CRIMINAL CASE CONFERENCING

Ms CICCARELLO (Norwood) (14:41): My question is to the Attorney-General. Can the Attorney-General inform the house about the criminal case conferencing pilot program in the Magistrates Court?

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON (Croydon—Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (14:41): We need to reduce delays in trying criminal matters in the District Court. We have a backlog. The Rann government is responding to the problem of court delays and is pledged to speeding up the court process. From 1 April this year, criminal case conferencing became available through a pilot program, which is an initiative of the Criminal Justice Ministerial Task Force. With active involvement from prosecution, the defence and the magistracy, case conferencing will provide a forum for constructive early negotiations in criminal matters and will present the best prospect for a speedy and appropriate resolution of criminal matters.

Conferencing is now available in the Adelaide Magistrates Court for any major indictable matter or any minor indictable matter where the accused has elected for a jury trial. Criminal case conferencing is not mandatory. However, should it be desired, either the prosecution or the defence can request case conferencing at the answer charge hearing. Under the pilot program, case conferencing is conducted before committal of a prosecution to the District Court. A magistrate presides over case conferences, each of which will have half an hour allocated. Once a conference has been requested by either party, the prosecution files and serves before the date of the conference a summary identifying the elements of each charge and the declarations that contain proof of each element.

A case conference gives the parties the opportunity to canvass issues, including plea negotiations and the prosecution's attitude to sentence; whether or not there is a case to answer; disclosure; witnesses required; facts agreeable; issues in dispute; and any expert evidence to be called. This not only speeds up the trial process but also enables the possibility of an early resolution between prosecution and defence. A key feature of the program aimed at developing effective outcomes during the conference is the requirement that people with decision-making authority be present at the conference.

The accused must be present as must a senior member of either the South Australian Office of the DPP or the commonwealth DPP. The DPP representative, who is authorised to make final decisions about the case, appears on behalf of Mr Pallaras so that decisions about the case can be made on the spot. Likewise, the defence counsel is expected to attend, with instructions ready, permitting him or her to make meaningful decisions at the conference.

Even if the conference does not result in resolution of the matter it is expected that it will, at the very least, bring about clarity on issues that can expedite pre-trial proceedings and trial. In any event, case conferences will be conducted without prejudice. A transcript of the conference will be available only for use by the parties during sentencing submissions to show any discount on sentence that is to apply.

Throughout the course of the pilot, which is expected to run for 12 months, four half-hour criminal case conferences are to be scheduled for each week in the Adelaide Magistrates Court. These conference allotments will be allocated first come, first served.

To assess the effectiveness of criminal case conferencing, the Office of Crime Statistics and Research is collecting data about the conferences. Data collection is to be achieved by interviewing magistrates, defence council and prosecutors who have participated in the conferences and also by having them complete evaluation forms. In 2010, the program will be evaluated. If the data and feedback on this program is positive then there is the possibility that criminal case conferencing will be expanded to be utilised in other metropolitan and regional magistrates courts.

As I mentioned earlier, this criminal case conferencing pilot is an initiative of the Criminal Justice Ministerial Task Force. Established in October 2006, the task force brings together interested parties, including representatives from SAPOL, the Legal Services Commission, the Bar Association, the Law Society, Treasury, the Commonwealth DPP and the Attorney-General's Department.

I set up this working party to address the growing time taken for committal and trial processes in the criminal courts in South Australia and then to provide some leadership in responding to other inefficiencies within the criminal justice system. It is excellent that the task force, chaired by Solicitor-General Martin Hinton, is developing solid initiatives and helping the government towards the goal of more efficient court systems for the benefit of the South Australian public.