Criminal lawyers in Brisbane

Brisbane has more than one criminal court, and they are not interchangeable

The Brisbane Magistrates Court at 363 George Street is the biggest, but the police district you were charged in determines where you appear. Somebody arrested at Sunnybank does not necessarily end up in the CBD.

• Brisbane Magistrates Court, 363 George Street. Twenty six courtrooms. CBD, Fortitude Valley, South Brisbane, West End, New Farm and inner north charges, plus the arrest court, a domestic violence list, the Murri Court, two coroners courts and small claims rooms. Registry on 1800 325 085, open 8:30am to 4:30pm.
• Holland Park Magistrates Court, 8 Marshall Road. Southside work out of Mount Gravatt, Coorparoo, Carindale, Sunnybank and Holland Park itself.
• Richlands Magistrates Court, corner of Old Progress and Archerfield Roads. Western corridor, including Inala, Forest Lake and parts of the Centenary suburbs.
• Suburban and satellite courts at Wynnum, Cleveland, Ipswich, Caboolture, Redcliffe, Sandgate and Beenleigh, each covering their own catchments.
• Brisbane District Court, 415 George Street, for indictable sentences, jury trials and appeals from the Magistrates Court under section 222 of the Justices Act 1886 (Qld).

Two George Street courts a block apart catches people out constantly. 363 is the Magistrates Court. 415 is the Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law, which holds the District Court, the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.

The arrest court and the watchhouse

If somebody is arrested in Brisbane and not released by police, they are held and brought before the court on the next sitting day. That first appearance is where bail is decided, and it is the difference between going home that afternoon and waiting weeks in custody for a Supreme Court bail application.

Section 16 of the Bail Act 1980 (Qld) sets out when a court must refuse bail. The court has to be satisfied there is an unacceptable risk that you would fail to appear, commit an offence, endanger someone, or interfere with witnesses. For certain offences the Act reverses the position and puts the onus on you to show why detention is not justified.

What a lawyer does in that window is practical: get instructions on where you will live, who will supervise you, whether a surety is available, what your work commitments are, and whether conditions such as a curfew or reporting will meet the risk the prosecutor is raising. That material has to exist before the matter is called on, not after.

If someone you know has been taken into custody in Brisbane, call us on 07 5522 5777 straight away rather than waiting for the court date.

Where Brisbane charges come from

Three of Queensland’s declared safe night precincts are in Brisbane: Brisbane CBD, Fortitude Valley and Inner West Brisbane, which includes Caxton Street. They operate under the Liquor Act 1992 (Qld) and carry later trading approvals and networked identification scanning at approved venues.

The result is a predictable weekly pattern. Public nuisance under section 6 of the Summary Offences Act 2005 (Qld), assault occasioning bodily harm under section 339 of the Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld), and serious assault of a police officer under section 340 come out of the Valley and Caxton Street in volume. Caxton Street spikes on Broncos and Origin nights, and police resource it accordingly.

Away from the precincts, the Brisbane list is dominated by different work: fraud under section 408C of the Criminal Code, drug possession and supply under the Drugs Misuse Act 1986 (Qld), stealing, wilful damage, and a very large volume of contravention of a domestic violence order under section 177 of the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 (Qld).

Committals, elections and the District Court

Not every serious charge has to leave the Magistrates Court. Sections 552A and 552B of the Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld) allow a wide range of indictable offences to be dealt with summarily, sometimes at the election of the defence and sometimes at the election of the prosecution.

That election is a real strategic decision, not a formality. A summary hearing before a magistrate is faster and cheaper and carries a lower maximum penalty. A District Court trial gives you a jury. Which one suits you depends on the evidence, the charge and your history, and it should be made after the brief has been read, not at the first mention.

If the matter does go up, it is committed to the Brisbane District Court at 415 George Street, where it goes into a callover before being listed for sentence or trial. Read the Brisbane District Court guide before that date.

What the first appointment covers

Free, about forty five minutes, and it is not a sales meeting. Bring the notice to appear or bail undertaking, the QP9 if police handed you one, and anything police have asked you to sign.

You will leave knowing the charge, the elements the prosecution has to prove, the realistic range of outcomes, what the next date is for, and the fixed fee. If we think you are better served by the duty lawyer or by Legal Aid, we will say that.

Our Brisbane office is at Level 10, 95 North Quay, minutes from both George Street courthouses. See the Brisbane office page for directions and transport.