SUPREME COURT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY PRACTICE DIRECTION NO 2 OF 2012
Practice Direction - Docket system -Criminal matters- callovers, committal processes, judge-alone elections, duty judges, the Master's applications list and return of subpoenas

Introduction

1.  On 13 August 2012,the Supreme Court will take the first step in the implementation of the docket system in the court, under which judicial officers will manage
docketed matters from an early stage. While the full implementation of the docket system will take some time to complete, this Practice Direction details its initial introduction in relation to criminal matters.
2. The implementation will also require amendments to the Rules but,in the meantime, insofar as it may be necessary,the Court will make orders under Rule 6 of the Court Procedures Rules 2006 (ACT) as the occasion arises to ensure that, where the Rules conflict with this Practice Direction,the procedures set out in this Practice Direction  will prevail.
3.  The procedures established for the initial introduction of a docket system will be subject to change over the coming months in the light of experience with the system.
_4.  _This _Practice _Direction  _deals _with:

(a) judicial callovers (at [6]);

(b) committal processes and the Thursday criminal directions list (at [8] and [9]); (c) matters committed for sentence (at [10]);
(d) judge-alone  elections, and standard criminal trial directions for the filing and serving of documents by the parties (at [11] to [28]); and
(e) the duty judge and the Master's applications  list (at [29] to [34]);

_(f)  _return  _of _subpoenas _(at _[35] _to _[36]).

5.   Further Practice Directions will be issued as required to deal with other aspects of the docket system.

Judicial callovers

6.  Judicial callovers will be listed on Fridays. Each Friday, there will be two callovers by Judges (at 9.00 am and 9.30 am respectively).  This means that each Judge will have a callover every second Friday.
7.  At [10] and [21] below is information about how matters committed from the Magistrates Court will be dealt with at callovers.  Further details about how callovers are to be conducted will be given in Practice Directions to be issued shortly.  It is not expected that every matter  in a judicial officer's  docket will be mentioned at every callover conducted by the judicial officer.

Committal processes/Thursday criminal directions list

8.   Currently, the Magistrates Court commits matters "to the Supreme Court for [trial/sentence]" at 9.30 am on the next Thursday not less than 7 days after committal.
9.   In future, the 9.30 am Thursday criminal directions  list will be conducted by the

Registrar.

Matters committed for sentence

10. For matters committed for sentence:

(a) All parties will be expected to have sought from the committing Magistrate any order needed for a pre-sentence report  under Part 4.2 of the Crimes
{Sentencing) Act 2005 (ACT), a report  from the Court Alcohol and Drug

Assessment Service or a Forensic Mental Health Report.

(b) The Registrar will, at the criminal directions  list, identify  the docket judge, and give the parties a callover listing for that Judge's next appropriate callover (which will generally be the Friday either 8 days or 15 days later).
(c) At that callover,the Judge will set a sentence date, make orders for the usual exchange of documents, and order any necessary reports that have not been ordered.
(d) In some circumstances, at least where parties are represented, it may be

_possible _for _those _orders _to _be _made _in _chambers _and _advised _to _the _parties

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by email in advance of the callover date.  If all required  orders are so made and advised,the parties may be excused from the callover.

Matters committed for trial

11. For matters committed for trial, the procedures set out at [14] to [26] below apply.

Need to make elections before accused knows trial judge's identity
12. Section 68B of the Supreme Court Act 1930 (ACT) provides that an accused person who wants a judge-alone trial must make and file the necessary election before:
(a) the court first allocates a date for the person's trial; and

(b) the person, or the person's legal representative, knows the trial judge's identity.
13. A matter  committed to the Supreme Court for trial will be allocated to a docket

judge, who will be the trial Judge, shortly after committal by the Magistrates Court. Judge-alone elections will need to be made before docket allocation is advised to the parties.
Registrar's criminal directions list
14. At the first mention  in the Registrar's criminal directions list,the  Registrar will:

(a) unless para (b) applies- confirm  that the following directions  (the "standard criminal trial directions") apply:
(i)  The prosecution  will file and serve a copy of the indictment, case statement, list of witnesses and its answers to the questionnaire ("the DPP documents"L within 3 weeks after the date of the directions  list mention.
(ii)  The accused will file and serve his or her answers to the questionnaire within 4 weeks after the date of the directions list mention.
(b) if either party seeks an extended period for the filing and serving of any documents- the Registrar will list the matter  before the duty judge to hear that application (which may be made orally).
15. If no extensions are sought, the Registrar will adjourn the matter  to the Registrar's criminal directions  list at a date not less than 6 weeks after the date specified for
_the _filing _and _serving _of _the _DPP _documents.

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16. If a matter  is listed before the duty judge under [14](b) above for the hearing of an extension application,the duty judge will make any necessary orders for the filing and serving of documents and will adjourn the matter  back to the Registrar's criminal directions list at a date determined by the duty judge, being not less than
6 weeks after the date specified for the filing and serving of the DPP documents.

Registrar's criminal directions list- subsequent listings
17. When the matter  returns to the Registrar's criminal  directions list after the initial adjournment,the Registrar will deal with it as set out below.
Where judge-a/one election available
18. If the DPP documents have been served as required, and a judge-alone election was available,the Registrar:
(a) will:

(i) 	note any judge-alone election already filed; or

(ii) 	accept any judge-alone election produced  in court; or

(iii) 	note that the deadline for any such election has passed; and

(b) will identify the docket judge; and

(c) will give the parties a callover listing for that judge's next appropriate callover

(which will generally be the Friday either 8 days or 15 days later).

