The Magistrates' Court of Victoria is the lowest court in the Victorian

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

 court system, with the County Court of Victoria

County Court of Victoria

The County Court of Victoria was established in 1852 by the County Courts Act 1852. The court has jurisdiction in the State of Victoria, Australia...

 and the Supreme Court of Victoria

Supreme Court of Victoria

The Supreme Court of Victoria is the superior court for the State of Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1852, and is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited jurisdiction within the state...

 respectively judicially higher. The Magistrates' Court is a court of summary jurisdiction

Summary jurisdiction

Summary jurisdiction, in the widest sense of the phrase, in English law includes the power asserted by courts of record to deal brevi manu with contempts of court without the intervention of a jury. Probably the power was originally exercisable only when the fact was notorious, i.e. done in...

.

A typical courtroom layout consists of a witness box

Witness box

A witness box is part of a courtroom. It is the section of the room set aside for witnesses to stand or sit in while giving their testimony or presenting evidence. In U.S. English, it is known as the witness stand or merely the stand....

, a public gallery, the bar table

Bar table

A bar table is a table in a common law courtroom at which advocates sit or stand. It is generally situated between the Bench and the well of the court, where the public sit. Advocates such as barristers sit facing the Bench with their backs to the well...

 (at which the parties sit), a raised bench

Bench (furniture)

A bench is a piece of furniture, on which several people may sit at the same time. Benches are typically made of wood, but may also be made of metal, stone, or synthetic materials. Many benches have arm and back rests; some have no back rest and can be sat on from either side. In public areas,...

 for seating the sitting magistrate

Magistrate

A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...

 and a clerk and sometimes a dock for housing defendant

Defendant

A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...

s in custody. Many Victorian Magistrates' Courts have video link facilities for witnesses to appear via remote video conference rather than in person and is used for when witnesses cannot travel or the prisoner is deemed too high-risk to travel to court in person.

The Magistrates' Court of Victoria hears many different types of cases, such as

• Police
  Police
  The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
  
   prosecutions and Committal Hearings
• Money claims & other civil disputes, not exceeding $100 000
• Family law
  Family law
  Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including:*the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships;...
  
   and Family violence
  Domestic violence
  Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
  
   matters
• Has the ability to issue warrants, and to hear bail applications

All Magistrates are appointed as members of the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal, which is a separate and independent statutory entity which determines claims for compensation made by victims of crime and their families.

The Chief Magistrate

Chief Magistrate

Chief Magistrate is a generic designation for a public official whose office—individual or collegial—is the highest in his or her class, in either of the fundamental meanings of Magistrate : as a major political and administrative office , and/or as a judge Chief Magistrate is a generic designation...

 is currently Ian Gray

Ian Gray (Australian magistrate)

Ian Gray is the current Chief Magistrate of the Magistrates' Court of Victoria. He completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws at Monash University, graduating in 1973. He initially practised as a private solicitor, before beginning work as a community lawyer in a Community Legal Service...

. The Chief Executive Officer is Charlotte Stockwell. The Principal Registrar is Simone Shields.

Magistrates' Court of Victoria metropolitan locations

• Melbourne Magistrates' Court
  Melbourne Magistrates' Court
  The Melbourne Magistrates' Court is a venue of the Magistrates' Court of Victoria. It is a court in Melbourne, Australia that deals with a range of criminal offences, money claims and disputes up to $100,000 and family violence and family law proceedings...
  
  , Melbourne
  Melbourne
  Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
  
  
• Broadmeadows Magistrates' Court, Broadmeadows
  Broadmeadows, Victoria
  Broadmeadows is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hume...
  
  
• Dandenong Magistrates' Court, Dandenong
  Dandenong, Victoria
  Dandenong is a suburb and major urban centre in metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 30 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Situated on Dandenong Creek and mostly flat land at the foothills of Mount Dandenong, it is the main administrative centre for the City of...
  
  
• Frankston Magistrates' Court, Frankston
  Frankston, Victoria
  Frankston is a suburb within the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area in Victoria, Australia. It is located 40 km southeast of the state capital Melbourne at the southernmost edge of Greater Melbourne, near the beginnings of the Mornington Peninsula...
  
  
• Heidelberg Magistrates' Court, Heidelberg
  Heidelberg, Victoria
  Heidelberg is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Banyule....
  
  
• Moonee Ponds Magistrates' Court, Moonee Ponds
  Moonee Ponds, Victoria
  Moonee Ponds is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moonee Valley.It is home to Queens Park and the Moonee Valley Racecourse...
  
  
• Moorabbin Justice Centre, Highett
  Highett, Victoria
  Highett is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district and 2 km east of Port Phillip Bay. Its Local Government Area is the City of Bayside and the City of Kingston...
  
  
• Preston Magistrates' Court, Preston
  Preston, Victoria
  Preston is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 9 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Darebin. At the 2006 Census, Preston had a population of 27,892.-Settlement:...
  
