The Crown's power under Maxwell v The Queen to seek leave to withdraw acceptance of a plea of guilty before sentence applies equally where the accused pleaded guilty to the only count in the indictment, not merely where the plea was to a lesser included offence under s 394A of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). A court has no power to order costs against the Crown in criminal proceedings as a condition of granting leave to withdraw acceptance of a plea, nor to stay proceedings until such costs are paid. However, defence counsel may seek an undertaking from the Crown to pay costs, and the Crown's response may be taken into account in the exercise of the discretion.
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