Courts
Glossary of terms – Court Events
A | B | C | D | H | J | L | P | R | S | T | V | W
| A | |
| Adjourned | The case has been adjourned. |
| Appeal Interpreter Sworn | An appeal could require one or more interpreters for the witnesses and/or the appellants. All interpreters are required to take an oath prior to performing interpretations for the court. |
| Appeal Witness continues | The specified witness continues to give evidence. |
| Appeal Witness Evidence Concluded | The witness has finished giving evidence and has been released by the court. |
| Appeal Witness Sworn | A trial will have one or more witnesses for the prosecution and/or the defence. All witnesses are required to take an oath prior to giving evidence. Prosecution witnesses could be factual (witnessed the events) or expert (an authority on the type of evidence that is being presented), whilst defence witnesses could be factual, expert, character (providing a reference for the defendant) or professional (a witness in a particular line of business). |
| Appellant Case Closed | The appellant's Counsel has completed presentation of their evidence. |
| Appellant [name] Case Opened | The Counsel (for the specified appellant) has begun presentation of evidence. |
| Appellant [name] Submissions | The Counsel (for the specified appellant) is in the process of presenting legal submissions to the court. |
| Appellant Sworn | An appeal will have one or more appellants. All appellants are required to take an oath prior to giving evidence. |
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| B | |
| Bench Retire to consider judgement | All evidence/arguments have been presented to the court and the judge (and his panel of justices) has now retired to consider the evidence and provide a judgement. |
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| C | |
| Case adjourned until [time] | The case has been adjourned until the specified time later in the day. |
| Case Closed | The case has been concluded and is now closed. |
| Case released until [time] | The judge has released the case until the specified time later in the day, at which point another judge may reside. |
| Case Started | The specified case has started. |
| Case to be listed for Further Mention/PAD on [date] | The case has been adjourned until the specified date, on which further mentions and/or pleas and directions will take place. |
| Case to be listed for Sentence on [date] | The case has been adjourned until the specified date, on which sentencing will take place. |
| Case to be listed for Trial on [date] | The case has been adjourned until the specified date, on which a full trial will commence. |
| Case to be listed in week commencing on [date] | The case has been adjourned and is to be listed for resumption in the specified week commencing date. |
| Case to be listed on [date] | The case has been adjourned and is to be listed for resumption on the specified date. |
| Case to be listed on date to be fixed | The case has been adjourned and will be listed for resumption on a date to be allocated. |
| Court Closed | The court is closed for the day. |
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| D | |
| Defence Case Closed [name] | The Defence Counsel has completed presentation of their evidence. |
| Defence [name] Case Opened | The Defence Counsel has begun their presentation of evidence for the specified defendant. |
| Defence Closing Speech | The Defence Counsel has begun their closing speech after presenting their evidence to the court. |
| Defendant [name] Sworn | A trial will have one or more defendants. All defendants are required to take an oath prior to giving evidence. |
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| H | |
| Hearing Finished | The hearing of the case is concluded for today. It is not an indication that the case has finished just that today's hearing has finished. |
| Hearing Finished | The hearing of the case for the specified defendant(s) has concluded for today. It is not an indication that the case has finished just that today's hearing has finished. |
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| J | |
| Judgement | The bench has reached a judgement and is presenting to the court. An appeal against a conviction or sentence will result in one of three judgements: allowed, varied (where the appeal is against multiple convictions/sentences) or dismissed. |
| Judge's Directions | The judge has made an order that needs to be complied with in 7 or 14 days. |
| Jury retires to consider verdict | The jury has left the court to discuss the evidence and agree a verdict. |
| Jury Sworn in | All jurors (a panel of 12) have been sworn in for the trial. |
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| L | |
| Legal Submissions | Legal technicalities are under discussion either within the court (where the jury may have to be removed) or the chambers. The Prosecution and/or the Defence Counsel may be addressing the judge. Under some circumstances the public may be denied access to the court until the submissions are complete. |
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| P | |
| Pleas & Directions Hearing on [date] | The preliminary hearing has deemed that the Pleas and Directions for the case will be heard on the date specified. |
| Prosecution Case | The Prosecution Counsel is currently in the process of presenting their evidence to the court. The evidence could consist of verbal argument, TV/Video evidence, etc. |
| Prosecution Case Closed | The Prosecution Counsel has completed the presentation of their evidence. |
| Prosecution Closing Speech | The Prosecution Counsel has begun their closing speech after presenting their evidence to the court (This follows the defence case/evidence). |
| Prosecution Opening | The Prosecution Counsel has commenced their opening speech. This is a precursor to the prosecution presenting their evidence to the court. |
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| R | |
| Reporting Restrictions. For details please contact the Court Manager | Reporting restrictions have been applied (i.e. details cannot be released to the public) due to the sensitive nature of the case. |
| Reporting Restrictions Lifted | Normal reporting of the case will now continue. |
| Respondent Case Closed | The respondent's Counsel has completed presentation of their evidence. |
| Respondent Case Opened | The respondent's Counsel is currently in the process of presenting their evidence to the court. The evidence could consist of verbal argument, TV/Video evidence, etc. |
| Resume | The specified case has resumed following an adjournment. |
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| S | |
| Summing up | The judge is currently giving direction to the jury concerning the evidence presented in the case, highlighting any legal points (or other detail) that should be considered during their deliberations. |
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| T | |
| Trial Cracked or Ineffective | The trial will not be proceeding. A cracked trial means that the defendant has pleaded guilty to enough of the charges or the prosecution are offering no evidence against the defendant so that the defendant has been acquitted. An ineffective trial means that the trial cannot go ahead on this date but will be heard again at another time. |
| Trial Interpreter Sworn | A trial could require one or more interpreters for the witnesses and/or the defendants. All interpreters are required to take an oath prior to performing interpretations for the court. |
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| V | |
| Verdict | A verdict has been reached by the jury and is being presented to the court. The verdict must be unanimous unless, under certain circumstances, a majority decision has been deemed acceptable. |
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| W | |
| Witness [witness number] continues | The specified witness continues to give evidence. |
| Witness Evidence Concluded | The witness has finished giving evidence and has been released by the court. |
| Witness [witness number] Sworn | A trial will have one or more witnesses for the prosecution and/or the defence. All witnesses are required to take an oath prior to giving evidence. Prosecution witnesses could be factual (witnessed the events) or expert (an authority on the type of evidence that is being presented), whilst defence witnesses could be factual, expert, character (providing a reference for the defendant) or professional (a witness in a particular line of business). |