Caboolture Magistrates Court: what to expect

Why your matter ended up at Caboolture

The court that hears your matter is decided by where police laid the charge, not by where you live. Charges laid around Caboolture, Morayfield, Burpengary, Narangba, Deception Bay, Bribie Island, Beachmere, Woodford and Wamuran are ordinarily listed here.

People are often surprised by this. If you live on the Gold Coast but were charged driving through on the Bruce Highway, you come to Caboolture, and asking for it to be moved closer to home is an application, not a phone call. It can be done in the right circumstances, but it is not automatic and it usually costs you a mention date.

Check the notice to appear itself. The court and the date are printed on it, and it is the document that controls where you have to be. If it is unclear or you have lost it, ring the registry on (07) 5294 8000 rather than guessing.

Getting there, and the Tuesday trap

The courthouse is on King Street in the middle of Caboolture, a short walk from Caboolture railway station. The station is unusually well connected for an outer suburban stop: four lines run through it, the Caboolture line, the Sunshine Coast line towards Nambour, the Springfield line and the Ipswich and Rosewood line. If you are coming from Brisbane or the Sunshine Coast, the train is generally easier than driving and parking.

Queensland Courts does not publish parking information for this courthouse, and we are not going to invent any. Assume street parking around a busy town centre on a weekday morning, arrive with time to find a space, and read the signs, because time limits in the Caboolture centre are enforced.

The Tuesday difference matters. The registry closes at 4:00pm on Tuesdays and 4:30pm every other weekday. If you need to file something, pay something or collect a document late in the day, a Tuesday gives you half an hour less than you might expect.

Reading the list at Caboolture

The daily law list is published on the Queensland Courts website and updated twice each morning, at 6:45am and again at 8:45am. The second update exists because people are arrested overnight and have to be added.

Look for three things: your name, the courtroom number, and the time. The list is organised by matter type as much as by time, and Caboolture runs several distinct lists through the week. Arrests and remands run daily at 9:00am. Private domestic violence applications, police domestic violence applications, the Childrens Court and child protection each have their own regular slots, and urgent domestic violence and child protection applications are dealt with in the afternoon.

If your name is not on the list, do not go home. Go to the counter and ask. Names get missed, matters get moved between courtrooms, and an unexplained absence is treated very differently from a person standing at the counter trying to sort it out.

What actually happens at a mention

A first mention is short. It is not a trial and nobody gives evidence. The magistrate is finding out what the charge is, whether you have a lawyer, whether you have the police material, and what you intend to do about it.

You do not have to plead at a first mention, and in most cases you should not. Until you have read the police version of events, called the QP9, you are guessing. Asking for an adjournment to get legal advice is normal, expected, and routinely granted the first time.

• Arrive by 8:15am. Security at the door takes time and the list is called from 9:00am.
• Bring the notice to appear and any letter you have had from police or the court.
• Get your QP9 from the police prosecutor before court starts, or ask the duty lawyer to get it.
• Say your name clearly when it is called, and walk to the bar table at the front.
• Ask for time if you need it. "I would like an adjournment to get legal advice" is a complete and proper answer.

Expect the whole morning to go, even though your matter takes two minutes. Represented matters tend to be reached earlier because the lawyer is there and ready, and anyone waiting on the duty lawyer sits later in the list.

Clothes, phones and conduct

Nobody expects a suit. Neat and covered is the standard: no singlets, no thongs, no hats inside, no sunglasses on your head. Cover visible offensive slogans. It is not about impressing anybody, it is about not giving the court a reason to think you do not take it seriously.

Phones go on silent or off. Do not record audio or video anywhere in the building, do not photograph a list or a courtroom, and do not post about your matter online. Recording court proceedings without permission is an offence, and it is the fastest way to turn a routine mention into a much longer day.

Bow your head slightly to the magistrate as you enter and leave the courtroom. Address the magistrate as Your Honour. Stand when you speak. If you have children with you and they become unsettled, step outside rather than trying to hold on.

The duty lawyer at Caboolture

Legal Aid Queensland runs a free duty lawyer service at Caboolture, covering both the adult court and the Childrens Court. Ask at the counter as soon as you arrive, because the duty lawyer sees people in the order they sign up and the list fills quickly.

A duty lawyer can help with an adjournment, a bail application, a straightforward guilty plea and a breach, and can obtain your QP9. They do not run trials or committals, they generally do not take traffic matters, and they will not have read your file the night before, because they will not have had it. On a busy morning you may get ten minutes.

Legal Aid Queensland can be reached on 1300 65 11 88. Childrens Court matters are handled by Youth Legal Aid on 1800 527 527.

That service exists and it is worth using. It is not the same thing as a lawyer who has read your brief, watched the body-worn footage and negotiated with prosecutions before the day. On anything that carries a licence, a conviction or a real prospect of prison, the difference is the outcome.

If you are late, cannot get there, or need it moved

If you are running late, ring the registry on (07) 5294 8000 and tell them. A magistrate who knows you are stuck in traffic on the Bruce Highway will usually stand the matter down to later in the morning. A magistrate who hears nothing may issue a warrant for your arrest.

Failing to appear is a separate problem from the charge you came for. It can lead to a warrant, it damages your bail, and it makes every later application harder. If you are genuinely unable to attend, whether through illness, hospital or a work commitment interstate, get a lawyer to appear for you or to seek an adjournment before the date, not after it.

If you have a court date coming up and you have not spoken to anyone yet, the first fifteen minutes by phone with us are free. Call 07 5522 5777.