There is a Ballarat Courier article here called
What comes next in the case against Patrick Stephenson?
It was published on 14th June.
The gist of the article states (and includes explanations of court hierarchy, and that he is accused of killing Sam etc, which I have not included) .....
- First appeared in Ballarat Magistrates Court on March 7 - after his arrest on murder charges - for a remand hearing
- This kind of hearing takes place soon after an arrest - if the police oppose granting bail
- This hearing is called a 'straight remand' because he did not apply for bail
- Because he didn't apply for bail, there was no need for the remand summary (the police version of events) to be read out in court
- The hearing was also a filing hearing - setting out a timetable for the exchange of information between prosecution and defence (although it doesn't state when this exchange is/was supposed to happen)
- August 8 was set for a committal mention
- It is the beginning of the committal process, where PS will plead guilty or not guilty
- If he pleads not guilty, a committal hearing date will be set - where the court will hear more about the police case against him
- The magistrate will decide if there is enough evidence to commit him to trial
- If so, he will be committed to trial in the Supreme Court - likely in a year or more
- If he pleads guilty, there will be a plea hearing in the Supreme Court - his lawyer will present evidence to try to mitigate his sentence
www.criminal-lawyers.com.au
