UNIT 3 2.2
Criminal offences
Pre Trial Matters
The Criminal Courts System
Appeals
Triable either way offences: These are Middle range crimes such as theft. If the defendant pleads guilty then it will be heard in the Magistrates’ Court; if they plead not guilty then it is heard in the Crown Court by a jury.
Indictable offences:These are the most serious crimes e.g. murder, rape and manslaughter. The hearing will be at the Magistrate court before being passed to the Crown Court with a judge and jury for final sentence.
Summary offences: These are less serious offences such as shop lifting which normally are tried in magistrate courts.
The Plea: Guilty - the Magistrates will look at the evidence of different factors such aggravating or mitigating and can pass an immediate sentence for less complex cases. But if they cannot come to an immediate solution then the case will be heard at a Crown Court. If the defendant says not guilty the magistrates will have to consider whether there is any reason for legal aid or bail.
Plea Bargaining: This is when the prosecutor and the defendant bargain over a deal that the defendant and prosecution both feel is reasonable this could mean a lesser sentence for defendant for an easy win for prosecution. There are 3 types of plea bargaining: Charge Bargaining which is where the defendant pleads guilty to a less serious charge and gets a lighter sentence. Count Bargaining is where the defendant pleads guilty to one charge to have the others dropped which can lead to lesser sentence.
Sentence bargaining is where the defendant pleads guilty to the original charge for a more lenient sentence.
Positives of plea bargaining are that the prosecution if successful get a win in caught but so does the defendant as they may get an lesser sentence or may not be charged for all crimes he was originally being charged with. Negatives of plea bargaining is that the victim and there friends and family may not feel justice has been served and may launch an appeal against the plea bargaining to try get an higher sentence.
Legal aid: Anyone in society should be able to access legal aid even offenders and at anytime, this is done through legal aid agency who will provide costs of legal advice and help. For all suspects who plea not guilty, the defendant will be provided legal aid and representation.
Bail: This originated through Bail Act 1976 presumes all defendants innocent until proven guilty, therefore everyone should be entitled to bail.
Unconditional bail: This is where there are no conditions to the bail and your free to do what your like. Conditional bail: This is where conditions are placed for example a curfew or house arrest meaning not allowed to leave your home they may do this with a tracker.
Reasons for Bail being denied:
1) They are likely to fail to turn up to court.
2) May have previously been denied bail.
3) They are likely to commit an offence whilst on bail.
4) May obstruct the course of justice.
5) May be charged with an indictable offence.
6) Needs to be in custody for their own protection.
Magistrates Court: There are 280 magistrates in England and Wales these can be legally qualified district judges and unqualified lay justices.
These courts take care of the less serious offences such as shoplifting etc. Normally there's 3 magistrates who are lay justices for a case and a clerk who can help out if needed and are legally qualified. Magistrates can only charge an individual up to 6 months for one charge and 12 months for another. They can also impose fines up to any amount.
The Crown Court:There are about 90 different Crown Courts in England and Wales. They deal with all indictable and some triable offences, they also deal with appeals from magistrate cases. All trials are heard by a judge and 12 jury members. The jury decide the verdict if the defendant pleads not guilty but the judge will get the final say.
The Judges role in the crown court:
1) To make sure that the trial is fair and to protect the defendant’s human rights.
2) Be as a referee between the defence and prosecution.
3) Tell the jury on points of law, court procedure and their duties.
4) The Criminal Justice Act 2003 can allow a case to sit without a jury but this does not happen often mainly for more serious cases.
5) Pass sentence if the defendant is found guilty.
There are two different routes of appeal these are: Appeals to the Crown Court and Appeals to the Administrative Court in the Queen’s Bench Division.
Any defendant has the right to appeal from a magistrate court from a sentence or conviction. This must be done 21 days after a sentence and this will take place in a crown court. This can result in an increase or decrease in a sentence or squash of the whole sentence being cleared as innocent.
If the defendant is still not happy with there result after the first appeal they can appeal to the court of the appeal but this is not automatic and the judge has to review and accept the case to go to this court but must be done within 28 days.
Judge will look to see if a case meets these criteria: If the CofA thinks that they conviction is unsafe
If the CofA would dismiss such an appeal in any other case. If criteria is met the CofA can quash a conviction and lessen it. The Court can decrease a sentence but not increase it upon the defendant’s appeal. They can also order a complete re-trial with a new jury.
The prosecution can also appeal if they think there's an error in the law which led to the case being dismissed, they believe an acquittal was as a result of jury tampering, they may believe the sentence was unduly lenient and if there's new and compelling evidence showing guilt.
The supreme court is the biggest court in the English legal system and the judge has to decide if a case goes to court and the supreme court will only hear it if its of any public importance such as civil rights cases. If this does happen 12 lawlords who are senior judges will hear these cases.
Personnel roles in crown court: Defendant is being charged, prosecution is charging and are building case against defendant. The defence doesn’t have to prove the defendant is innocent but that the argument given by the prosecution isn’t strong enough to convince the jury of the defendant’s guilt. A Jury is made up of a group of 12 randomly chosen members of the public who must decide whether the defendant is guilty. The Judge will decide the length of the sentence. If the defendant is found not guilty, they are discharged and no conviction is recorded against their name. Witnesses: give evidence at trials and can be a witness for the prosecution, a witness for the defence, an expert witness or a character witness. Ushers: take the oaths from witnesses and jury members. Witnesses promise to tell the truth and jury members promise to give the defendant a fair trial. Press and public: Criminal trials usually take place in open court. Meaning members of the press and public are allowed into the court to see the court case proceed.