Transcription
Hi, and welcome back to another video on A-Level Law. Today, we're going to be talking about criminal courts, and that forms part of the English legal system on Paper One, Criminal Law in the English legal system. What do you need to know for criminal courts? This is the following categories of offense, jurisdiction of Crown Court and Magistrate's Court, pre-trial procedures, and criminal appeals. And we're going to start with categories of offense.
All crimes and offenses in this country can be divided into three categories. They are summary, trial either way, and indictable. Notice it's spelt indictable but pronounced indictable. And trial either way can quite often be shorthand written as TEW.
Summary offenses are minor offenses and always tried in a Magistrate's Court, and they'll be heard by three magistrates, although sometimes very minor offenses can be heard by a single magistrate, such as driving offenses and things like that. Examples include, as I said, minor driving offenses, eg speeding, littering, assault, and several other or many other minor offenses. The maximum sentence in this case is six months for one offense and a maximum of £5,000 fine, although their sentencing will vary depending on the offense.
Trial either way offenses are moderate offenses, and they can be tried in either the Magistrate's Court or the Crown Court, depending on the pre-trial procedure, which we'll deal with shortly. Examples include theft and actual bodily harm, which is quite often shorthanded as ABH. The sentencing for these will depend on which court are tried in and where they're sentenced.
Indictable: these are the most serious and major offenses. They're always tried in the Crown Court, and they're heard by a judge and jury, which is made up of twelve laypeople, which means people that aren't legally trained in the law. Examples include murder, grievous bodily harm, shorthanded as GBH, manslaughter, and rape. And the sentencing, the maximum sentence is mandatory life and unlimited fine, although again, sentencing will vary depending on the offense.
Jurisdiction. We're going to begin by looking at the Magistrate's Court. The jurisdiction means what can the court actually hear and then what powers do they have.
Magistrate's Court: they try all summary offenses and some trial either way offenses. All trials will be heard by a panel of three magistrates, although, as I said, a single magistrate can hear minor driving offenses. The magistrates listen to the facts and evidence and decide on the verdict and the sentence where the defendant is found guilty. They are assisted with the law by the legal adviser, and if you want to know more information about the legal adviser in the magistrate's role, please have a look at the magistrates video also on YouTube. Representation is required, and this is usually solicitors at this level, and it's formal and open to the public. The defendant sits in the dock at the back of the room, and the magistrates sit elevated at the front of the room. The usher will bring witnesses and deal with general court admin, as well as the clerk, who deals with the administrative side of the court.
The Crown Court will try all indictable offenses and some trial either way offenses. All trials are heard by a judge and a jury of 12 laypeople. The judge directs the jury on the law and deals with sentencing if the defendant is found guilty. The jury listen to the facts and evidence and decide on the verdict, which will be guilty or not guilty. Representation is required, and on this level, it tends to be barristers, although sometimes can be solicitors, and it's formal and open to the public. The defendant sits in the dock at the back of the room, and the judge sits on an elevated platform at the front of the room. The usher brings in witnesses and swears in the jury, and the clerk will deal with the administrative side of the court.
In terms of pre-trial procedures, so what happens before the trial? The first thing is plea before venue, and this always happens at Magistrate's Court. We're going to deal with three slides here. The first one is on summary offenses, the second one is on trial either way offenses, and the third is indictable offenses. So make sure you are clear which one we're talking about.
We're going to begin with summary offenses. As I've said, the first stage is plea before venue, and as I said, this always begins in the Magistrate's Court, and this is where the defendant is asked to plead guilty or not guilty. If they plead guilty, they will then be sentenced in the Magistrate's Court for summary offenses. If they plead not guilty, they'll have their trial in the Magistrate's Court and then will either be acquitted if they're found not guilty or then sentenced if they're found guilty in the Magistrate's Court.
In terms of trial either way offenses, this is a bit more complicated. This first stage is again, plea before venue, in which case the defendant will plead guilty or not guilty, and again, that occurs in the Magistrate's Court. If the defendant pleads guilty, they'll be sent to the most appropriate court for sentencing. If they plead not guilty, however, it has to be decided which court they will be tried in, and this is called mode of trial. In this stage, the magistrates will then decide if they have the jurisdiction to hear the case or not. If they think they don't have the jurisdiction, the case is too serious, they'll send it to the Crown Court for trial. If they think they do have the power to hear, the defendant then gets a choice as to whether they have it heard in the Magistrate's Court or the Crown Court.
In terms of indictable offenses, it's very similar to summary, but it all happens in the Crown Court, apart from the very first stage, plea before venue, which again, always happens in the Magistrate's Court. So they'll be asked to plead guilty or not guilty. If they plead guilty, they'll be sent to the Crown Court for sentencing. If they plead not guilty, they'll be sent to the Crown Court for a trial.
In terms of appeals, we'll start with appeals from the Magistrate's Court. You can see the diagram and hierarchy there from the courts going upwards to the Supreme Court, which is formerly the House of Lords. You do need leave generally to appeal, specifically from the Magistrate's Court to the Queen's Bench Divisional Court, and from the Crown Court to the Queen's Bench Divisional Court, and from the Queen's Bench Divisional Court to the Supreme Court. And leave means you have to have permission. No leave is required to appeal from the Magistrate's to the Crown Court. However, half of approximately 12,000, 12,000 cases have some success in getting leave, so that means their case can be heard in the Crown Court as an appeal.
In the Crown Court hearing appeals from the Magistrate's Court, as I said earlier, or said on the magistrates video, the case will be heard by a judge and two magistrates, and you can appeal against your conviction, sentence, or both.
In terms of appealing from the Queen's Bench Divisional Court, you can appeal on a point of law of general public importance to the Supreme Court, and again, as I said, you need leave to appeal. You can appeal directly from the Magistrate's Court all the way up to the Queen's Bench Divisional Court following a process called case stated, but there is only around a hundred of these a year.
In terms of appeals from the Crown Court, again, you can see the hierarchy there: the Crown Court, Court of Appeal Criminal Division, and the Supreme Court. You do need leave to appeal at all stages of this, so you do need permission, and you can appeal against your conviction, sentence, or both. The prosecution can appeal to the Court of Appeal to consider an unduly lenient sentence, or if there is evidence of jury tampering or a ruling on the law. The Criminal Cases Review Commission can also force the Court of Appeal to hear cases again where they think there's been a miscarriage of justice. Both the prosecution and defense can appeal to the Supreme Court on a point of law of public importance, and again, as I said, they need leave to appeal. But bear in mind that very few criminal cases are heard a year each year by the Supreme Court. They tend to be predominantly civil cases.
I hope you found that useful. If you did, please hit subscribe on YouTube and join us on A-Level Law videos. David Lowe, sir. And also visit us on Instagram at law@portsmouthcollege. Thank you very much.