Preparing for court if you are pleading guilty

A character reference is a letter to the court written by people who know you and can tell the court about your character.

A character reference can:

• show the magistrate you are normally a person of good character
  
• tell the magistrate about any special circumstances, such as why you need a licence or any personal issues which may help explain why you committed the offence.
  

For more information, see Character references.

Writing an apology letter to the court is usually a good idea if you are pleading guilty.

An apology letter can show the court:

• that you are sorry for the offence or offences and take responsibility for them
  
• any steps you will take to change your behaviour.
  

For more information, see Apology letter.

You should tell the magistrate about your employment and education history.

If you have been charged with a driving offence and you need a drivers licence for your job, you should let the court know.  It is a good idea to get a letter from your employer confirming that you need your licence for work and how losing your licence may affect your job. The court may take that into consideration when deciding how long to disqualify you from driving, or whether to disqualify you at all.

When sentencing you the magistrate can also take into account your education. You may want to provide copies of certificates showing your level of education to the court.

If you are suffering from any medical condition or are receiving treatment, you should provide evidence of this to the magistrate. You can hand up a detailed medical certificate, letter or report from your doctor.

Any certificate, letter or report should be signed and dated. It should also be addressed to the Presiding Magistrate of the court your case is listed in.

If you are receiving medication for a condition, you can also bring a recent prescription.

If you think there are other things about you that the court should take into consideration, you should tell the magistrate and if necessary provide some evidence. For example you could provide:

• a copy of payslips
  
• a letter from Centrelink if you want to tell the magistrate that it would be difficult for you to pay a large fine
  
• a copy of receipts if you were charged with an offence where someone was hurt or property was damaged and you paid for the victim's expenses or the property damage
  
• evidence of weather and road conditions if you have been charged with a traffic offence
  
• evidence of any intervention programs you have completed.
  

The Traffic Offenders Intervention Program (TOIP) is a road safety program that aims to help you become a safer driver. The TOIP:

• runs for six to eight weeks and
  
• requires you to attend a lecture each week, lasting about two to three hours.
  

If you are interested in the program you can:

• enrol before your court date or
  
• tell the magistrate on the first court date and seek leave to be referred. 
  

If you want to find a program and enrol before your court date see Traffic offenders intervention program on the Local Court of NSW website. You can contact the course provider and find out when the next course starts, how long it will go for and how much it will cost. On the first court date you should let the court know which provider you are doing the course through, when it started, and when it will be finished.

The court may give you time to complete the program and adjourn your case to a date after you have completed it, or they may just sentence you.

If you complete the program, the provider will send a certificate of completion to the court. The magistrate can take this into account when sentencing you.

If you choose to do the program you must be committed, attend every lecture and complete any assessments. If you fail to do any of this the magistrate may also take that into account when sentencing you.

The TOIP program must be delivered on at least two separate days over two weeks. You cannot complete the program in a one day course. 

If you have a history of drug use, the Magistrates Early Referral into Treatment (MERIT) program can give you the opportunity to work towards rehabilitation as part of the court process.

You may be referred to the program by a magistrate, solicitor or the police.  If you want to participate in the program and the magistrate has not mentioned it, you can tell the magistrate that you would like to be considered for the program. You can participate in the MERIT program before you enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. Your case may be adjourned until you have completed the program.

The MERIT program includes things like:

• counselling
  
• rehabilitation
  
• case management.
  

The program runs at over 50 Local Courts in NSW. Some of the courts also provide MERIT programs for people with alcohol problems. Most MERIT programs go for about 12 weeks.

For a full list of the MERIT locations, see Coverage statewide on the MERIT website.

If you have been charged with an offence, you may want to consider getting some counselling to help you. For example, if you have a problem with anger or alcohol you may be able to get counselling.

You should tell the Magistrate if you are receiving any counselling and if possible, ask your counsellor to provide you with a detailed letter or report that you can give to the magistrate after you plead guilty.

Submissions are what you say to the magistrate to tell them about the offence, your circumstances and what penalty you would like the magistrate to consider.

You will have a chance to make your submissions after you have entered a plea of guilty, the magistrate has read the documents provided by the police prosecutor, and the magistrate has read any documents provided by you.

You should make sure what you say is well organised and not too long. The magistrate wants to know why and how you committed the offence and what kind of person you are. This may mean giving the magistrate a lot of information about yourself, some of which you may regard as private.

If there are any details about your life which you would prefer not to talk about in front of the courtroom but which you want the magistrate to know about, you can ask the magistrate if you can hand up all or part of your submissions in writing.

When making your submissions you could use the following order: 

• Circumstances of the offence
• Personal history
  
• Education history
  
• Employment history
  
• Financial circumstances
  
• Evidence of good character
  
• Criminal and driving history (if traffic offence)
  
• Your need for a licence (if you're at risk of losing it)​
  
• Alcohol Interlock Order (if relevant)
  
• Remorse
• Court orders you would like to suggest.
  

​​​You need only cover the submissions that apply to your case. 

