1. Understand Court procedure

There are strict rules and conventions about how matters proceed before a Local Court. If you don’t know or understand them, you should seriously consider getting some legal advice. Magistrates deal with very busy courts lists and are not able to provide you with advice about what you should do, or how to do it, but they may get very frustrated with you if you are not doing something properly (or asking to do something that can’t be done). There are practice notes about some aspects of criminal law practice available on the NSW Local Court Website here: https://localcourt.nsw.gov.au/for-legal-professionals/practice-notes.html

2. Be prepared to advocate

Most people get nervous when they appear for themselves. This may cause you to forget to mention something important. If you have a list of things that you want to tell the court this will help you when things become stressful. If you think that you may have difficult speaking clearly, get nervous in front of crowds, or that you might not know what to say, consider getting a lawyer. Our job quite literally is to advocate and speak on your behalf in that Court room. We do it day in, day out.

3. Knowing what not to say is almost as important as what you say

Without legal training and experience, it is difficult for self-represented people to know what might be a good thing to say to a Court, and what might not help them at all. A good drink driving lawyer will be able to give you advice about what information might actually be useful to present to the Court, and what will not.

4. Tell the court about your ability to pay a fine

This information includes:

• your occupation;
• how much you earn each week;
• how much you pay for rent or as a mortgage payment;
• any other debts you have;
• how many people you support.

5. Tell the court how a criminal conviction may affect your future

If this is your first offence, then you might want to advise the court about:

• whether a criminal record will affect your ability to work now or in the future. You will need to provide some evidence of this if you want the magistrate to take this seriously.
• whether a criminal record would affect your travel plans. If these travel plans have been booked you should provide the court with copies of the booking documents.

6. Tell the court about your need for a driver licence

If you are going to lose your job if you lose your licence, you should have a letter from your employer saying this clearly. If you drive a lot of kilometres each year you should prove this by either a log book or the car service records.

7. Tell the court about your previous good character

If you have done charity work in the past or you have major achievements in your life you should provide the court with some proof of these. You should consider obtaining character references as well. These references should paint a picture of your character. The person writing the reference should give examples of good things you have done. If in the past you have taken steps to stop others drink driving this should be mentioned.

An example of what could be included in a reference to bring your character to life:

“Ben Smith is very generous with his time and his money. I remember driving home and seeing our elderly neighbour struggling to remove graffiti from his fence. Ben went missing for a while and about 1/2 hour later I saw Ben with our elderly neighbour removing the graffiti from the fence with a scrubbing brush and cleaning equipment he had bought from the hardware store. Ben spent the next five hours with our neighbour until it was all removed. This is but one example of how generous Ben is to others.”

8. Understand the sentencing options

You should have an understanding of how mandatory disqualifications work as well as any mandatory interlock orders. It is important to know that if you want an exemption from a mandatory interlock order, you need to apply for this before you are sentenced. You cannot change this afterwards unless you file an appeal. Traffic law can be surprisingly complex and complicated.

9. Be respectful and polite to all those that you deal with at Court

Do not talk over the Magistrate, try to listen to what they are explaining. The Court staff and the Prosecutors have an important part to play in the Court process and they are there to do a job. It will not assist your matter if you are rude, argumentative or difficult to deal with.

10. Get advice.

A loss of licence and a criminal conviction can have serious consequences for people – you might lose your job, be unable to provide for your family, or have difficulty travelling for a very long period of time. You need to think about legal representation as an investment into your future. We are here to help.