If you’re involved in a Criminal case in Court and you’ve chosen to participate in the CCDC, the Court will give a series of instructions and orders to facilitate the process for the disclosure and sharing of information and evidence between the Prosecution and the Defence.
First, the Court will order the Prosecution to prepare and provide a compilation of information and materials called the “Case for the Prosecution” to you, and this contains the following:
- The Charges issued against you which will be handled at the trial.
- The Summary of Facts – this is a summary of the key parts of the Prosecution’s case against you and will detail how the offence took place and the role and involvement of you and other persons in the offence.
- A list of the Prosecution’s witnesses.
- Description of the documents and items which will be produced by the Prosecution as evidence.
- Any written statements recorded from you by the investigators during the course of investigations that the Prosecution plans to use as evidence.
After you’ve received the Prosecution’s Case, you should read and look through it carefully because it contains the evidence which the Prosecution will be relying on at the actual trial to prove your guilt.
After reviewing the Prosecution’s Case, you’ll have to decide whether you would still want to claim trial, or alternatively, to plead guilty. You’ll have to inform the Court of your decision during the next CCDC.
If you plan to plead guilty, the Court will transfer your case to a Sentencing Court for your plea to be taken and for your sentence to be decided.
If you maintain your wish to claim trial, the Court will then order you to prepare a compilation of information and materials called the “Case for the Defence”, and this contains the following documents:
- Your defence to the Charges against you.
- A summary of your defence and the relevant supporting facts you want to rely on – this is a summary of the key parts of your defence denying your involvement in the charge against you and will detail how your explanations to the allegations made against you.
- A list of the Defence’s witnesses you intend to call to testify in support of your defence at the trial
- A description of the documents and items you plan to produce in Court as your evidence.
- Any objections you can want to raise to the Case for the Prosecution.
Your Case for the Defence must be prepared in English. You must provide a copy of your Case to the Court as well as the Prosecution within the timeline stipulated by the Court.
How do you prepare your Case for the Defence?
If you need assistance on the substantive contents of your Case for the Defence, you should think about seeking legal advice from a criminal defence lawyer.
It is extremely important that you carefully prepare your Case for the Defence because if you fail to do so (e.g. if your Case is incomplete, or contains inconsistent facts), the Court can draw adverse inferences (i.e. an unfavourable inference) against you and this can reduce your credibility at trial and negatively affect your chances of successfully defending yourself.
What happens after you’ve submitted your Case for the Defence?
After you’ve submitted your Case for the Defence, the Prosecution will give you a compilation of information and evidence called the “Prosecution’s Supplementary Bundle” and this contains copies of the documents found in the Case for the Prosecution and copies of any other written interview statements recorded from you by the investigators during the investigations.
By now, you would have had a chance to review the Prosecution’s documents as well as any written statements which the Prosecution plans to rely on at trial. Do think through the Prosecution’s case carefully before you decide on your next step, i.e. to claim trial or to plead guilty.
At the next CCDC, the Judge will ask you and the Prosecution to indicate what you each intend to do and whether the trial is still likely to take place or whether you have reached an alternative way to resolve the case e.g. with the charge being withdrawn or amended to a less serious charge that you will plead guilty to. If the Prosecution confirms that it still intends to proceed with the charges and you similarly confirm that you still intend to defend the charges by claiming trial, the Judge will schedule a date for the trial.
So, there you’ve it, some basic information on: What will happen if I decide to participate in the Criminal Case Disclosure Conference CCDC. Contact our criminal lawyers in Singapore for more information.
