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CRIMINAL LAW DEPARTMENT
Information Sheet 5a
"Indictable Only" Crown Court Cases |
All criminal cases are initially dealt with
by the Magistrates’ Court. The Crown Court, which is a
hig’ier court, usually deals with more serious cases, and
it has greater sentencing powers than the Magistrates’
Court.
The charge you are facing is called an “indictable only”
offence. This means that it is too serious to be dealt with
by the Magistrates’ Court, so even if you are pleading
guilty the Magistrates’ Court will have to send your case
to the Crown Court to be dealt with.
The procedure has recently been revised in cases such as yours.
Now cases which can only be dealt with in the Crown court are
usually “sent” to the Crown court immediately at the
first hearing. In some cases they are adjourned for a week if
the Prosecution need to review the charges for example. Your
case may have already passed this stage by the time you receive
this sheet
You should be aware of the costs of your case.
The costs of the Crown Court part of a case can vary considerably.
If you plead guilty, the costs are likely to be in the region
of £750 to £1,500, whereas if you plead not guilty,
they would be considerably greater.
If you are granted legal aid (which is very likely in cases
such as yours) the Judge will assess at the end of the case
what contribution if any you will be required to make towards
the costs.
We will provide you with further costs information as the case
progresses.
We will send you further information about the Crown Court procedure
at the appropriate time but if at any stage there is anything
you are not clear about please ask.
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