Talk to a lawyer.
If you say guilty it means you agree with what the police say you did and you agree that the judge will decide about your punishment for breaking the law.
There are three reasons you might say not guilty:
- You didn’t do what the police say you did.
- You had a proper reason for breaking the law, like self-defence.
- You want the police to bring evidence to court to prove that you broke the law.
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Who Can Help? (Service Providers)
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| Going to Court
Booklet explaining what you should do to prepare for court and what will happen at court. |
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You can listen to this story about sentencing in Yolngu Matha. Click here for more audio stories like this.
This audio explains the words plea of not guilty in Yolngu Matha. Click here for more recordings like this.
This audio explains the words plea of guilty in Yolngu Matha. Click here for more recordings like this.
This audio explains the word not guilty in Yolngu Matha. Click here for more recordings like this.
This audio explains the word innocent in Yolngu Matha. Click here for more recordings like this.
This audio explains the word guilty in Yolngu Matha. Click here for more recordings like this.
Glossary: What these words mean
| guilty | When a person is guilty, it means that a judge or jury decided that he broke the law. |
| plea | If you are charged with an offence and go to court, the just will ask you whether you agree with the charge(s) or not. the answer you give is called a plea. There are two basic types of plea: guilty and not guilty. If you agree with the charge, and that you broke the law, you plead guilty. If you disagree, you plead not guilty. |