The Magistrates' Court of Victoria is the lowest court in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of Victoria. The court possesses

original jurisdiction In common law legal systems, original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision. India In India, the S ...

over summary offences and indictable offences heard summarily, as well as civil claims up to $100,000. It is also able to hear various pre-trial criminal procedures, including

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...

applications and

committal hearing In law, a committal procedure is the process by which a defendant is charged with a serious offence under the criminal justice systems of all common law jurisdictions except the United States. The committal procedure replaces the earlier grand ju ...

s. Decisions of the Magistrates' Court may be appealed to the County Court, with the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

also able to hear a limited number of

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...

s on questions of law.

Layout

A typical courtroom layout consists of a

witness box A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

, a public gallery, the bar table (at which the parties sit), a raised bench for seating the sitting

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

and a clerk and sometimes a

dock The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engl ...

for housing

defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one juris ...

s in custody. Many Victorian magistrates' courts have video link facilities for witnesses to appear via remote

video conference Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syst ...

rather than in person and is used for when witnesses cannot travel or the prisoner is unable to travel to court in person.

Cases

The Magistrates' Court of Victoria hears many different types of cases, such as: *warrant application hearings; *committal hearings and

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

prosecutions; *bail application hearings; *money claims and other civil disputes, not exceeding $100,000; *

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

and

Family violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. In a broader sense, abuse including nonphysical abuse in such settings is called domestic abuse. The term "domestic violence" is often use ...

matters; Magistrates are appointed by the Attorney General after receiving expressions of interest from Australian lawyers and are appointed as members of the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal (VOCAT), which is a separate and independent statutory entity which determines claims for compensation made by victims of crime and their families.

History

Although the current court was established by the ''Magistrates' Court Act 1989'' ( Victoria), Victoria has had magistrates since 1836, when the people of Melbourne elected an arbitrator of the city to resolve minor disputes. Captain William Lonsdale, a police magistrate, was appointed in 1836 and the first case was heard at a location near the present site of Southern Cross station (formerly Spencer Street station). In 1838, a third court, the Court of Petty Sessions was created. By 1890, all three types of courts were held at 235 locations throughout Victoria. On 20 January 1914, the new City Court was opened at Russell Street in Melbourne and

Phillip Blashki Phillip Blashki (21 February 1837 – 21 October 1916) was a Polish immigrant to Australia who rose to be a successful businessman, magistrate, Justice of the peace, JP, holder of many positions of public responsibility and associated with numero ...

JP was the first Chairman of the City Court Bench. The then Prime Minister,

Alfred Deakin Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919) was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1903 to 1904, 1905 to 1908, and 1909 to 1910. He held office as the leader of th ...

, presented Blashki with an illuminated address signed by 30 of the court's solicitors when he retired, aged 70. Police magistrates were able to sit in on Petty Court sessions, but generally two or three Justice of the Peace were required for cases to be heard. The Court of Petty Sessions, also originally attended to matters under 20 pounds, and even criminal matters, like drunkenness and minor assaults.

Recent history

On 29 May 2000, a Deed of Apology was signed for the treatment of

Aboriginal peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

, which tied in with

National Sorry Day National Sorry Day, officially the National Day of Healing, is an event held annually in Australia on 26 May commemorating the Stolen Generations. It is part of the ongoing efforts towards Reconciliation in Australia, reconciliation between Ind ...

actions, by the Chief Magistrate and Principal Registrar on behalf of the Magistrates' Court of Victoria. The deed was received at the Wangaratta courthouse by Wally Cooper. In 2000, Chief Magistrate of the Court Michael Adams was forced to stand down on 31 October after claims that he harassed female members of his court. This was reported on '' The 7.30 Report'' and also in the Melbourne newspapers, resulting in the extraordinary vote. The

Chief Magistrate A chief magistrate is a public official, executive or judicial, whose office is the highest in its class. Historically, the two different meanings of magistrate have often overlapped and refer to, as the case may be, to a major political and admi ...

is currently Justice Lisa Hannan. The Chief Executive Officer is Andrew Tenni. The Principal Registrar is Simone Shields.

Courthouses

Metropolitan locations

Melbourne Magistrates' Court The Melbourne Magistrates' Court is the largest venue at which the Magistrates' Court of Victoria sits. It is a court in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia that deals with, and dispenses of, a range of criminal and civil matters, including crimina ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

*Broadmeadows Magistrates' Court, Broadmeadows *Dandenong Magistrates' Court, Dandenong *Frankston Magistrates' Court, Frankston *Heidelberg Magistrates' Court,

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

*Moorabbin Justice Centre, Highett
Neighbourhood Justice Centre
Collingwood *Ringwood Magistrates' Court, Ringwood *Sunshine Magistrates' Court,

Sunshine Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrared (typically per ...

