Western Australian Numbered Acts Western Australian Numbered Acts (1) This section
applies if an accused is committed to, or is charged on indictment in, a
superior court.
(2) At any time before
the accused’s trial begins, the court —
(a) may
determine any question of law or procedure, give any direction, or do any
other thing, that is necessary or convenient in order to facilitate the
preparation for, or the conduct of, the trial, or that is otherwise desirable;
(b) may
determine any question of fact that in a trial may be determined lawfully by a
judge alone without a jury;
(c) if
it is satisfied as a matter of law that the accused has no case to answer on a
charge, may find the accused not guilty of the charge without requiring a jury
to give its verdict on the charge;
(d) may,
whether or not a party asks the court to do so, refer a question of law to the
Court of Appeal in accordance with the Criminal Appeals Act 2004
section 46;
(e) may
deal with any application made by a party under this Part, Part 5 or
Schedule 3;
(f) may
exercise any power under this Act that may be exercised by the court on its
own initiative;
(g) may
permit the accused to make an admission under the Evidence Act 1906
section 32;
(h) may
make an order under the Juries Act 1957 section 43A;
(i)
may make any order under section 137.
(3) If the accused is
committed for sentence, the court may exercise the powers in
subsection (2)(a) or (b) at any time before sentencing the accused.
(4) If under
subsection (2)(c) a court refers a question of law to the Court of
Appeal, it must adjourn the trial until the Court of Appeal gives its
judgment.
(5) The judge
constituting the court that deals with any matter under subsection (2)
need not be the judge who constitutes the court when the trial of the accused
takes place.
(6) Any proceedings
under subsection (2) are to be taken to be part of the accused’s
trial.
(7) The powers of a
judge in a trial include, but are not limited to, the powers in this section.