Step by step guide - Presenting your case

You should arrive at court at least 30 minutes early. This will give you time to go through security and find your courtroom. 

If you think you are going to be late, you should ring the court registry and let them know. If you are not at court when your name is called, the Court may decide your case without you.

You can find your courtroom on:

• the court lists at the courthouse
• the Search NSW Court and Tribunal Lists page on the NSW Online Registry.

For information about how to find your courtroom, you should watch the video below:
Finding your courtroom

This video is available with the audio description​.

Once you have found your courtroom, you can take a seat in the public gallery, or, if the courtroom is full, you can wait outside. There are often many cases listed on the same day and you will have to wait until your name is called. You could be at court for just a few hours or most of the day, so you should make arrangements with your work or childcare if necessary.

If you wait outside, make sure you stay close enough to the courtroom to hear the court officer call your name. If you leave, or are not there when your name is called, your case can be decided without you.

The courtroom may be closed for morning tea (usually around 11:30am) and for lunch (usually from 1:00pm to 2:00pm). You will have to leave the courtroom during these breaks. You can check with the court officer or the registry what time the courtroom will reopen.

Before entering the courtroom:

• remove your hat and sunglasses from your head
• stop eating or drinking
• turn your mobile phone off or put it on silent.

When your name is called, you can move to the table at the front of the courtroom facing the Magistrate (bar table). The prosecutor will usually sit on the right-hand side. You can sit in a chair on the left-hand side of the table. This may vary from court to court.

The Magistrate will ask if everyone is ready to start the hearing. If everyone is ready to start, all the witnesses may be asked to wait outside. The hearing will then begin.

Depending on the type of matter, the prosecutor may be a police prosecutor, a council or RSPCA officer, a Transport for NSW prosecutor, or a private solicitor hired by the organisation that gave you the fine.

They may begin by giving the Court a brief overview of the case, or by calling their first witness. If the witness is a police officer, they may be allowed to read a statement they prepared if the statement was made soon after the alleged incident happened.

You can watch a video below showing the prosecution presenting their evidence. 

The hearing: The prosecution evidence

This video is available with the audio description​.

After the prosecutors’ witnesses have given their evidence-in-chief, you can ask them questions. This is called cross-examination.

Tip sheet: Cross-examination

It is important that you don't interrupt the witness when they are responding to your cross-examination questions. If they are not answering your questions, you can ask the Magistrate to direct them to do so. As they are answering your question, you can make some notes of any further or follow-up questions you want to ask.

You should not speak rudely or abusively to or about the prosecutor's witnesses. Stick to the facts and the evidence and be calm and polite.

You can watch a video below showing how to cross-examine a witness:
The hearing: Cross-examining a witness

​​This video is available with the audio description​.

After the prosecutor has presented their evidence, the Magistrate must decide whether there is a case against you. That is, whether you could be convicted on the evidence the prosecution has presented. This is sometimes referred to as 'a case to answer'.

If the Magistrate decides the prosecution doesn’t have sufficient evidence to prove your guilt, your case will be finished.

If the Magistrate decides there is a case for you to answer, you will be given a chance to give your evidence.

When it is your turn, you can give a short summary of your case known as an opening address or you can call your first witness (usually yourself).

If you have a case to answer, you need to decide whether you want to give evidence. The Court can’t force you to give evidence because it is the prosecution that has the 'burden of proof'. They must prove that you committed the alleged offence 'beyond reasonable doubt'. However, if there are no other witnesses, the only way to defend the case may be to give your version of events.

If you decide to give evidence, you will have to stand next to the witness box and make an 'oath' or 'affirmation'. Both are promises to tell the truth. An oath has a religious meaning and an affirmation does not. The court officer will read the oath or affirmation and you should respond 'I do'.

If you are representing yourself, the Magistrate may ask you questions. You can then explain your version of what has happened, and why you believe you are not guilty. The Magistrate may ask you to explain some things in more detail. The Magistrate may also ask you to move on to another point if they feel they have heard enough about an issue or that what you are saying is not relevant to your case.

After you have given your evidence, the prosecutor will cross-examine you. You should:

• listen carefully and think about each question before you answer
• ask that the question be repeated if you don't understand
• admit if you don't know the answer to a question
• speak loudly, clearly and slowly
• give exact details, for example if a conversation took place tell the court the exact words that were used
• try not to get angry, even if the prosecutor seems to be rude or aggressive.

You can watch a video below about giving evidence:
The hearing: Giving evidence

​​This video is available with the audio description​.

At court, your witnesses will have to wait outside the courtroom until it is their turn to give evidence. A court officer will then bring each witness into the courtroom, take them to the witness box and they will take an oath or affirmation.

You can then start to ask your witness questions. This is called examination-in chief. You should:

• first ask the witness to tell the Court their name, address and occupation
• ask them to tell the Court what happened on the date in question, for example "Can you tell the court what happened on 12 April 2011"
• ask them questions to clarify issues or to confirm their evidence, for example: "You said you know I wasn't speeding, how can you be sure?" and "What speed was I going at?"

Your questions should allow the witness to give their evidence in their own words. The prosecutor may object if you try to lead the witness to give a certain answer.

Once you have finished asking your witness questions, the prosecutor will have a chance to cross-examine them. After the cross-examination, you will have a chance to ask your witness any further questions. This is called 're-examination'. You should only re-examine your witness if you want to clear up issues raised in cross-examination.

You can watch a video below showing you how to question your witnesses:
The hearing: Questioning your witnesses

​This video is available with the audio description​.

After the prosecutor has presented their case and you and your witnesses have given evidence, you may be allowed to make submissions. Your submissions summarise your evidence and arguments.

The prosecutor will present their submissions first.

In your submissions you should:

• summarise the evidence of your witnesses
• point out any gaps, mistakes or things that don't make sense in the prosecutor's case
• explain to the Magistrate why you think they should accept your version of events.

You can watch a video below showing you how to make submissions at the end of your case:
The hearing: Making submissions

​This video is available with the audio description​.

Sometimes, when there is a lot of evidence or many witnesses, the Magistrate won’t be able to finish the hearing in one day. If this happens, the Magistrate will adjourn the hearing to hear the rest of the evidence. Depending on when the Magistrate is next available, the adjournment may be for a few weeks or for a few months.

The Magistrate will give you instructions on when to come back to court and who should come to court on that day. In some cases, your witnesses and the prosecution witnesses will all have to come back to court for the rest of the hearing. ​

After hearing all the evidence, the Magistrate will decide whether you are:

• guilty, or
• not guilty.

The Magistrate will often give their decision straight away, or after a short break. Sometimes, the Magistrate will reserve their decision and give it at a later date. The Court will contact you when the decision has been made.

If you are found not guilty, your case will be dismissed.

If you are found guilty, the Magistrate will decide whether to convict and sentence you for the offence.

The Magistrate may ask you if you have any character references. If you haven’t prepared character references, you may want to ask for an adjournment so you can get some references.

For more information, see Character references.

If the Magistrate convicts and sentences you, you will be sent a Notice of Penalty. The Notice of Penalty will set out any court fine you have to pay, as well as any court costs levy, victims support levy and professional costs. For more information, see Costs in fine cases.