What is a mention?
The first time that you go to court is called a mention. You will usually appear in front of a Registrar or Magistrate. The purpose of the mention is for the Court to find out whether you want to plead guilty or not guilty.
Your Court Attendance Notice (CAN) will tell you the date, time, and court you have to go to for the first mention.
You should arrive at court at least 30 minutes early. This will give you time to go through security and find your courtroom.
If you think you are going to be late, you should ring the court registry and let them know. If you are not at court when your name is called, the Court may decide your case without you
You can find your courtroom on:
- the court lists at the courthouse
- the Search NSW Court and Tribunal Lists page on the NSW Online Registry.
For information about how to find your courtroom, you should watch the video below:
This video is available with the audio description.
Once you have found your courtroom, you can take a seat in the public gallery, or, if the courtroom is full, you can wait outside. There are often many cases listed on the same day and you will have to wait until your name is called. You could be at court for just a few hours or most of the day, so you should make arrangements with your work or childcare if necessary.
If you wait outside, make sure you stay close enough to the courtroom to hear the court officer call your name. If you leave, or are not there when your name is called, your case can be decided without you.
The courtroom may be closed for morning tea (usually around 11:30am) and for lunch (usually from 1:00pm to 2:00pm). You will have to leave the courtroom during these breaks. You can check with the court officer or the registry what time the courtroom will reopen.
Before entering the courtroom:
- remove your hat and sunglasses from your head
- stop eating or drinking
- turn your mobile phone off or put it on silent.
Pleading guilty
If you plead guilty, you are admitting you broke the law.
You may have had a good reason for committing the offence or there may be reasons why you feel the fine is harsh. If this is the case, you may want to plead guilty and ask the Court for leniency.
You can plead guilty at any time before the hearing.
If you can’t attend court, you may be able to plead guilty in writing instead.
If you can attend court, you need to be prepared to make submissions to the Court. The Court will usually hear your case on the same day and sentence you for the offence.
Before you plead guilty, you should get legal advice.
You need to be aware of the consequences of pleading guilty, including what sentence the Court can give you and the risk that you may be convicted by the court. A conviction will appear on your criminal record. You may also want to get a lawyer to represent you at court.
If you can’t speak to a lawyer before the mention, you should ask the Court for an adjournment.
If you have pleaded guilty, you can only change your plea to not guilty in special circumstances.
Before you apply to change your plea, you should get legal advice.
If you want to plead guilty, but you can't attend court on the date in your Court Attendance Notice (CAN), you may be able to fill out a Written Notice of Pleading. You can enter a plea of guilty in writing if you have taken a fine to court, but it isn’t always your best option.
For more information, see Pleading guilty in writing.
If you are going to plead guilty, it is important that you are prepared to make your submissions to the Court.
You need to have all your documents prepared to hand up at court.
You may want to ask the Court for an adjournment if:
- you can’t attend court
- you want to complete a program or treatment before pleading guilty.
Once you are prepared for court, you need to prepare to present your guilty plea.
For more information, see Step by step guide – Preparing for court.
Submissions tell the Court about the offence, your circumstances and what penalty you would like the Court to consider.
After you have plead guilty and the Court has read all the documents handed up by you and the prosecutor, you will have a chance to make your submissions.
You should make sure your submissions are logical and concise. The Court wants to know why and how you committed the offence and what kind of person you are. This may mean giving the Court a lot of information about yourself, some of which you may regard as private.
If there are any details about your life which you would prefer not to talk about in front of the courtroom but which you want the Court to know about, you can ask the Court if you can hand up all or part of your submissions in writing.
For more information, see Your submissions.
If you are pleading guilty, it is a good idea to have two or three character references that you can give to the Court.
Character references are letters written by referees (people) who know you and can write about your good character.
For more information, see Character references.
If you are pleading guilty, it is usually a good idea to write an apology letter to the Court.
An apology letter shows the Court that you:
- realise the seriousness of the offence
- are sorry for your actions
- won’t re-offend.
When deciding what sentence to give you, the Court will consider any mitigating factors, including:
- written evidence of your remorse
- your lack of a prior criminal record
- that is unlikely you will re-offend.
For more information, see Apology letter.
If you plead guilty, the Court will usually decide whether to convict and sentence you on the same day.
Before the Court gives you a sentence, it will hear submissions from you and the prosecutor.
You can use your submissions to explain your actions and ask for leniency.
Before you plead guilty, you should get legal advice.
For more information about how to present your case in court, see Step by step guide – Presenting your guilty plea.
Pleading not guilty
If you plead not guilty, you are saying you didn’t commit the offence, or you have a defence.
If you plead not guilty, the court will usually list your case for a hearing on another date and give directions about the:
- number of witnesses required to attend the hearing
- length of the hearing
- date that any evidence needs to be served on (given to) you before the hearing
- return date for any subpoenas.
You will then need to prepare your case for the hearing.
If you can’t attend the mention, you may be able to plead not guilty in writing. If the Court accepts your plea in writing, you will still have to attend court for the hearing.
If you change your mind and want to plead guilty, you can do this at any time before the hearing.
If the fine relates to a driving offence that was committed by someone else, you should name the driver. For more information, see Name the driver.
