Criminal Courts and Lay people

• Summary offences

  • Least serious
  • Always tried in magistrates
  • e.g. driving offences, common assault
• Triable either way

  • Middle range crimes
  • Heard in Magistrates (plead guilty) or Crown courts (plead not guilty)
  • e.g. theft, assault, ABH
• Indictable

  • Most serious crimes
  • First preliminary hearing is held in magistrates court but is then moved to crow court
• Magistrates

  • 280 magistrates court in England & Wales
  • 3 magistrates (1 is the chair) + either legally qualified district judges or lay justices - assisted by a legally qualified clerk
  • Limited in sentencing power (6 months max for 1 offence)
  • No limits on fine + can impose community offences
  • They deal with preliminary hearings, issue warrants, decide bail applications + cases in youth court
• Magistrates - Appeal to Crown Courts

  • Normal route of appeal
  • Only defence can make appeal + if plead not guilty can appeal both sentence and conviction
  • Reheard by judge and 2 magistrates
  • Can change decision
  • Can confirm, increase or decrease sentence
• Magistrates - Case stated appeal

  • An appeal that goes on a point of law which goes to the administrative court - available for both prosecution & defence
  • Route is used by DEFENDANT by a conviction and PROSECUTION against an accquittal (claim mag. made wrong decision as made mistake about the law)
  • Magistrates are asked to state case, appeal is argued based on facts of law, sent to administrative court or two High courts judges (king's bench - possibility of further appeal to supreme court)
  • It can be 1. Confirmed, 2. Varied, 3. Reversed.
• Crown Court

  • 90 different centres through England & Wales + deals with about 80,000 cases a year
  • Heard by a judge & jury of 12 - jury decides if defendant is guilty or not
• Crown Courts - Appeal by defendants

  • End of trial - lawyer should advise whether to appeal or not
  • Has opportunity to appeal against sentence and, or unsafe conviction
  • Must get leave (permission) to appeal from Court of Appeal
  • Can give fresh evidence
  • Criminal Appeal act 1995 sets out grounds for appeal
• Appeals by the prosecution

  Limited rights of appeal were eventually given to the prosecution
• Prosecution can appeal against

  1. A judge's ruling

  2. Acquittal

  3. Point of law

  4. Sentence
• Appeal against a judge's ruling


  • If a trial judge gives a ruling on a point of law which stops the case against the defendant, prosecution can appeal under Criminal Justice Act 2003
  • Ensures the error does not lead to acquittal
• Appeal against acquittal

  • If the jury was nobbled (Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act) then can retrial
  • If there is new and compelling evidence of an acquitted person's guilt and it is of public interest for a retrial, available for up to 30 cases such as murder and rape, often used in cases where there has been scientific advancements
• Referring a point of law

  • Where a judge has made an error in explaining the law to the jury, the prosecution can appeal if the defendant is acquitted under Criminal Justice Act 1972
• Appeal against sentence

  • Under Criminal Justice Act 1988, attorney general can apply for leave to refer an unduly lenient sentence to court of appeal for resentencing
• Further appeal to Supreme Court

  Both prosecution and the defence may appeal from Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court, but it is necessary to have the case certified as involving a point of law of public importance and to get permission to appeal, either from the Supreme Court or from the Court of Appeal.