In a democratic society, an individual is innocent of an accused crime unless or until they are proved guilty. The criminal justice system in Australia is set up to ensure that justice always prevails, and it is extremely complicated and full of nuances in order to ensure that this happens. In short, this means that a criminal case is never cut and dried and many different pieces of evidence and articles of case law may need to be considered before any judgement may be rendered. Consequently, if you have been charged with an offence, you may be looking for as much help as possible, to argue against this charge and get it dismissed.
Translating the Case
Whether or not you're actually guilty of a charge, the prosecutor still needs to make a cast-iron case against you if a judgement is going to be delivered. This can be quite a challenge in its own right and especially as public prosecutors and other members of the staff are particularly busy. Police officers are also human beings and can make mistakes and somewhere along the line the information presented may be erroneous or based on information that has been misconstrued in some way. It's not unusual at all for these mistakes to make their way all the way through the process so that the case presented against you is ultimately flawed.
Disputing the Facts
In this situation, you are certainly entitled to look for a disputed facts hearing and remember, this is not an admission of guilt on your part in any way. It simply challenges the facts as presented by the prosecution and a magistrate or judge will need to hear submissions from both sides to determine an outcome.
Making Representations
Alternatively, you can ask your lawyer to get in touch directly with the prosecutor's office to try and sort things out before they go to the formality of a court. Your solicitor can send representations to the prosecutor in written form which will set out areas in question, and this should go into great detail to reveal its complexity. Often, this can cause the authorities to reassess the entire case, and they may simply drop it, instead of going through a dispute process like this which could be protracted.
Full Discretion
Remember, prosecutors have full discretion as to whether to bring a case forward or not. Much will depend on the seriousness of the alleged offence and whether there are any mitigating or aggravating circumstances involved. If this is the first time that you have been charged with an offence of any kind, then the prosecutors may well take this into account too.
Choosing Carefully
To be successful with this type of approach, you do need to work with an experienced criminal lawyer and ideally, somebody who has an excellent working relationship with the prosecutor. Make sure that you make your choice carefully.