19. lfthe DPP documents have not been served as required, or if an order delaying the docketing of the matter  has been made by the duty judge (see [16] aboveL and a judge-alone  election is available,the  Registrar will, subject to any order made by a duty judge, adjourn the matter  for a further period or periods to allow a period of at least 6 weeks after service of the DPP documents for the making of a judge-alone election.  After that period has been allowed, the Registrar will proceed as set out at [18] above.
Where no judge-alone  election available
20. If no judge-alone election was available,the Registrar will identify the docket judge and give the parties a callover listing for that judge's next appropriate callover
_(which _will _generally _be _the _Friday _either _8 _days _or _15 _days _later).

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Generally
21. Once the matter  has been docketed,the docket judge will, at the callover, deal with any outstanding matters relating to the filing and serving of documents, in accordance with the standard criminal trial directions  or otherwise.
Periods allowed for judge-alone elections (matters committed before 13 August)
22. For matters committed to the Supreme Court before 13 August for trial, the following arrangements will apply to trials involving offences for which a judge­ alone election is available (noting that if the identity of the trial judge has been disclosed to the parties, there is no further scope for a judge-alone election).
23. For those cases where the identity of the trial judge has not been advised, the following provisions will apply.
24. Over the next few weeks, the Registrar will identify all trial matters:

(a) that were committed to the Supreme Court before 13 August; and

(b) that involve offences for which a judge-alone election is available; and

(c) in which no judge-alone election has yet been filed; and

(d) in which the parties have not been advised of the identity ofthe trial judge.

25. The parties in all such matters will be notified that they are required to attend the Registrar's criminal directions list on a specified day. At that mention,the Registrar will adjourn the matter to a further Registrar's criminal directions list on a date:
(a) at least 6 weeks away; or

(b) if the DPP documents referred  to in the standard criminal trial directions have not yet been served, at least 6 weeks after the deadline for service of those documents.
26. At that next mention, the Registrar will deal with the matter  in the manner set out at [18] and [19] above.
27. If the accused considers that a judge-alone election cannot be made within  the time limits provided above, he or she may, within  those time limits, apply to the duty judge for an order delaying the docketing of the matter  for a further  specified
period to allow consideration of whether  to make an election.
28. Nothing in this Practice Direction  should be taken to suggest that judge-alone elections are available more broadly than is currently provided  for in the Supreme

Court Act.
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Duty judge's applications list

29. The first duty judge period will begin on 13 August 2012. Some matters that would have been listed in the Master's applications list will be listed before the duty judge. Matters already listed in the Master's applications list will remain in that list, and until all currently  docketable matters have been added to dockets, some other applications in undocketed  matters will be listed before the Master rather than the duty judge.   The parties to any such application  should check the daily law lists (at http://www.courts.act.gov.au/supreme/lists/calendar) carefully to ensure they know in which list the application  has been placed.
30. The matters to be listed before the duty judge from 13 August are: (a) Bail matters including bail variations  and breaches of bail.
(b) Urgent applications that are not applications  in proceedings and are not within the Registrar's jurisdiction.
(c) Applications for orders under the Confiscation of Criminal Assets Act 2003

(ACT), the Proceeds of Crime Act 1987 (Cth) or the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

(Cth).

)

(d) Applications  (in chambers) under the Crimes (Surveillance Devices) Act 2010 (ACT) (noting that an application that relates to a suspect who has already been the subject of prior applications under the Act in respect of the same suspected offences should if possible be handled by the judge who dealt with the earlier applications^1 .
31. In the short term, the duty judge will advise the Registrar of times available for duty judge work.  In the longer term, it is expected that the duty judge will deal with
most duty judge matters on Fridays.

32. After the dockets are fully allocated and the duty judges are able to find court time for regular duty judge lists, the duty judge will also deal with the following matters:
(a) Applications in proceedings that are not already being managed by a particular  judicial officer, being applications that cannot be dealt with by the Registrar.

^1A judge who authorises surveillance should not also preside over any resulting trial.  It is therefore  desirable to limit the number of judges who are disqualified from such a trial by having been involved with prior
_surveillance _of _the _accused.
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(b) Urgent applications in proceedings where the judicial officer already managing the proceedings is not available.  Any applications that are not genuinely urgent will be adjourned  back to the judicial officer already managing the proceedings, and the duty judge will consider ordering costs against any party who has sought the listing of the matter before the duty judge.
33. Special arrangements will be made by the Registrar if the Master is the duty judge and a particular  application  is not within  the Master's jurisdiction.
34. A duty judge listing for a matter specified at [30] or [32] above should be sought from the List Clerk, who may seek guidance from the Registrar in relation to matters that are not obviously duty judge matters. Practitioners  may need to explain to the Registrar why a matter is urgent or otherwise  in need of duty judge attention.

Return of subpoenas

35. Subpoenas in criminal matters will be returnable at the Registrar's criminal directions list on Thursday mornings.
36. Any dispute concerning or arising out of a subpoena will be referred by the Registrar to the docket judge (if the matter has been docketed) or to the duty judge in any other case.

By direction  of the Judges

ANNIE GLOVER Registrar
_ACT _Supreme _Cour

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