  
• Ringwood Magsitrates' Court, Ringwood
  Ringwood, Victoria
  Ringwood is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maroondah. At the 2006 Census, Ringwood had a population of 15,185....
  
  
• Sunshine Magistrates' Court, Sunshine
  Sunshine, Victoria
  Sunshine is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia lying 11 to 13 km west of the CBD. Its Local Government Area is the City of Brimbank. At the 2006 Census, Sunshine had a population of 8,070.-History:...
  
  
• Werribee Magistrates' Court, Werribee
  Werribee, Victoria
  Werribee is a city in Melbourne, Australia, 32 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Wyndham. At the 2006 Census, Werribee had a population of 36,641. Statistically, Werribee is considered part of Greater Melbourne.Werribee is...
  
  

Magistrates' Court of Victoria country locations

• Ararat
  Ararat, Victoria
  Ararat is a city in south-west Victoria, Australia, about west of Melbourne, on the Western Highway on the eastern slopes of the Ararat Hills and Cemetery Creek valley between Victoria's Western District and the Wimmera...
  
  
• Bacchus Marsh
  Bacchus Marsh, Victoria
  Bacchus Marsh is an urban centre and suburban locality in Victoria, Australia located approximately west of Melbourne and west of Melton. The population of the urban area is estimated at over 17,000 people, while the central locality is home to 5,566 people...
  
  
• Bairnsdale
  Bairnsdale, Victoria
  Bairnsdale is a small city in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. With a population at the 2006 census of 11,282, it is a major regional centre of eastern Victoria along with Traralgon and Sale....
  
  
• Ballarat
• Benalla
  Benalla, Victoria
  Benalla is a city of just over 9,000 people located just off the Hume Freeway in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, about southwest of Wangaratta. Its Local Government Area is the Rural City of Benalla.- Overview :...
  
  
• Bendigo
• Castlemaine
  Castlemaine, Victoria
  Castlemaine is a city in Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region of Victoria about 120 kilometres northwest by road from Melbourne, and about 40 kilometres from the major provincial centre of Bendigo. It is the administrative and economic centre of the Shire of Mount Alexander. The...
  
  
• Cobram
  Cobram, Victoria
  Cobram is a town in Australia. Cobram is located on the Murray River which forms the border between Victoria and New South Wales. Cobram along with the nearby towns of Numurkah and Yarrawonga is part of Shire of Moira. Its twin town of Barooga is located on the north side of the Murray River....
  
  
• Colac
  Colac, Victoria
  Colac is a small city located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, situated approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac and the surrounding volcanic plains, approximately 40 km inland from Bass Strait. Colac is the largest city in and...
  
  
• Corryong
  Corryong, Victoria
  Corryong is a small town in Victoria, Australia. It is located east of Albury-Wodonga, near the upper reaches of the Murray River and thus close to the New South Wales border. At the 2006 Census in Australia, Corryong had a population of 1,228....
  
  
• Dromana
  Dromana, Victoria
  Dromana is a suburb south of Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria, Australia, and is located on the Mornington Peninsula. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula.-Geography:...
  
  
• Echuca
  Echuca, Victoria
  Echuca is a town located on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe river in Victoria, Australia. The Border town Moama is on the northern side of the Murray river in New South Wales. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Shire of Campaspe...
  
  
• Edenhope
• Geelong
• Hamilton
  Hamilton, Victoria
  Hamilton is a city in western Victoria, Australia. It is located at the intersection of the Glenelg Highway and the Henty Highway...
  
  
• Hopetoun
  Hopetoun, Victoria
  Hopetoun is a town which serves as the major service centre for the Southern Mallee area of Victoria, Australia. Hopetoun is situated 400 kilometres north-west of Melbourne on the Henty Highway in the Shire of Yarriambiack...
  
  
• Horsham
  Horsham, Victoria
  Horsham is the largest city by population and regional centre of the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia and is approximately north-west of Melbourne via the Western Highway. At the 2006 census, Horsham had a population of 14,125. Horsham is in the federal Division of Mallee...
  
  
• Kerang
  Kerang, Victoria
  Kerang is a rural town on the Loddon River in northern Victoria in Australia. It is the commercial centre to an irrigation district based on livestock, horticulture, lucerne and grain. It is located north-west of Melbourne on the Murray Valley Highway a few kilometres north of its intersection...
  
  
• Korumburra
  Korumburra, Victoria
  Korumburra is a town in the Australian state of Victoria. It is located on the South Gippsland Highway, kilometres south-east of Melbourne, in the South Gippsland Shire local government area....
  
  
• Kyneton
  Kyneton, Victoria
  Kyneton is a town on the Calder Highway in the Macedon Ranges of Victoria, Australia. The Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east. The town was named after the English village of Kineton, Warwickshire. The town has three main streets: Mollison Street, Piper Street and High Street...
  
