Page updated on: Friday April 23, 2010
The status hearing is where a not guilty plea is formally entered before a Judge and the legal issues and hearing details discussed (e.g. number of witnesses, length of hearing). It also often involves an informal discussion between the Judge, the prosecution and the defendant or their lawyer, about the case.
You have the chance to discuss the charges against you with the Police prosecutor and the Judge, including anything you may disagree with. You can learn what the Police say and present your side of the story and ask questions about anything you don’t understand. The Judge may highlight problems with the Police case or with your defence. You can ask the Judge what the likely sentence would be if you changed your plea to guilty by the Judge.
After you’ve got this information you can decide if you still want to plead not guilty or if you want to change your plea. If you do change your plea, the Judge may sentence you then and there or remand the matter to another day if the Judge needs more information (such as a pre-sentence report).
If you continue with the not guilty plea, a defended hearing will be set down for a future date stipulated by the Judge.