Unless a defendant charged with a minor indictable offence elects to be tried in the District Court, the case will be dealt with in the Magistrates Court as a summary offence [Criminal Procedure Act 1921 (SA) ss 108(1), 117(1)].

If an election is made, the case is set down for a pre-committal hearing and is dealt with as a major indictable offence. If no election is made, the case follows the procedures of the Magistrates Court for summary offences. See Summary Offences for more information.

[For more on procedure, see the Joint Criminal Rules 2022 (SA), the Criminal Procedure Act 1921 (SA) and the Juries Act 1927 (SA).]

Before deciding whether or not to elect to have the case dealt with in the District Court, the defendant should consider the following factors:

This consideration should always be made with the assistance of legal advice.