Adult court

If David (see case study) is 17 or older, he will be classed as an adult and things will go rather differently.

He may wish to seek free legal advice from a community law centre (CLC). When he appears in adult court, he will be represented either by a duty solicitor (paid for by the state) whom he consults on the day he attends court, or by a lawyer he arranges beforehand.

If it is his first offence in adult court, it's a minor charge and he accepts the charges against him, he may be eligible for "diversion". This will allow him to avoid a conviction.

Diversion

Circumstances under which diversion is offered differ among police districts, and the police have broad discretion as to whom and when it is offered.

If diversion is recommended, the case will be remanded for enough time for David to complete diversion - usually around six weeks. He will be interviewed by the diversion sergeant, who will decide what David must do to avoid conviction.

The sergeant may, for example, order him to write a letter of apology to the victim, a police officer or to a member of the public. He may have to make a donation to a charity of his choice. And he will probably have to put something right - for example, clean the graffiti off the wall he sprayed, or help fix the fence he damaged.

Once David has completed his tasks, the case will be dismissed when next called. He will not have to appear in court for this.

Diversions are logged on a national database, and are usually offered only once.

Guilty plea

If David is not eligible for diversion, and he pleads guilty, the duty solicitor can enter a plea in mitigation on his behalf.

After hearing the plea, the judge may discharge David without conviction (if it was his first offence and the matter was very minor), or convict and discharge him without further penalty, or convict and sentence him.

Not guilty plea

Of course, if David denies the charges, he is entitled to his day in court. To mount a successful defended hearing, a thorough understanding of the facts surrounding the incident and the applicable law is necessary. To obtain this, David will need sound legal advice.

Legal help

Community law centres

CLCs offer free legal advice to the community.

The level of service differs from area to area - some CLCs operate entirely on a volunteer basis and provide advice, but no advocacy services. Others have full-time paid staff and are able to offer a full range of advocacy and advice.

Irrespective, a CLC solicitor will have more time to help David than a duty solicitor will.

Duty solicitor

Duty solicitors are available to advise people who are appearing in court and do not have legal representation.

They deal with high volumes of criminal cases, so should be able to give you a good idea of what penalty to expect if you plead guilty on the day. But they usually have only a few minutes to see each client, so may well give only the briefest of advice on possible defences.

Future shocks

If David is 17 or older and is convicted of an offence, he will have a permanent criminal record. This may affect his employment prospects and his ability to travel.

If David is acquitted, diverted or discharged, or if the police withdraw the charges, he will not have a conviction. This means he will have nothing to declare when applying for jobs or visas to visit other countries.

If the charges are proved against him in the Youth Court he will have had a "Youth Court order", which is similar - but not identical - to a conviction. The circumstances of his case will determine whether he has to declare anything.