When you commit a serious traffic offence or criminal traffic offence you may be investigated, the police may try to interview you and then finally issue you with a Court Attendance Notice. 

At the earliest possible time you should to engage a lawyer for the best result. 

In many respects Traffic offences are the same as regular Criminal offences, however many traffic offences are strict liability, which means the prosecution does not have to prove you intended to do the offence, meaning you are defacto guilty unless you can prove that you did not commit the act or omission (failing to act) which caused the offence. 

A typical not guilty defence for something that was not your act would be having an unexpected heart attack or unexpected seizure. Or perhaps your car or motorcycle has malfunctioned such as a jammed accelerator,  tyre failure, gearbox failure, engine failure, brake failure, hitting a pot hole or having a passenger interfering with your driving causing the car to veer off course. 

You cannot argue whether you intentionally committed the offence with strict liability traffic matters but you can argue mistake of fact. This is when you are reasonably mistaken as to the facts of a major issue that has caused the incident. This gives you an opportunity to test the prosecution case against you by pleading not guilty and it gives you the opportunity to explain something that may be inherently unfair, such as the failure to display or incorrectly displayed sign post with a lower speed. 

Perhaps you have never received a licence suspension notice only to find that the police want to charge you with driving whilst disqualified. If there is a reasonable argument that you have been honestly mistaken this gives you the ability to plead not guilty dropping the case against you.  

You cannot use ignorance of the law as an excuse but you can be reasonably mistaken and sometimes the law can be so confusing or contradictory that the result can swing in your favour.

The justice system needs to accept when people were honestly and reasonably mistaken because this can and does happen for valid reason. for example:

Jack,18, met Jill in a nightclub, Jill represented herself as 18 but she was in fact 15 and 11 months of age. At a later stage in the night they had consensual sex, but the law does not give Jill the ability to consent at this age. 

Without the ability to argue mistake of fact Jack would be a convicted and registered sex offender for the rest of his life. 

When you are charged with an offence you will find yourself in Criminal Court. 

The prosecution needs to prove you guilty beyond reasonable doubt. You and your legal team do not have to prove that you are innocent. Your legal team just needs to prove there is reasonable doubt that you committed the offence. 

Matters that are likely to result in less than a 2 year prison sentence are heard in the Local Court. Whereas matters that are likely to result in more than a 2 year prison sentence are heard in the District Court. 

To give yourself the best possible defence you should retain a lawyer as soon as possible, especially if the police are trying to interview you in regard to an alleged offence. Having a Lawyer present during the interview process or declining to interview altogether is your best option.

The police are trained professionals and their questions will be geared to extracting the facts... However police can fall into error and manufacture an account of events that point at you being the major suspect. Countless falsely convicted and imprisoned people have attempted to help police solve the crime but have unknowingly painted themselves as suspect number one and sealed their own conviction. . 

If you are given a CAN - Court Attendance Notice it will inform you of your court date. You should talk to a lawyer immediately if you have not by now. 

Your lawyer will have a brief containing the evidence set out against you by the DPP - Department of Police Prosecution. This will include facts sheets which can be amended and signed when certain facts are agreed on by everyone. 

If the evidence is overwhelming and points directly to guilty it is best to enter a plea of guilty at the earliest possible stage which can lead to a 25% reduction in your sentence and a very large discount in legal costs. For example:

A Matter than can be run in 1 or 2 days as a guilty plea generally results in costs of
between $750 - $2000. 

A Matter that is defended, that is when you plead not guilty to the offence, can take 2+ days, extensive research and preparation time resulting is costs of $1500 - $5000 depending on the time involved in the matter.

People may think that legal costs are a bit steep and that lawyers are rich but this is far from the truth. Some of the best lawyers at the best firms only make on average $25 per hour when you factor in the real time and prep work that goes into the legal services they provide.

A successful defended hearing could involve several conferences with the client, dozens of phone calls to expert witnesses such as forensics and doctors, involving counsel with decades of expertise on the particular issue, filing, printing, photocopying.... hours spent lateral thinking at work and hours thinking about the case when they are not even working on the case. 

The harder your legal team works the more likely it is that you will have prejudicial evidence made inadmissible against you increasing your chance of an acquittal. An acquittal is where the prosecution fails to prove the charges against you and you are free to go home. 

Those who can afford to pursue defended hearings are able to have the evidence against them tested and this is vital when a person is charged with a serious offence or several offences because it is very well possible that there is only sufficient evidence to proceed to conviction for a lesser offence or proceeding to conviction on just one offence. This will drastically decrease the sentence faced by the defendant. For example:

Anthony is charged with Murdering Greg:

Option 1: Anthony pleads guilty to murdering Greg, this reduces his legal fees by several fold and obtains a 25% discount on his sentence. At sentencing the Judge looks favourably upon Anthony considering he admitted his crime and  the Judge gives him a sentence of 16 years imprisonment. 

Option 2: Anthony pleads not guilty to murdering Greg.

