A.C. 2.2 – describe the trial process
Criminal Law System
Within the criminal legal system of England and Wales, there are three types of offences, these include summary
offences (least serious offence such as spitting, or assault) these can only be tried within a Magistrate court. statistics
show that 97% of all criminal cases, end up in a magistrate court, in front of a bench of 3 Lay Magistrates which are
ordinary people, who have no knowledge of the law, they will hear the evidence of the case, and decide a verdict as
well as the sentence of the defendant, with the help of a court clerk who will advise the Magistrates on points of
law, in the magistrates court, the sentence a defendant can get is 6 months imprisonment for 1 offence, or 12
months' imprisonment for 2 offences, as well as a fine up to £5000. There is also legal aid which a defendant might
apply for.
A triable-either-way offence is an offence which is triable either within a magistrate court or crown court, this is
because some offences are middle ground serious, such as assault with intent or trying to steal a car, or rob an
individual with cause of harm. if a defendant commits a triable either way offence, they will have the right to choose
which court they wish to be tried in. however if the defendant chooses to be tried in a magistrate court, the
magistrates court will also be able to decide if they want to hear the case or forward it to the crown court, if the case
is forwarded in to the crown court, then the case will be heard Infront or a district judge, as well as a jury made up of
12 ordinary individuals. There will also be a defence lawyers as well as a prosecutor, giving evidence as well as
questioning any witnesses, the jury after hearing all evidence of the trial, will retire to form a verdict, most important
they are not allowed to talk with others on what they chose, as it’s a anonymous decision. After the jury decided the
verdict, they will be ordered to come inside the court room, where the verdict will be hear either ‘guilty or not guilty’
upon the defendant being found guilty, the district judge has the jurisdiction to give a sentence of more than 12
months' imprisonment as well as a fine of more than £5000 +. If for example the defendant chose to be tried in the
magistrate court, they have a right to appeal to the magistrates’ court against their: sentence, if they pleaded guilty,
conviction and sentence, if they pleaded not guilty. if there was a serious mistake or the court did not follow the
right steps. If they did not know about their case before a decision was made, they can make a statutory declaration
to a magistrates’ court to reopen your case. They can ask the court to change the amount they have been fined if:
their financial circumstances have changed, or the court did not know their income at the time of their conviction.
Legal Aid
The rules about who qualifies for legal aid are set out in Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act
2012. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) criminal legal aid manual sets out who qualifies for legal aid. To determine whether
someone qualifies for criminal legal aid you need to consider: merits – the interests of justice test. means – financial
eligibility of your client.
Plea Bargaining
A plea bargaining might also take place, this is an agreement between the prosecutor and defendant (and
sometimes also the judge) where the defendant will plead guilty in return for some concession from the prosecutor.
A case example is that of Tekashi 6ix9ine, he has evaded jail time on previous charges, including child sex offences in
2015. In 2018, he was charged with six offences including racketeering, carrying a firearm, assault with a dangerous
weapon, and conspiracy murder charges. Racketeering is when people use criminal actions to repeatedly take
money from others. He initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, before entering a plea bargain with the US
government later on - that is when he started giving evidence against former fellow gang members. That could
dramatically reduce his prison time.
A bail might also be allowed under S4 of the Bail Act 1976 states that a person can be released on bail at any point
after they have been arrested. Bail may also be granted if a plea has been made. Types of bail include Unconditional
Bail – No conditions are imposed by the Court. Conditional Bail – The Court imposes conditions for the defendant’s
release. E.g. Contact/ Curfew or who to report too. Remanded in Custody – The defendant is sent to prison until his
trial. a case example includes Former Greens senator Scott Ludlam has had bail conditions – that banned him from
associating with Extinction Rebellion climate change protests – dismissed by a judge following his arrest at an
extinction rebellion protect. The strict conditions had been labelled “absurd” by civil liberties campaigners and
prevented Ludlam from appearing in court on due to restrictions on coming to the Sydney CBD.