*Werribee Magistrates' Court, Werribee

Country locations

* Ararat * Bacchus Marsh *

Bairnsdale Bairnsdale (locally ) (Gunai language, Ganai: ''Wy-yung'') is a city in East Gippsland, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, situated in a region traditionally inhabited by the Tatungalung clan of the Gunaikurnai people. The estimated popu ...

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

Benalla Benalla is a small city in the Hume (region), Hume region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The town sits on the Broken River (Victoria), Broken River, about north east of the state capital Melbourne. As of the , the population wa ...

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

* Castlemaine * Cobram * Colac *

Corryong Corryong is a town in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, east of Albury-Wodonga, near the upper reaches of the Murray River and close to the New South Wales border. At the , Corryong had a population of 1,348. The post office opene ...

Dromana Dromana ( ) is a seaside suburb on the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula local government area. Dromana recorded a populati ...

Echuca Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative cen ...

* Edenhope *

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

* Hopetoun *

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

* Kerang * Korumburra *

Kyneton Kyneton ( ) is a town in the Macedon Ranges region of central Victoria, Australia. The Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east. The town has three main streets: Mollison Street, Piper Street and High Street. Piper Street has ...

* Latrobe Valley, Morwell *

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

* Maryborough *

Mildura Mildura ( ) is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 at the 2021 census. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point, Merbein and Red ...

* Myrtleford * Nhill * Omeo *

Orbost Orbost is a town in the Shire of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne and south of Canberra where the Princes Highway crosses the Snowy River. It is about from the surf and fishing seaside town of Marlo on the coast of Ba ...

* Ouyen *

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

* Robinvale * Sale * Seymour *

Shepparton Shepparton () (Yorta Yorta language, Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River (Victoria), Goulburn River in northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Mel ...

* St Arnaud * Stawell *

Swan Hill Swan Hill is a List of cities in Australia, city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia on the Murray Valley Highway and on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River, Victoria, Loddon River. At the , ...

Wangaratta Wangaratta ( ) is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had a population of 29,808 per the 2021 Australian Census. The city is located at the confluence, junction of the Ovens River, ...

Warrnambool Warrnambool (; Eastern Maar, Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the Census in Australia#2021, 2021 census, Warrnambool had a populati ...

Wodonga Wodonga (pronounced ; ) is a city on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury-Wodonga and is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Wodonga L ...

* Wonthaggi

Closed metropolitan locations

*Ferntree Gully Magistrates' Court, Ferntree Gully (latitude: 37°53'17.55"S, longitude: 145°17'31.59"E; now owned by Knox Community Health Service) *Box Hill Magistrates' Court *Springvale Magistrates' Court *Prahran Magistrates' Court *Williamstown Magistrates' Court, Williamstown *Moonee Ponds Magistrates' Court,

Moonee Ponds Moonee Ponds is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Moonee Valley Local government ar ...

*Preston Magistrates' Court, Preston *Coburg Magistrates' Court,

Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...

Closed country locations

* Kilmore Magistrates' Court *

Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...

Magistrates' Court *

Yarrawonga Yarrawonga is a town in the Shire of Moira Local government in Australia, local government area in the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. In the 2021 Australian census, 2021 census, Yarrawonga had a population of 8,661 people. ...

Magistrates' Court * Beechworth Magistrates' Court *

Warragul Warragul () is a town in Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne. Warragul lies between the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and the Mount Baw Baw Plateau of the Great Dividing Range to the north. As of the , the town had a population of ...

Magistrates' Court * Yarram Magistrates' Court * Lakes Entrance Magistrates' Court * Casterton Magistrates' Court *

Warracknabeal Warracknabeal ( ) is a town in the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, located in the Wheatbelt (Australia), Victorian wheatbelt. Situated on the banks of the Yarriambiack Creek, 330 km northwest of Melbourne, it is the bus ...

Magistrates' Court *

Bright Bright may refer to: Common meanings *Bright, an adjective meaning giving off or reflecting illumination; see Brightness *Bright, an adjective meaning someone with intelligence People * Bright (surname) * Bright (given name) *Bright, the stage na ...

Magistrates' Court *

Euroa Euroa is a town in the Shire of Strathbogie in the north-east of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census in Australia, census, Euroa's population was 3,116. The name Euroa comes from an Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal w ...

Magistrates' Court * Leongatha Magistrates' Court * Red Cliffs Magistrates' Court * Cohuna Magistrates' Court *

Traralgon Traralgon ( , ) is a city located in the east of the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia and the most populous city in the City of Latrobe and the region. The urban population of Traralgon at the ...

Magistrates' Court * Nagambie Magistrates' Court * Moe Magistrates' Court

Notes

References

External links

Magistrates' Court of Victoria web siteNeighbourhood Justice Centre web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magistrates' Court Of Victoria Victoria (state) courts and tribunals