Defendant Requests an Indication: The court may indicate the type of sentence (custodial or non-custodial) it would consider imposing if the defendant pleads guilty.
Reconsidering the Plea: If an indication of sentence is given, the court should ask the defendant if they wish to reconsider their initial plea indication.
Pleading Guilty After Indication:
If the defendant changes their plea to guilty following the indication, they are treated as having been tried summarily and pleaded guilty.
Non-custodial Indication: An indication of a non-custodial sentence typically prevents the court from later imposing a custodial sentence for that offence in this circumstance^
Maintaining a Not Guilty Plea:
If the defendant maintains their not guilty plea, the initial indication of sentence is not binding on any future court, meaning that it can’t be appealed against or challenged for being inconsistent with the earlier indication.
The court may later impose a different type of sentence (custodial or non-custodial), regardless of the previous indication.
No Indication or Reconsideration of Plea:
If no indication of sentence is given, or the defendant does not want to reconsider the initial plea, the court will ask whether the defendant consents to a summary trial or prefers a trial on indictment in the Crown Court (per Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980, section 20(8) and (9)).