Magistrates Court Case Study
magistrates court deals with nearly all criminal court cases with more than 97% also being completed there. There are three kinds of cases that are dealt with in a magistrates court, the first being summary offences which are less serious cases, where the defendant is not entitled to a trial by jury. These include cases such as minor assaults or motoring offences.
Both of these courts are for criminal purposes. All cases start in the magistrates court. There are normally three magistrates in a case these are usually people from the local community. Magistrates are sometimes called justices of the peace. Sometimes cases are tried by a single magistrate, called a district judge, who is a lawyer. A magistrates court will typically be used for
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However, where they feel the crime is out of their power, they will hold the relevant pre-trial hearings and send you to Crown Court. A Crown Court has a Judge and in here
Solicitors can not represent their client, only barristers. It is here that a Judge will decide your sentencing (if pleading guilty) or you will be subject to a trial with a jury, and these things could not happen at a magistrates court. The Crown Court deals with the following types of cases: more serious criminal offences which will be tried by judge and jury. Appeals from the magistrates court - which are dealt with by a judge and at least two magistrates. Convictions in the magistrates court that are referred to the Crown Court for sentencing. Imprisonment and fines in the Crown Court are more severe than in the magistrates court. Cases at Crown Court are tried by a jury, consisting of
12 people from the general public. A judge decides on matters of law during the trial, such as whether certain evidence is allowed to be presented, and also makes sure the trial proceeds in a fair way. The jury decides whether the offender is guilty or not guilty. If found guilty, the judge decides what penalty should be
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This can include something like a ban and fine when related to something like drink driving to a community sentence for a crime like petty theft. For more serious cases, the magistrate will need to decide whether the offender needs to be committed to Crown Court and whether bail should be set. The longest custodial sentence that a magistrates court can impose is 6 months for a single offence up to 12 months for multiple offences.
If you have committed a more serious offence you will be sent to the Crown Court for trial. These include cases of murder, rape and robbery as well as manslaughter. Cases can also include those ‘either way’ offences that the magistrates court was not equipped to handle. Any appeals from the magistrates court also head up to the next level at the Crown Court. People who have also been accused of more serious offences are often sent to the Crown Court to receive their sentence after being convicted in the magistrates court.
This is what many of us visualise when we think about a trial. The proceedings are overseen by a judge who is there to rule on any aspects of the law, guide the jury and pass judgement if
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