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Criminal Practice Revision - 5 - Plea Before Venue (Applies only to EITHER…
Criminal Practice Revision - 5 - Plea Before Venue
(Applies
only to EITHER WAY
offences)
Recall, this applies
ONLY TO EITHER WAY offences
The
Process
Charge read out
Defendant told of consequences of guilty plea (inc 1/3 reduction)
3. Defendant pleads
Guilty =
sent
to Crown/Magistrates' Court for
sentencing
Not guilty = proceed to
allocation of trial
Rare cases where
either way offence is AUTOMATICALLY sent to Crown Court
Complex/Serious Either-way case
Child witnesses
who need
protection
(eg child cruelty)
Combination of
Indictable AND either way offence
If appearing in Court on both charges - MUST be sent
If appearing separately - MAY be sent
Defendant asked
about plea
Yes; Sentencing hearing in Crown Court
No/fail to respond; =
Plea and Case Management hearing listed
You must
advise your client
on
pros /cons of each court
Magistrates'
Limited sentencing powers (6 months max for single offence, 12 for 2 or more either way offences)
Speed and low cost of trial (reduces costs that may have to be paid)
Less stringent disclosure requirements on defence (eg serving defence case statement)
Crown
Higher acquittal rates
More effective processes for
challenging admissibility
of evidence (recall, jury decides matters of fact but judge decides whether evidence is admissible, meaning bad denied evidence never even gets in front of the jury)
Longer delay before trial -> makes evidence
-gathering more practical
(Allocation of Trial)
Magistrates' Court decides WHETHER it takes case:
Considers:
Previous convictions
Whether the Court’s
sentencing powers are adequate
, inc when there are multiple offences being charged
Statements
the
defence and prosecution
made on the mode of trial and sentencing power adequacy
If
accepts: defendant gets choice
Warned staying in Magistrates' Court
nonetheless
means case can be
committed up to Crown Court FOR SENTENCING
If declines: goes to Crown Court
If Magistrates' Accept Jurisdiction -
Defendant's Choice
If the Magistrates’ Court accepts jurisdiction, the defendant
may decide
whether to go to
SUMMARY
TRIAL
in the magistrates’ Court, or
ELECT TRIAL
in the Crown court
Summary trial is just trial in the magistrates’ court
The defendant is
warned that consenting to summary trial (magistrates’ court) does nonetheless mean the case can be committed for sentence up
to the Crown court if the magistrates’ court determines its sentencing powers are insufficient
If the defendant consents to (Magistrates’) summary trial, the
Court then sets a later date for trial
NOT GOODYEAR INDICATION
Sentencing Indication
Court not obliged to respond
Defendant can ask whether sentence would be
CUSTODIAL OR NON-CUSTODIAL
before pleading guilty
If they change plea to guilty straight away,
Court is BOUND
Low value theft - £200 and under
Magistrates' Court cannot decline jurisdiction
Either way offence
Defendant
can
still go to Crown Court
What do Crown Courts deal with?
Crown Courts deal with: (1)
indictable only offences
; (2)
either way offences when the Magistrates' Court has declined jurisdiction
or when the defendant has
elected
Crown Court trial; (s.
3) either way or summary offences which
are related to another offence being heard by the Crown Court
, if it is
punishable by imprisonment
and/or disqualification from driving; and
(4)
appeals against conviction and sentence from the Magistrates'
Court. ABH and criminal damage are both either way offence