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CRIMINAL LAW DEPARTMENT
Information Sheet 5b
Magistrates' and Crown Court Cases |
All criminal cases are initially dealt with
by the Magistrates’ Court. The Crown Court, which is a
higher court, usually deals with more serious cases, and it
has greater sentencing powers than the Magistrates’ Court.
This leaflet is to explain which court will deal with your case
and the choices you will need to make.
Before you decide how you want your case to be dealt with, the
prosecution have to provide us in advance with a summary of
the evidence against you. This is known as “advance disclosure”.
It is usually a collection of statements which the police have
taken from various potential witnesses concerning the allegation
against you. This is usually provided at the first hearing when
you will be expected to chose how your case is to be dealt with.
If you are Pleading Guilty
If you are pleading guilty to the charge, you will probably
do this at the first hearing at the Magistrates’ Court.
If the case is relatively minor, the Magistrates could deal
with it by sentencing you to a conditional discharge or a fine,
and it is likely that the case will be finished then.
If the Magistrates consider the matter to be too serious for
a fine or conditional discharge, or you have a poor criminal
record, they will probably request the Probation Service to
prepare a “pre-sentence report” about your background
and personal circumstances, and your case will then be adjourned
for this to be done. The Magistrates will consider the report
before sentencing you. The report will recommend a sentence,
but you should be aware that the Magistrates wilt not necessarily
follow the recommendation.
Alternatively, the Magistrates may decide that the case is so
serious that they do not have enough powers to deal with it,
and they will then send it to the Crown Court for a Judge to
sentence you.
The costs of a case dealt with in this way are usually between
£250 and £400, although the Prosecution will normally
ask for a contribution towards the costs of £118.00
If you are Pleading Not Guilty
If you are pleading not guilty, the Magistrates will be told
a bit about your case, and they will then decide whether or
not they can deal with the matter. If feel they cannot, because
it is too serious, they will automatically send the case to
the Crown Court for trial.
If the Magistrates decide that they could hear your case, you
will then be asked to choose whether you want it heard by the
Magistrates’ Court or by a Judge and jury in the Crown
Court. If this happens, we will discuss it with you further.
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