You don't have to have a lawyer when you go to court. However, hearings are complicated and stressful. If you are going to plead not guilty, you may want to get a lawyer to represent you at the hearing or get some legal advice about how to best represent yourself at the hearing.
If you want to plead not guilty, but you can't attend court on the date in your Court Attendance Notice (CAN), you may be able to fill out a Written Notice of Pleading. You can enter a plea of not guilty in writing if you have taken a fine to court.
For more information, see Pleading not guilty in writing.
It is important you are prepared for your hearing so you can present your case and answer the Court’s questions.
To prepare, you should:
- get legal advice about how to best present your case
- get all of your evidence ready to present at the hearing
- issue any subpoenas
- plan what you want to say in your submission
- organise your documents and evidence.
If you need an interpreter or other support from the Court, you should notify the Court at least two weeks before the hearing.
For more information, see Step by step guide – Preparing for the hearing.
Before the hearing, you must prepare the evidence you want to show to the Court.
You should do this quickly, because some forms of evidence may not be available or may be destroyed after some time.
If you want to use electronic evidence, such as videos or sound recordings, you should contact the court as soon as possible before the hearing to make sure that the equipment you need is available on the day.
You should also review the prosecutor’s evidence, as this might help you identify what evidence you need for your case.
For more information, see Evidence.
If you need documents or other evidence for your case, or you want to make sure that a witness is going to come to court, you can issue a subpoena.
There are three different types of subpoenas:
- Subpoena for Production,
- Subpoena to Give Evidence or
Subpoena for Production and to Give Evidence.
For more information about how to prepare, file and serve a subpoena, see Step by step guide - Subpoenas.
Even if you are pleading not guilty, it is a good idea to have two or three character references that you can give to the Court, in case you are found guilty.
Character references are letters written by referees (people) who know you and can write about your good character.
For more information, see Character references.
If you plead not guilty, the Court will usually decide the case on the Hearing date.
The prosecution will present their evidence against you and you can choose whether you want to present any evidence.
For more information about how to present your case in court, see Step by step guide – Presenting your case in court.
If you have pleaded not guilty, in writing or at the mention, you can change your plea to guilty at any time before the hearing.
How to change your plea
You should tell the prosecutor or the police officer in charge of your case as soon as possible.
You must also tell the Court. You can do this:
- at the next mention
- by filing an Application to Vacate a Hearing Date (if the reply date has already passed or no reply date was set), or
- on the date of the hearing.
If you change your plea on the day of the hearing, the Court may order you to pay the costs of the prosecution attending the hearing.
For more information, see Costs in fine cases.
How to file an Application to Vacate a Hearing Date
To avoid these costs, you can file an Application to Vacate a Hearing Date.
You can get a blank copy of this form from:
- your nearest Local Court registry, or
- the Forms page on the Local Court of NSW website.
You must file your completed form in person at the court registry no less than 21 days before the hearing, or as soon as possible in urgent circumstances.
The Court will deal with your application in chambers.
Pleading guilty
If you plead guilty at the mention or hearing, the Court will usually decide whether to convict and sentence you on the same day.
Before the Court gives you a sentence, it will hear submissions from you and the prosecutor.
You can use your submissions to explain your actions and ask for leniency.
If you file an Application to Vacate a Hearing Date, you may be asked to attend court on a date earlier than the hearing date, to enter your guilty plea and make submissions to the Court.
What if i need more time?
If you are not ready to have your case heard at court, you can ask the Magistrate for an adjournment.
You may need an adjournment if:
- you need more time to talk to a lawyer
- you need more time to get a lawyer to represent you
- you need time to prepare for the sentence
- you need time to go to an intervention program or counselling.
Tell the Magistrate how much time you need and why. For example, if you know you have an appointment to see a lawyer in two weeks, you can tell the Magistrate that you need at least two weeks to give you time to see the lawyer.
For more information about how to ask for an adjournment, you should watch the video below:
LawAccess NSW - Asking for an adjournment.
This video is available with the audio description.
You need to be aware that if the court decides not to adjourn your case, the court can make a decision without you being there. If this happens, you might be able to apply to annul (cancel) the court decision.
For more information, see Appeals and annulments.
If you can’t make it to court, you can:
- ask for an adjournment
- ask for the Magistrate to move your case to another court (usually only if you are pleading guilty)
- send a Written Notice of Pleading.
If you can't go to court, you should contact the court registry and explain why. It is a good idea to send something in writing, for example a letter or fax.
If you are sick, you should also send a medical certificate that states you are unfit to attend court and why, and ask the Court to adjourn your case. You should do this as soon as possible.
Sample: Letter requesting an adjournment
If you need to move your case to another court, you should contact the court. The court may ask that you put your request in writing.
If you miss court, the Magistrate may adjourn your case, or find guilty in your absence. If the Magistrate makes a decision in your absence, you won't be able to explain your circumstances, or plead not guilty. The Magistrate may also issue a warrant for your arrest.
If you miss court date and the Magistrate made a decision in your absence, you may be able to apply for an annulment of the decision.
For more information, see Appeals and annulments.
If you are not happy about the decision of the Court, you may be able to appeal to the District Court of NSW.
You have 28 days to appeal, or three months with the leave (permission) of the District Court.
For more information, see Appeals and annulments.
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