Legal Representation
Statutory right to use counsel at trial (s 616 Criminal Code).
Absence of counsel may undermine the right to a fair trial. As such there is a discretionary power to adjourn/stay proceedings until counsel is made available (Dietrich v R (1992) 177 CLR 292) where:
* The accused has been charged with a serious offence (where there is a real threat of imprisonment); and
* The accused is indigent (an accused who can only afford some level of representation, but not their preferred level is not indigent.The level of representation need only be competent/adequate (Attorney-General (NSW) v Milat (1995) 37 NSWLR 370)).
* There is an exception where the accused is at fault; but it depends on the degree of fault (Kennedy (1997) 94 A Crim R).
Absence of counsel may undermine the right to a fair trial. As such there is a discretionary power to adjourn/stay proceedings until counsel is made available (Dietrich v R (1992) 177 CLR 292) where:
* The accused has been charged with a serious offence (where there is a real threat of imprisonment); and
* The accused is indigent (an accused who can only afford some level of representation, but not their preferred level is not indigent.The level of representation need only be competent/adequate (Attorney-General (NSW) v Milat (1995) 37 NSWLR 370)).
* There is an exception where the accused is at fault; but it depends on the degree of fault (Kennedy (1997) 94 A Crim R).