Committal changes - a presumption of guilt?

‘Victims to be spared extra trauma in Vic Legal system overhaul’ - Herald Sun 29 October 2024

‘Sexual assault victims to be spared repeated grilling by lawyers under new Victorian reforms’ - The Guardian 29 October 2024

It is not possible to read these headlines as being consistent with the presumption of innocence. Such rhetoric imbues the approach to law reform in the criminal justice system from both sides of parliament and from both ends of the media’s political spectrum.

It is dangerous and leads to decisions which erode the rights of accused members of our society - in part by denying their existence in the discussion of these issues. The language adopted around the recently announced committal reforms is but one example of the shift in this area. Language is important and its use in this setting creates the public perception that all people charged with crimes are guilty of them

The use of this type of language has seemingly contributed to the overall view of the community that our justice system is failing and our streets are overrun with crime. The Herald Sun’s headline of 30 November 2024 is telling: ‘Labor’s 10 years of power: Crime rate has fallen but Victorian’s aren’t feeling safe in their own neighbourhoods’.

The retention of committals is a matter of significance - committals should be guarded jealously. They serve multiple purposes - including:

Firstly they can reveal flaws in prosecution cases which can then be the foundation for cases either being discontinued or a proper and successful defence being mounted at trial.

Secondly they can reveal information, documents or other evidence that was not initially disclosed and is critical to the defence. It is important to note how regularly such disclosures occur at committals. There is an enormous difference between police responding to requests for materials in writing and having to get into the witness box and answer questions based on evidence just given by the key witnesses in the case.

Thirdly committals can reveal the strength of a case or of particular parts of it leading to a resolution. It is simply not the case that all matters that proceed to committal run as trials. Far from it. Exposing the case in a more thorough way, as provided for in a committal, provides far better scope for a proper and just resolution.

Fourthly they can weed out cases that should not be committed to the County or Supreme Court by way of a discharge. This is an important function which has been used sparingly but appropriately by the Magistrates Court over an extended period.

Sentences have become longer, maximum penalties have increased, standard sentences now apply. In circumstances where the jeopardy faced by accused persons is increasing so too should the measures to protect against unjust convictions. Committals are fundamentally important to providing that protection.