Cardinal George Pell's first day in court

The Australian
July 25, 2017

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/cardinal-george-pells-first-day-in-court/news-story/ccdde5810355f1c9be97b3daee880838

WHAT CHARGES DOES HE FACE?

Multiple historical sexual offence charges involving multiple complainants

Cardinal Pell denies all the allegations

HOW WAS HE CHARGED?

Pell was charged on summons on June 29 while he was in Rome. The charges were served on his legal representatives in Melbourne and filed in the Melbourne Magistrates Court.

WHAT IS WEDNESDAY'S COURT HEARING?

A filing hearing is the first step in the Magistrates Court.

It is a brief administrative hearing to set a timetable for the early part of the court process.

The magistrate will fix a date for a committal mention and a timetable for the exchange of information between the prosecution and defence.

That determines when the defence receives the prosecution's brief of evidence (or hand-up brief) that contains all the evidence in the case in the form of witness statements, the accused's record of interview and copies of exhibits.

The filing hearing may include any other directions the court believes are necessary, such as about the forensic examination of exhibits.

HOW LONG WILL WEDNESDAY'S HEARING LAST?

Probably less than five minutes

DOES CARDINAL PELL HAVE TO ATTEND?

No, but Pell plans to be there in person.

As Pell has been charged on summons, he could have applied to the magistrate to be excused from attending the filing hearing and have his lawyer represent him.

WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP?

The next date will be a committal mention, which is a preliminary hearing before a full committal hearing.

At the committal mention, the magistrate may ask if the accused pleads guilty or not guilty and set a date for either a further mention or the committal hearing.

WHEN WILL A FULL HEARING BE HELD?

A committal hearing may not be held for a number of months, possibly in early 2018.

It is at that stage that the magistrate decides if there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial which may not be held until late 2018 or possibly 2019.