What happens if your lawyer doesn show up

Find out more about victim impact statements. In civil case you may be known as the litigant. Whatever offence you are charged with you should get advice as soon as possible from a lawyer. They can help you and can advise on how you should plead—guilty or not guilty. Find out more about the help Legal Aid Queensland can give you. Whichever court your case is being heard in, you are strongly advised to get legal advice—particularly about complex legal matters—before your case is heard.

Find out more about Going to court without a lawyer. Your lawyer can tell you when to go to court or you may receive a notice or summons to appear which details what you are charged with, and when and where you need to go to court.

You can also look up when and where your case is being heard in the daily law list. You should go to the courtroom where your case is being heard in good time. There are notice boards and television screens in courthouse foyers telling you in which court cases are being heard and when. You can also ask at the registry counter.

Go to the courtroom your case is being heard in. If you are in custody you will be brought to court by correctional officers or the police and will be seated in the dock—a special area of the court facing the judge next to a correctional services officer. If you choose to give evidence, the prosecution lawyer and your own lawyer will ask you questions.

Tell the truth when you answer the questions. If you plead guilty or are found guilty by the court, the magistrate or judge may decide on a sentence at the end of the hearing or trial. They may also adjourn—delay—the sentence to another date when a sentencing hearing will be held.

During a sentencing hearing, the lawyers on both sides will highlight factors that they think the judge should consider when sentencing you. The victim impact statement—which explains the effect of the crime on the victim—may also be taken into consideration.

When deciding on a sentence, the magistrate or judge will consider a number of factors as well as the seriousness of the crime, the penalties that the law can impose and sentences given for similar offences.

For example, they may take into account your criminal history , if you co-operated with the police and the impact the crime has had on the victim. The judge or magistrate will give their reasons when they hand down the sentence—tell the court what the sentence is. Find out more about sentencing. If you are a child—under 17 years old—you will usually be able to have your family with you during a hearing or trial. If you are found guilty you will not be sent to an adult prison; you may be sent to a juvenile detention centre.

Jurors are an important part of our legal system. In most cases heard in the Supreme and District courts, the jury—made up of 12 people chosen at random from the community—decides whether the person is guilty or not. Queensland has an open judicial system. As a member of the Queensland public, you are encouraged to see how it works.

The public and media can normally watch a trial from the public gallery at the back of the courtroom. Family members of anyone involved in the case may also watch from the public gallery.

Witnesses can only watch the trial once they have given their evidence. If you want to watch a trial, check your local court opening times. Check the daily law list to find out what cases are taking place and go to the courtroom you wish to attend.

In special cases—for example, to protect a vulnerable witness—the judge may order a closed court, in which case you will not be allowed in. When you watch from the public gallery you are there as an observer; you should be quiet, watch and listen.

You cannot take photos, record, or transmit a trial in any way. If the circumstances are extremely unfair to the other party - for example, they have prepared for the hearing today and then it turns out you can't proceed, and thus causing them more delay, the judge can force you to continue.

The most you can do then is sue your lawyer for breach of duty. Usually, the Judge will ask if your Attorney is present. If not, they'll put your case aside and call the next case and you will wait all day in the corridor. At last call, the Judge will call you in and without representation will schedule you for another date.

Not good though, he'll be ticked at your Lawyer. You're screwed. In Canada it would be extremely rare to force a party to proceed without their lawyer. If there is no valid excuse or explanation for the lawyer's failure to appear the judge could impose cost sanctions against the lawyer, including paying the opposite party's legal expenses for attending court that day.

The judge could also order the lawyer off the case. The party whose lawyer failed to appear ,is in the circumstances, an innocent victim of his lawyer's failure, and would not be punished by the judge.

Usually, you have the option of proceeding yourself, or asking the court for a continuance. But the lawyer is going to get slapped by the court -- how hard depends on their reasons or excuses for failing to appear. But most courts most of the time don't penalize the client the first time their attorney doesn't show up. There are exceptions it has hapenned before with the party and attorney or it is a minor and only procedural matter. The attorney is screwed, by the way. He or she better have a good excuse for not attending a hearing.

It depends on the circumstances. I agree that if your lawyer does not show up when you are entering a plea, it is no serious matter. Most judges will have you enter a plea of "not guilty. If your attorney does not show up for a trial, I would recommend asking for a recess until the attorney arrives. If he does not show up within a reasonable time, ask for a continuance.

Posted by Ramon at AM. No comments:. Newer Post Older Post Home. Subscribe to: Post Comments Atom. What w If you're due in court and your lawyer doesn't sho If your x has threatened to kill you you have a re If your town had a pollicy of renting space to gan If your rights as an American were being taken awa If your on Social Security Disability Benefits for If your neighbor goes and knocks on your door, doe If your mother in law leaves her son her house?

If your Mom had aborted you, would you be sad abou If your lawyer dies and you are not notifyed can y If your husband changes his address to a different If your house catches on fire and the fire departm If your ex lives in another country and child supp If your ex boyfriend new girlfriend asalted you wh If your caught by the police when your smoking a c Well, truth be told, neither do I.

The difference between lawyer and client is that the lawyer expects it to take a long time and understands. The client typically thinks it's unjustified. So, your hard truth is that each case takes time. Be patient. I know, I know. Every client's case is a winner. Everyone who sits in my office is right. We all know. However, just because you are right in principle, does not mean that you will win.

Much of the legal process is about what is more likely than not, and who is more believable. Sometimes it's about who is likeable.

Sometimes the guy with the nicer or more articulate lawyer wins. While juries usually get it right, sometimes, it's not about whether a particular matter is emotional or simple, complicated or straightforward. Sometimes people make decisions on who has the nicer suit, or who is more pleasant to deal with. So even if your case is good or even if it's not so strong. Put your best foot forward and be nice. You never know if you are sitting next to a potential juror on the bus.

The strength of your case in a courtroom is not directly related to your being right or wrong. If you can't prove the terms of your arrangement to me in my office, you probably don't have a case.

While lawyers can certainly take your money and your time and we can file a case that will be very hard to win, if you don't care enough about your life to get a contract, the judge is not very likely to be on your side. At least, not automatically. Oral contracts are extremely hard to prove. What are the terms.

Who agreed to do what? How can you prove it? Does that oral agreement conflict with the law? If it's important, write it down. If you leave a message longer than say, 30 seconds, when you are first calling me to set up an appointment, I will not be interested in calling you back.

I don't want a 10 page email about your problem or a long voicemail, before I've even met you. If you can't articulate your issue in 10 seconds or less like "I think I've got a breach of contract situation" or "I have a real estate issue", then I have to wonder how smart you are.

No one likes representing a client they don't like or believe in. Be the best version of yourself, and that starts with your initial contact to an attorney. If you are telling me your life story before we've even met, chances are we are not going to meet. Or, even if I meet you, if I don't want your case but I'm still trying to be polite, then I'll quote a retainer that is outrageously high so that you won't choose me. Don't forget that lawyers don't always need to take more cases.

Yes, new clients are a great thing, but I don't want clients that will eat all my time and get no where fast.