Comprehensive Guide to Criminal Litigation Procedures and Strategies
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Course
Criminal Litigation (LW7118)
Institution
Northumbria University (UNN)
This document serves as a comprehensive collection of notes on criminal litigation, designed to provide a detailed overview of the processes, procedures, and strategies involved in criminal cases. It covers key topics such as the stages of criminal proceedings, roles of legal professionals, importa...
CRIMINAL
Syllabus area 1 – Classification of Offence
•Summary only
- Triable only in the magistrates’ court
•Either way
- Triable either in the magistrates’ court or the Crown Court
•Indictable only
- Triable only in the Crown Court
•Indictable offence
- An offence which is either way or indictable only
Courts and mode of address
Court Tribunal Mode of
address
Summary magistrates’ 3 lay “Your
only court magistrates Worships” or
or 1 District “Sir/Ma’am”
Judge
Either way magistrates’ 3 lay “Your
court magistrates Worships” or
Crown Court or 1 District “Sir/Ma’am”
Judge “Your
1 Judge [HCJ, Honour”
CJ, R] (and
Public Funding/Legal Aid
• Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 - Representation
Orders issued by the Legal Aid Agency
•Two-stage test:
•Means test – to assess your financial situation
•Merits test - to assess whether it's in the interests of justice to award you legal
aid
•Crown Court: merits test deemed met
•Merits test: “according to the interests of justice”
- Loss of liberty/livelihood;
- Substantial question of law;
- Unable to understand;
- Tracing, interviewing or expert cross-examination and
- Interests of another person
Syllabus area 2 – Preliminaries to Prosecution
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) - Codes
A) Stop & Search; Recording of Public Encounters
B) Search of Premises & Seizure of Property
C) Detention, Treatment and Questioning of Persons
,D) Identification of Persons
E) Tape Recording of Interviews with Suspects
F) Visual Recording of Interviews with Suspects
G) Statutory Power of Arrest by Police Officers
H) Detention, Treatment and Questioning of Persons under Terrorism Act 2000
Arrest without warrant
•s24 PACE 1984 (s24A for citizen’s arrest)
•When can power be exercised? PC may arrest without a warrant:
•Anyone who is about to commit an offence;
•Anyone who is in the act of committing an offence;
•Anyone who has committed an offence.
•Reasonable suspicion needed
•Full guidance as to “reasonable suspicion” in Para 2.2 of Code A
Reasonable suspicion under Para 2.2 of Code A - There must be an objective basis
for that suspicion based on facts, information, and/or intelligence which are
relevant to the likelihood of finding an article of a certain kind or in the case of
searches under section 43 of the Terrorism Act 2000, to the likelihood that the
person is a terrorist.
•Arrest must be “necessary” s24(4) PACE 1984
•s24(5) reasons
•(e) “to allow the prompt and effective investigation of the offence”
•Handcuffs
•Used only when reasonably necessary to prevent:
•escape; or
•violent breach of the peace.
, •If unjustified use, constitutes trespass (arrest not unlawful)
•Use of force (s117 PACE 1984 )
•“Reasonable”
•Nature and degree of force used;
•The gravity of offence;
•The harm that flows from use of force;
•The possibility of effecting arrest/preventing harm by other means.
•Excessive force (arrest not unlawful)
•Resulting injury (arrest not unlawful)
•Must communicate at time of arrest or as soon as practicable afterwards
(s28(1)):
•Fact of arrest (s28(1)) (or arrest unlawful)
•Grounds for arrest (s28(3)) (or arrest unlawful)
•Necessity (s24(4)) (arrest not unlawful)
•Caution (arrest not unlawful)
•No assumption that charge will follow (arrest unlawful if no possibility of charge)
•PC makes notes in police notebook
•Warning given by police:
•On arrest, on arrival at police station, at the commencement of i/v and at
charge.
•“You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not
mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything
you do say may be given in evidence.”
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