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CRIMINAL LAW DEPARTMENT
Information Sheet 5d
"Summary Only" Magistrates' Court Cases |
Because you are under the age of 18, you will
appear in a special Youth Court instead of the adult Magistrates’
Court. Some of the procedures are a little different from the
adult court. For example, Youth Court hearings are all conducted
in private.
Bail
If you appear at the Youth Court on bail, the court should normally
grant you bail again. however, and may not be the case if you
have a poor criminal record or you have other bail is likely
to be a problem, we will discuss this with you further.
The Evidence in the case
In most cases the prosecution have to provide us with a summary
of the evidence against the defendant so that we can see what
the case is all about. This is called “advance disclosure”,
and helps us in advising the client whether to plead guilty
or not guilty.
If you are Pleading Guilty
If you are pleading guilty to the charge against you, you will
probably do this at the first hearing. 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
it will be finished there and then.
If the Magistrates consider the matter to be too serious for
a fine or conditional discharge, or you have a criminal record,
they will probably request the Youth Offending Team 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 they sentence you. The report will recommend a sentence,
but you should be aware that the Magistrates will not necessarily
follow the recommendation.
The cost of such cases is in the region of £250 to £400
although the contribution you will be asked to make will depend
on what the Magistrates think you can afford.
Some very serious cases are sent to the Crown Court for trial
before a Judge and jury. The Magistrates will decide whether
or not to do this. If we think this is a possibility in your
case, we will discuss it with you further.
If you are Pleading Not Guilty
If you are pleading not guilty, the case will probably be adjourned
for a “pre-trial review”. This is not the trial, just
a preliminary hearing at which all parties get together to review
the evidence, decide which witnesses will be required at the
trial, finalise arrangements for any work which needs to be
done to prepare for the trial, and set a date for trial.
Please let us know well in advance if there are any dates when
you or your witnesses would not be available to attend for the
trial, so that the court can take these dates into account when
setting a trial date. Once a date has been arranged, the court
will be very reluctant to alter it.
If you have not already done so by then, you should make an
appointment as quickly as possible to come and see us so we
can take your detailed instructions, and if you wish to call
any witnesses, we will also need to see them take statements.
Although trial dates can be set some time ahead, there are often
matters that we need to follow up on your behalf and it i in
your interests keep in contact with us to enable us to prepare
the case fully in advance. Please remember that this is your
case. We will do everything we can to help and assist you, but
we can only act on your instructions. If you do not provide
us with any instructions, or leave it until the last minute
to do so, your case may be harmed.
The costs of a not guilty hearing can vary considerably, but
would normally be in the region of £500 to £1,000.
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