- Anthony offers a full defence such as proportionate self defence and may walk away a free man if the Judge or Jury agree that the prosecution cannot prove the act was in self defence.
 
- Anthony offers a partial defence such as provocation, Greg had been caught in the act of stealing things from Anthony's house and Anthony there was a struggle and Anthony went too far and killed Greg. This may result in the lesser charge of manslaughter. At sentencing the Judge takes mercy on Anthony and gives him 6 years imprisonment for manslaughter. 

- Anthony pleads not guilty to murder and explains there was no act or intention to kill Greg and this could result in a charge of manslaughter or total acquittal. 

As you can see, in the fictional examples above, sometimes it is far better to test the evidence against you to ensure that you are given the fairest treatment under the law. This is why it is very unwise to talk to police before you talk to a lawyer because they are very likely to pressure you into agreeing to certain facts that did not necessarily happen in that way, in such an order or at all. 

Obtaining legal advice as soon as possible gives you the best opportunity to obtain justice. If you plead not guilty when it is blindingly obvious you will be found guilty then you could be spending 25% longer in Prison having not obtained the discounted sentence.

If you plead guilty when you are not guilty to parts or all parts of the offence, you may spend far more than 25% longer in prison. 

In regard to less serious offences you might not be looking at prison time... but you certainly may be looking to keep a clean criminal record for work, study or travel purposes and having a clean criminal record is a vital indicator in terms of your life's path. It is always important to obtain good legal advice to ensure that what may have been a minor error, doesn't ruin your future. . 

All of the above are Lawyers as they work in law.

Solicitors are able to engage in mixed legal practice offering a range of services. They can appear in most Courts for most matters, own a law firm and they are able to conduct almost all legal services depending on their expertise. 

Barristers can only work for themselves. They spend most of their time in Court and become specialists with court work, usually taking on more serious matters. Barristers can take clients directly however most Barristers are engaged by solicitors who have interviewed the client and assessed their particular case. This gives the client a significant edge because it allows them to put their best foot forward when dealing with their Barrister. 

Counsel is an interchangeable word for Barrister.

Senior Counsel also known as SC is a title applied for when a Barrister believes they have reached the top of their profession. The applications are assessed and only a small amount are accepted.

Queens Counsel also known as QC is the formerly awarded SC title and some QC Barristers are still practicing in Australia.  Both SC and QC titles are also known as silk or silks. 

A Senior Junior Barrister is a very experienced Barrister that has not obtained and SC title. This may be because they have never applied for the title which is most likely, or because their application has not been accepted among the very competitive applicants and political nature of the legal profession. 

The difference in skill level between an SC and a Senior Junior Barrister can vary either way, with the SC title being a politically higher position but not an absolute guarantee of greater legal skill than a Senior Junior Barrister. However, the title of SC and QC are a great mark of respect in the legal community and respect goes a long way. 

I once asked an SC who he thought the best Barrister in the country was, and he replied;

"The one who knows his brief back to front." 

In other words; the lawyer who cares the most and puts the most time into understanding the legal issues and facts surrounding your case, is likely to be the best lawyer on the day. 

These rankings of seniority do generally align with greater fees.

Most Solicitors charge between $500 and $3000 per day. 

Junior Barristers charge about $500 - $2000 per day,

Some Senior Juniors charge $2000 - $4000 per day. 

SC and QC Barristers are known to charge up to and in excess of $8000 per day. 

Your Solicitor can engage any Barrister. However it is best of your Solicitor has a working relationship with a range of Barristers.  This way your Solicitor will be able to give you options and can aid you in selecting the highest skilled barrister for the rate you can afford.

If you are interested in engaging counsel for your legal matter I have working relationships with several Barristers and can negotiate daily rates for you ranging from $1000 to $5000+ per day. 

Magistrates are the decision makers presiding in the Local Court. 

Judges are the decision makers presiding in the District, Supreme and High Court. 

You should address Magistrates and Judges as "Your Honour" and follow their directions in a respectful way to help the court progress and to best position yourself for a favourable outcome. 

If you never try something you will never succeed at that thing. Sometimes the law can be harsh and unreasonable and you should fight for your rights. Always put forward your best argument and have a lawyer defend you, It is worth a try. 

The Court process is intimidating and follows strict guidelines. Most people have very little understanding of the court process and this puts them at a severe disadvantage when defending themselves against a well resourced prosecution. 

Always engage a lawyer and try to defend yourself. Your lawyer will be able to prepare you for court correctly. Legal advice provides a well thought out and calculated approach based on experience. Lawyers can direct you towards a self improvement course or advise you to obtain Doctors reports. This type of evidence can make the difference between a bad result and an excellent result. 

Fees and fines can be reduced and waived by the Court if your lawyer can show that you would struggle to pay the fine. Some fines are as little as $100 and upwards of $2000. This makes it logical to engage a lawyer as they will not only potentially save you money but they will put you in the best position to reduce your sentence or have your case dismissed entirely. 

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