For more information, see: 

• Checklist: Checklist: Submissions
• Sample:  Sample verbal submissions ​
• Sample: Sample written submissions

Although the magistrate will have read the Police Facts Sheet, it is a good idea to summarise what happened in your own words. You should tell the magistrate when and where the offence took place and provide brief details about the circumstances of the offence.

Your personal history includes information about:

• your age
  
• whether you are single or in a relationship
  
• dependent children
  
• recent personal difficulties, for example sickness, relationship breakdown, deaths, drug or alcohol issues.
  

Your education history includes information about:

• the name of the high school you went to and what year you finished
  
• any TAFE, university or college you are currently attending, or went to, as well as the course you did and when you finished.
  

Your employment history includes information about:

• how long you have worked at your current job and what you do
  
• how long you worked at previous jobs and what you did there
  
• if you are looking for work, what kind of work and what steps you have taken to find work.
  

You can also tell the court what impact you think a conviction might have on your job or future employment.

If the magistrate is considering giving you a fine, they need to know about how much you are able to pay. You should tell the magistrate:

• if you are on a Centrelink benefit, for example, NewStart or the Disability Support Pension
  
• how much you earn a week after tax
  
• how much you pay on your mortgage or rent each week
  
• how much you pay on bills each week
  
• if you are paying off a loan or credit card, how much you are paying each week
  
• how much is left over after all your expenses.
  

You should also tell the magistrate about your ability to pay any fine that may be imposed.

If you are 'of good character' you are a person who contributes to the community. You should tell the court about:

• your involvement in the community, for example, helping an elderly neighbour, P & C activities, Army Reserve, NSW Rural Fire Service
  
• volunteer work, for example, at the local community or neighbourhood centre, the local school, RSPCA, Surf Life Savers.
  

It is a good idea to get character references from any community organisations you have volunteered for.

If you have a criminal history and/or a bad driving record, you should not deny this. You should tell the magistrate:

• whether you have been charged with the same or similar offences before
  
• if it is the first time you have been charged with the offence you are currently before the court for
  
• how long it has been since you were last convicted or fined
  
• if most of your offences occurred during a difficult period in your life.
  

Some driving offences have an automatic disqualification period as well as any other punishment such as a fine. This means if you are convicted you will not be allowed to drive for at least a minimum amount of time. Telling the magistrate about how losing your licence will impact on you or someone else, may help reduce the period of licence disqualification.

If you are concerned about losing your licence, you should get legal advice.

Depending on the offence and your traffic record, the court can also order that your vehicle be forfeited (given to the government) when you are sentenced. If you are concerned that the court will order forfeiture of your vehicle, you should get legal advice before you go to court.

If you have been convicted of a driving offence including alcohol after 1 February 2015, the court may make an Alcohol Interlock Order.

An Alcohol Interlock Order may be made if you have been convicted of:

• a first time mid-range prescribed concentration of alcohol (PCA) on or after 3 December 2018. 
  
• ​​​​​​high range prescribed concentration of alcohol (PCA), 
  
• second or subsequent drink driving offence in a 5 year period, 
  
• failing to provide a breath or blood sample when requested by police, or 
  
• other serious driving offence involving alcohol. 

An Alcohol Interlock Order means you will have a disqualification period during which you cannot drive. When this ends, you can apply for an interlock driver licence. If you have an interlock driver licence, you are only allowed to drive vehicles which are fitted with an approved interlock device. This device requires you to provide a breath sample before the vehicle will start.

If you do not get the interlock driver licence, you will be disqualified from driving for 5 years from the date of conviction.

The court can make an exemption order that means you do not have to obtain an interlock driver licence or interlock device at the end of your disqualification period.  

An exemption order can be made if you prove:

• you do not have access to a vehicle which an interlock device can be installed, or 
  
• you have a medical condition (and evidence) that stops you from being able to provide the interlock device with enough breath to operate. 

If you have been convicted of a mid range drink driving first offence, the Court may give an exemption order if you prove:

• that the making of a mandatory interlock order would cause severe hardship and
  
• that it is more appropriate for the court to make an interlock exemption in all the circumstances than the making of a mandatory interlock order.  
  

An exemption order cannot be made ju​st because:

• you are unable to afford the costs of the interlock device
  
• you risk losing your employment if you are unable to hold an unconditional licence, or 
• the registered owner of the vehicle you will be driving refuses to allow an interlock device to be installed.​​​​​
  

For more information, see the Alcohol Interlock Program on the NSW Government website. 

If you would like to ask the magistrate for an exemption order, you should get legal advice.

You can tell the magistrate how you feel about the offence, for example, if you are sorry you committed the offence. You should also tell the magistrate if you have apologised to the victim (if there was one), and whether you have paid for any damage you have caused. If you did pay for damage it is a good idea to bring receipts.

You can also write an apology letter to the court.

You should tell the magistrate what orders you would like the court to make, for example, you could ask for a fine or a section 10 dismissal.

You should use the words 'I would ask the court to consider...".

To help you work out what might be an appropriate order to ask for, you should get legal advice.