Sun Tzu, The Art of War
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
Submissions
You may hear the term “submissions”. This is a written argument we can prepare and provide to Police Prosecutions and/or the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions on your behalf. This will usually be an argument in reply to the “QP9” which is also known as the “Queensland Police Service Court Brief”. The charge and the facts contained within this document is not strictly evidence, but does provide an idea of the charge and what evidence may be available to prove that charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
Submissions may not be limited to an argument but may also include a request for reasonable material to advance case conferencing. This, however, does not include a request for a full brief of evidence. In most circumstances, challenging an alleged fact or charge may come down to body worn camera footage, CCTV footage, and/or a witness statement.
Submissions may also consider referring the charge to Adult Restorative Justice Conferencing, which if accepted and successful, may likely result in the charge being discontinued. The advantage of having a charge discontinued is that you will avoid further legal costs and/or penalties imposed by the court.
Case Conferencing
The Case Conferencing Protocol for Summary Offences was made to compliment the Criminal Jurisdiction Reform Administrative arrangement adopted by Practice Direction No. 9 of 2010 and to facilitate the efficient and timely resolution of summary matters through case conferencing. If you have been given a notice to appear or are required to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court, your matter may be assigned to the dedicated full-time call-over court to case manage summary matters.
Negotiation
Negotiation can occur through submissions, case conference, and even over email and phone calls. If we are successful in negotiating your matter, it may mean the discontinuance of all or some of the charges, amending the facts, and/or amending the charges. In many cases, this can mean the difference between the recording of a conviction and/or a custodial sentence. As a firm that is results driven, we often find that the best results are achieve through persuasive negotiation tactics and knowing how to pursue the best available outcome. To speak to a criminal lawyer in Brisbane who can assist you with your case, call us on 0401 999 347.
