U3AOS1 Topic 1: Summary and Indictable offences
Summary offences:
- Are minor/less serious crimes/offences that are generally heard in the Magistrates' Court.
- Most summary offences are contained within the Summary Offences Act 1966 (Vic).
- There is no right to trial by jury for this type of offence.
- Maximum term of imprisonment for one single summary offence charge is 2 years.
- Examples include: drink driving, disorderly conduct and minor assaults.
- The final hearing is called a 'hearing'.
Indictable offences:
- Are more serious crimes/offences that are typically heard before a judge and jury.
- Are heard in the County Court (for less serious indictable offences) or Supreme Court of Victoria - Trial Division (for more serious indictable offences).
- Usually, offences listed in The Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) are indictable offences unless explicitly stated otherwise.
- There is a right to trial by jury for this type of offence (where the accused has plead not guilty).
- The final hearing is called a 'trial'.
Indictable offences heard summarily:
- These refer to indictable offences that are treated as if they are summary offences. That is, they can be heard in the Magistrates' Court as if they were a summary offence.
- Not all indictable offences are eligible to be heard summarily. Some very serious indictable offences like murder, cannot be dealt with as a summary offence. This is determined by statute.
- For this to occur, the court must deem the offence appropriate to be treated and heard summarily, and the accused must also agree.
- This can be a quicker and cheaper way to have a case heard in the Magistrates' Court and resolved. It can also serve to reduce the maximum penalty that can be handed down as it is treated as a summary (minor) offence and not an indictable one (where applicable).