W5 Mags' Court and allocation to Crown Court

Question 1

Where are first hearings for adult defendants?

Answer 1

**Magistrates’ Court **

(irrespective of offence they are charged with)

Question 2

What is the location of the second hearing for adult defendants?

Answer 2

Location of next hearing depends on what they are charged with:

Summary only - Mags’
Either-way - Mags’ or Crown
Indictable only - Crown

Question 3

When must the first hearing be within

What is the timing of the first hearing?

Answer 3

1st hearing must be within:

**14 days of being charged **
where the accused is on bail, if the prosecutor anticipates a guilty plea which is likely to be sentenced in a Mags’ court.

28 days of being charged
where it is anticipated that the accused will plead not guilty, or the case is likely to go to the Crown Court for either trial or sentence.

Question 4

Early administrative hearing: what is it?

Answer 4

• deals with plea and allocation.
• where person has been charged at police station, 1st hearing can be treated as an ‘early administrative hearing’ conducted by single mag or justices’ clerk.
• At hearing, accused asked if they would like legal aid - if they would, matter can be adjourned to facilitate this.

Bail or custody
* Magistrate sitting alone can make a decision on bail or custody at this hearing.
* Justices’ clerk - can only grant bail on terms of existing police bail unless pros + defence agree to change bail conditions. Clerk cannot remand accused in custody.

Before concluding a 1st hearing, as with any hearing of a case, court must consider the issue of bail.

Question 5

Is the presence of the accused required at the 1st hearing?

Answer 5

Yes

If the accused fails to attend, the court can issue a warrant for the accused’s arrest.

Presence via video link is sufficient - if they appear via VL, they can also be sentenced via VL.

Note: there are two exceptions to the rule that the accused must be present.

Question 6

When can the accused not be present at the first hearing?

Answer 6

**1. Plea before venue **
* accused is legally represented.
* disorderly conduct of accused makes it not practicable to conduct proceedings in their presence.
* In these circs, the rep can indicate plea.

2. The determination of the mode of trial
* accused legally represented.
* rep confirms accused consents to mode of trial proceedings being conducted in their absence.
* court is satisfied there is good reason for accused not being present.

good reason - e.g. ill health

Question 7

What are IDPC?

Answer 7

intial details of the prosecution case

Question 8

When is the prosecution obliged to serve IDPC?

Answer 8

• must be served on the court
• if the accused requests them

as soon as practicable, and in any event, no later than beginning of day of 1st hearing.

CPS use electronic case files. These can be sent to defence reps via secure email.

Question 9

If the accused was in police custody immediately before the 1st hearing, what do IDPC need to comprise of?

Answer 9

1. summary of circs of offence
2. pre-cons

Question 10

If the accused was not in police custody before 1st hearing, what do they need to include?

Answer 10

1. summary of circs of offence
2. pre-cons
3. account given by accused in interview
4. any written statements + exhibits that are available to plea and/or mode of trial or sentence
5. victim impact statements

Question 11

What are initial details?

Answer 11

• info supplied must be sufficient at 1st hearing to allow court to take an informed view on plea and venue for trial.

**Where NG plea is anticiapted **
* should be sufficient to assist court in identifying real issues + giving directions.
* info required for Preparation for Effective Trial (PET) form must be available and where there is to be a trial, the parties must complete the form.

Question 12

What if the prosecution fail to supply the IDPC?

Answer 12

usual remedy:
* adjourn 1st hearing and/or
* award costs to the defence for the prosecution’s failure to serve.

• **does not **constitute a ground for court to dismiss a charge or give rise to an abuse of process application.

Question 13

what are the 1st hearing pleas and indications?

Answer 13

summary:
1. guilty - must be unequivocal. If plea is equivocal, it will be treated as NG. e.g. Guilty, but I was acting in self-defence = NG.
2. not guilty

either-way:
3. indication

indictable:
no indication

Question 14

What happens in summary only trials?

Answer 14

Guilty plea
* court will proceed to sentence
* if any dispute on factual basis upon which D will be sentenced, there’ll be Newton hearing
* sentence may be passed immediately or adjourned for preparation of a pre-sentence report.

Not guilty plea
* court will set a trial date
* do any neccessary case management (to ensure trial is effective on date)
* each advocate must confirm answers to Qs on the case progression form

• court will set out what the issue (s) at trial are
• also which witnesses are required to give evidence at trial
• court should set a timetable for trial + estimate how long it will take (court should scrutinise if it is in excess of a day)
• most courts have standard directions on how parties should prepare the case.
• Mags’ - case progression officer, CPS + defence - nominate person (all deal with directions).

Question 15

Summary only: NGP pre-trial hearings

Answer 15

• where case has been set down for summary trial, court can conduct pre-trial hearings where pre-trial rulings can be made.
• The can cover matters such as: fitness to plea + admissibility of evidence.
• Rulings can be made on the application of defence or pros or of court’s own motion.

Question 16

When can a pre-trial ruling be disposed of?

Answer 16

1. conviction or acquittal of the accused; or
2. a prosecution decision not to proceed; or
3. the dismissal of the case

Note: the court can discharge or vary a pre-trial ruling if it is in the interests of justice to do so + parties have been given the opportunity to be heard.

A party can apply to have a pre-trial ruling varied or discharged - if there has been a material change in circumstances.

Question 17

What about either-way offences?

Answer 17

1. D is supplied w a copy of IDPC and the court asks D to indicate a plea.
2. charge is written down and read out to accused.
3. clerk tells accused they will be asked to indicate plea.
   D must be warned that if they enter GP they can be committed to CC for sentencing (if MC powers aren’t sufficient).

GP:
- proceedings treated as summary trial
- GP is entered
- this is known as ‘plea before venue’

NGP or gives no indication:
- court must consider where case will be tried (‘allocation’/’mode of trial’)

Question 18

What is the maximum sentence the magistrates court can pass?

Answer 18

• MC can’t pass sentence of more than 6 months.
• Fine is restricted to £5,000.

Unless D is charged with 2 or more EW offences. Max sentence:

• 12 months custody (2x6 months running consecutively rathern than concurrently).

If they believe D is a dangerous offender, they must be commited for setence as they may need an extended sentence.

Question 22

What to do with multiple defendants jointly charged with a summary only offence?

Answer 22

court must consider the order in which they should deal with them.

**Those who plead guilty will usually have their sentence adjourned until after the trial of those who have pleaded not guilty. **

Question 23

What to do with multiple defendants jointly charged with a either-Way offence?

Answer 23

if any defendant is sent to Crown Court for trial,
any defendant jointly charged with the same offence and/or any offence** must** also be sent to Crown Court.

the defendants will enter their plea individually.

if there is a mixture of pleas, those who plead G will usually be sentenced after trial after anyone who pleads NG.