Supreme Court of Victoria

Supreme Court Lawyers

Dribbin & Brown Criminal Lawyers have run a large number of indictable matters in the Supreme Court of Melbourne, Supreme Court of Geelong, Supreme Court of Warrnambool, and the Supreme Court of Ballarat. We are experienced trial lawyers and have offices near all of these locations.

What cases do the Supreme Court Handle?

The Supreme Court of Victoria handles the most serious criminal matters that occur in Victoria. Charges that attract the inherent jurisdiction of this court include murder, manslaughter and treason. By inherent jurisdiction we mean, this is the only court these types of charges can be heard. Matters that can only be heard in the Supreme Court or more aptly matters that cannot be heard in the County Court is defined at S36A of the County Court Act 1958.

There is some crossover between the County and Supreme Courts, with the Supreme Court hearing more severe examples of offences than are heard in the County Court. An example of this would be a dishonesty matter, like theft or fraud, where it is alleged that millions of dollars have been stolen.

It is the Crown (prosecution) that decide where a matter that is not murder, manslaughter or treason should be prosecuted.  In rare cases, a Supreme Court Justice may elect not to hear a matter, depending on the charge and circumstances of the case, and send it back to the County Court.

How do I look up Cases in the Supreme Court?

Like most courts, Supreme Court case listing information can be obtained online. The only things that are not online are intervention order matters and children court matters. 

To access the daily lists for the Supreme Court of Victoria.

What type of Judges are in the Supreme Court?

Like the County Court, judges preside over hearings in the Supreme Court. But their formal title is “Justice” not “Judge”. The average time that a Jury trial will run is approximately 21 to 28 days.  Trials held in this court are very complex and only solicitors with extensive expertise should have conduct of a matter running in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

Example of Supreme Court cases we have handled

Dribbin & Brown Criminal Lawyers have run a number of murder and manslaughter cases, both running as trials and pleas of guilty. We have also run one of the largest fraud cases in Victoria, involving over 250 million dollars. When representing clients in this court, we brief only the most experienced and talented barristers, as the ramifications of errors in this jurisdiction are incredibly severe, given that most charges which proceed here have maximum sentencing terms of life.

Experienced Supreme Court Trial Lawyers

We are on the VLA (Victorian Legal Aid) indictable panel which means that our firm is one of a select group of firms that are permitted by VLA to represent clients charged with murder and manslaughter using VLA funding. We have incredibly good relationships with Victoria’s top barristers. 

Our firm has a number of criminal law specialists; those that have passed their specialisation have undergone a rigorous examination and been accredited as specialists in the field of criminal law by the Law Institute of Victoria. As such, you want find more competent Supreme Court Lawyers than, Dribbin & Brown Criminal Lawyers. 

If you have a matter listed in the Supreme Court, you should retain Dribbin & Brown Criminal Lawyers for the following reasons: