government) are there to assist unrepresented people (whether in custody or out of custody) by providing them with basic legal information and advice, and to assist them in conducting basic court appearances. Duty Counsel is often the first lawyer to give legal advice to people in custody. As Duty Counsel is there to assist anyone on a given day, they cannot conduct trials or other lengthy matters. Duty counsel can help the accused by: | ||
* giving advice about the charges and court procedures; | * giving advice about the charges and court procedures; | ||
* conducting a bail hearing; | * conducting a bail hearing; | ||
* entering a guilty plea and providing background information about the accused for the | * entering a guilty plea and providing background information about the accused for the purposes of sentencing; and | ||
purposes of sentencing; and | |||
* talking to the accused about possible ways of resolving the file such as through | * talking to the accused about possible ways of resolving the file such as through | ||
diversion. | diversion. |