When the accused appears in the District or Supreme Court, they will  be asked to plead. This is called an arraignment, and is before a judge only. The charges are formally read to them from an indictment and they are again asked to plead. The accused can plead differently at their arraignment to how they pleaded in the Local Court.

If the plea is 'not guilty', a trial date will be set. This means witnesses will be called to give evidence at the trial.

If the plea is 'guilty', a date will be set for a sentence hearing. Witnesses do not have to attend sentence hearings but in serious criminal matters involving violence, sexual assault, death or injury, victims will usually be able to make a Victim Impact Statement, if they want to.

Before the trial starts, the prosecution and defence lawyers will usually attend court a number of times for what are called ‘pre-trial conferences’ or ‘call-overs’. Witnesses don’t have to attend these.

When a trial date has been set, you will receive what is called a ‘subpoena’ in the mail. This means you are required to go to court and give evidence. It will tell you which court to go to, and the date to be there. The ODPP prosecutor will also write to you with this information.

The court date in the subpoena is the date the trial is due to start. Sometimes this will change, or the trial will start on that date but witnesses won’t be called on the first day. The ODPP prosecutor and the police officer handling the matter will stay in touch with you about when you are to be in court. If you have a WAS officer, they will also talk to you about where to go and when to be there.

The ODPP prosecutor handling the case will want to meet with victims and key witnesses before the trial starts to discuss the legal process ahead. For victims, it is also to make sure you have all the information you need to make decisions in the case.

These meetings, called ‘conferences’, are held at the ODPP’s office. If you have a WAS officer, they can be there too.

The prosecutor is likely to talk about:

• your witness statement
• the main steps in a criminal case
• the role of a prosecutor and your role as a witness
• what to expect when you give evidence, including when you are cross-examined
• court behaviour, like bowing when you enter and leave the courtroom and addressing the magistrate or judge as ‘Your Honour’
• the charges against the accused, and why they sometimes change
• special arrangements available to vulnerable witnesses, such as giving evidence via CCTV or AVL
• whether you need an interpreter
• any special needs you may have
• travel and accommodation arrangements
• witness expenses.

You can claim witness expenses for attending a conference at the ODPP, just like you can when you go to court to give your evidence.