M2 - Learner Manual

4. Interviewing clients

4.7. Remarks of the Magistrate and the legal practitioner

Maintaining clear and accurate written records of court appearances and conferences with the client and the legal practitioner is essential for later explaining the outcome and clarifying issues for the client. Use plain language, ask the client to explain to you what they understand to be the outcome to be confident they understand what has taken place.

A lot of legal jargon is used in court. An important role in assisting clients is to ensure they understand exactly what happened in court. Make sure you understand the legal language used by the Magistrate (and the practitioner) and if you are unsure, ask the legal practitioner to clarify what the terms mean. Some example of legal jargon commonly used, include:[1]

Adjournment	Postponing a court hearing or other court appearance to another date.
Affidavit	A written statement prepared by a person. The statement must be sworn or affirmed to be true in front of a solicitor, barrister or justice of the peace.
Amend	To make changes to a document that has already been filed at court. The amended document is then filed and served on the other party.
Annulment Application	1. An application to Revenue NSW to cancel your Enforcement Order and have your case heard at court; or 2. An application to the court to cancel or reverse a decision made by the court and have the matter re-listed, because you missed court.
Apprehended Personal Violence Order	An order made by a court that is aimed at protecting someone from another person who they are not in, and have never been, in a domestic relationship with. For example, neighbours.
Breaching an AVO	When a person who has an AVO against them (the defendant), does something that they are not allowed to do under that AVO. For example, the defendant telephones the protected person when the Final AVO says they cannot contact the protected person. A breach of a Provisional, Interim or Final AVO is a criminal offence.
Brief of Evidence	The documents, including statements and photographs, that the police prosecutor will rely on in a case against a person charged with a criminal offence.
Closed Court	A courtroom that is not open to the general public. Most matter involving children are heard in closed court.
Contravene AVO	To breach or refuse to comply with a condition of a Provisional, Interim or Final AVO.
Court timetable	Orders made by a court regarding the serving and filing of witness statements or any other documents, and the date the case is next in court.
Duty of care	A person's legal responsibility to be careful when doing something that could result in someone getting hurt or property being damaged by the action. This duty only applies if it could have been predicted that someone could have been hurt by the action. For example, Brian was speeding through a red light and hits a pedestrian. Brian breached his duty of care to the pedestrian.
Ex parte	A decision of the court made without notice to the other party, or without the other party being present.
Legal costs	The money a person spends running a court case. If the person has a lawyer, the costs will include the lawyer's fees.
Legally binding	Something that can be enforced through the legal system.
Liability	A person's legal obligation to do something or pay something.

There are many more examples. The NSW Communities and Justice website is helpful to consult if you need to clarify a legal term: https://www.lawaccess.nsw.gov.au/Pages/representing/lawassist_legalwords.aspx

[1] Examples are from the NSW Communities and Justice website: https://www.lawaccess.nsw.gov.au/Pages/representing/lawassist_legalwords.aspx.