South Australian Current Acts

CRIMINAL LAW (LEGAL REPRESENTATION) ACT 2001 - SECT 6

6—Entitlement to legal assistance

        (1)         If an application is made to the Commission for legal assistance by a person charged with a serious offence, the Commission must (subject to the qualifications that appear below) grant legal assistance by way of—

            (a)         legal representation for the trial of the offence; and

            (b)         legal representation for associated proceedings—

                  (i)         that are not initiated by the defendant; or

                  (ii)         that are initiated by the defendant and have, in the Commission's opinion, sufficient merit to justify being brought within the ambit of the legal assistance.

        (1a)         If a defendant who is not legally represented in a trial applies to the Commission for legal assistance for the cross-examination of a section 13B witness in the trial, the Commission must (subject to the qualifications that appear below) grant such legal assistance.

        (2)         The LSC Act applies, subject to this section, to an application for, or grant of, legal assistance under this section.

        (3)         In particular, the Commission's obligation to grant legal assistance does not prevent it from imposing conditions under the LSC Act on the grant of legal assistance.

Examples—

1         The Commission might impose a condition requiring the assisted person to do either or both of the following:

            (a)         to make payments in advance to the Commission towards legal assistance costs;

            (b)         to indemnify the Commission in full for legal assistance costs.

2         The Commission might impose a condition requiring the assisted person to authorise a bank or other third party to disclose to the Commission information relevant to the assisted person's financial affairs.

3         The Commission might impose a condition limiting the ambit of the assistance so that it does not extend to the funding of forensic strategies that have, in the Commission's opinion, no reasonable prospect of success.

        (4)         The Commission must not terminate legal assistance granted under this section unless—

            (a)         the assisted person—

                  (i)         obtains privately funded legal representation for the trial, an associated proceeding or the cross-examination of a section 13B witness (as the case may be); or

                  (ii)         notifies the Commission of an intention to do without legal representation; or

            (b)         the assisted person contravenes or fails to comply with a condition on which the legal assistance was granted and the court authorises the Commission to terminate legal assistance on that ground; or

            (c)         the assisted person refuses or fails to cooperate with the legal practitioner assigned to provide the legal assistance and the court authorises the Commission to terminate the legal assistance on that ground; or

            (d)         the defendant is charged with a minor indictable offence and legal assistance was granted on the basis that the defendant was to be tried in the Supreme Court or the District Court but it now appears that the trial is to proceed before the Magistrates Court.

        (5)         If legal assistance has been terminated under subsection (4) and a further application for legal assistance is made—

            (a)         the Commission has an absolute discretion whether to grant or refuse the further application and is under no obligation to grant it; and

            (b)         if the Commission grants the application, it has an absolute discretion to terminate the legal assistance on any ground it considers sufficient (and a decision to do so cannot be challenged in any way).