Western Australian Current Acts Western Australian Current Acts (1) This section must
be complied with —
(a) if
an accused is charged with an either way charge that is to be tried summarily
— when or as soon as practicable after it is decided that the charge
will be dealt with summarily;
(b) if
an accused is charged with a simple offence — when or as soon as
practicable after the accused first appears, unless the court has received a
written plea of guilty to the charge that has not, under section 51(5) or (6),
been struck out.
(2) Before requiring
the accused to plead to the charge, the court must —
(a) be
satisfied the accused has a copy of the prosecution notice containing the
charge and has had time to consider the notice and seek legal advice about it;
and
(b) be
satisfied the accused understands the charge and the purpose of the
proceedings; and
(c) if
section 35 requires the prosecutor to serve the accused with any material and
the prosecutor has not done so, proceed in accordance with section 35(10).
(3) After complying
with subsection (2), the court must require the accused to plead to the
charge.
(4) Without limiting
the operation of Part 5, Part 5 Division 2 applies when an accused is required
to plead to a charge.
(5) This section does
not prevent a court from requiring an accused to plead to a charge at any
subsequent time.