  
• Mansfield
  Mansfield, Victoria
  Mansfield is a small town in the foothills of the Victorian part of the Australian Alps. It is approximately 180 km north-east of Melbourne...
  
  
• Maryborough
  Maryborough, Victoria
  -Education:Maryborough has three schools:*Highview Christian Community College*Maryborough Education Centre Years Prep–12*St Augustine's Primary School Grades Prep–6-Music:...
  
  
• Mildura
  Mildura, Victoria
  Mildura is a regional city in northwestern Victoria, Australia and seat of the Rural City of Mildura local government area. It is located in the Sunraysia region, and is on the banks of the Murray River. The current population is estimated at just over 30,000.Mildura is a major agricultural centre...
  
  
• Moe
  Moe, Victoria
  Moe is a city in the Latrobe Valley and Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. It is about east of Melbourne and at the 2006 census had a population of 15,582 . It is administered by the City of Latrobe council....
  
  
• Myrtleford
  Myrtleford, Victoria
  Myrtleford is a town in north-east Victoria, Australia, 45 km south-east of Wangaratta and 275 km north-east of Melbourne. Myrtleford is part of the Alpine Shire local government area and at the 2006 census the town had a population of 3,187....
  
  
• Nhill
  Nhill, Victoria
  Nhill is a town in the Wimmera, in western Victoria, Australia. Nhill is located on the Western Highway, half-way between Adelaide and Melbourne. At the 2006 census Nhill had a population of 1915.-History:...
  
  
• Omeo
  Omeo, Victoria
  Omeo is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Great Alpine Road, east of Mount Hotham, in the Shire of East Gippsland. At the 2006 census, Omeo had a population of 452. The name is derived from the Aboriginal word for 'mountains' or 'hills'...
  
  
• Orbost
  Orbost, Victoria
  Orbost is a town in the Shire of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, located east of Melbourne and south of Canberra where the Princes Highway crosses the Snowy River. It is about from the town of Marlo on the coast of Bass Strait. At the 2006 census, Orbost had a population of 2452...
  
  
• Ouyen
  Ouyen, Victoria
  Ouyen is a town in Victoria, Australia, located in the Rural City of Mildura at the junction of the Calder Highway and Mallee Highway, south of Mildura and north-west of Melbourne. At the 2006 census the town had a population of 1,061.-History:...
  
  
• Portland
  Portland, Victoria
  The city of Portland is the oldest European settlement in what is now the state of Victoria, Australia. It is the main urban centre of the Shire of Glenelg. It is located on Portland Bay.-History:...
  
  
• Robinvale
  Robinvale, Victoria
  Robinvale is a town on the south bank of the Murray River in northern Victoria, Australia. It is connected by a bridge to Euston on the other side of the river in New South Wales. At the 2006 census, Robinvale had a population of 2214.-History:...
  
  
• Sale
  Sale, Victoria
  Sale is a city in the Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria. It is the seat of the Shire of Wellington as well as the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale and the Anglican Diocese of Gippsland. It has a population of around 13,336, and is expected to reach a population of 14,000 soon...
  
  
• Seymour
  Seymour, Victoria
  Seymour is a township in the Shire of Mitchell in the state of Victoria, Australia and is located north of Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Seymour had a population of 6,063...
  
  
• Shepparton
  Shepparton, Victoria
  Shepparton is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in the north east of Victoria, Australia approximately north-east of Melbourne. It is the fifth largest city in Victoria, Australia. The estimated population of Shepparton's statistical area is 48,926.It began as a sheep station...
  
  
• St Arnaud
• Stawell
  Stawell, Victoria
  Stawell , is a town in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia. The town is located in Shire of Northern Grampians Local Government Area, west-north-west of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Stawell had a population of 6,035....
  
  
• Swan Hill
  Swan Hill, Victoria
  Swan Hill is a city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Murray Valley Highway, on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River. At the 2006 census, Swan Hill had a population of 9,684.-History:...
  
  
• Wangaratta
  Wangaratta, Victoria
  Wangaratta is a cathedral city of almost 17,000 people in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, about from Melbourne along the Hume Highway, with Benalla to the southwest, and Albury-Wodonga to the northeast. It is located at the junction of the Ovens and King rivers which flow from the...
  
  
• Warrnambool
  Warrnambool, Victoria
  -Cityscape:The original City of Warrnambool was a 4x8 grid, with boundaries of Lava Street , Japan Street , Merri Street and Henna Street . In the nineteenth century, it was intended that Fairy Street – with its proximity to the Warrnambool Railway Station – would be the main street of...
  
  
• Wodonga
  Wodonga, Victoria
  Wodonga is a small city on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. Adjacent to Wodonga across the border is the New South Wales city of Albury. Wodonga is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Wodonga LGA...
  
  
• Wonthaggi
  Wonthaggi, Victoria
  Wonthaggi is a town located south east of Melbourne via the South Gippsland and Bass Highways, in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia...