criminal courts Flashcards
what are the 4 courts in criminal courts
- mags court
crown court
coa crim div
sc
where are all crim cases started
mags court , 97% concluded there
what cases are only heard in the mags court
less serious crimes.
- summary offences
e.g
motoring offences
less serious assaults
public order offences
mags try case, set timetable, decide bail, hear evidence, decide if guilty or not guilty, if guilty, most appropriate sentence
serious crimes
- ## heard in mags court but taken up to crown court
what are the 3 different categories of offences
summary
triable either way
indictable
summary offences
mags court
e.g
driving w/o insurance
common assault
criminal damage under 5k
triable either way offences
mags court OR crown court, decision made at mode of trial where plea before venue takes place
e.g
theft
obtaining property by deception
criminal damage over 5k
indictable
crown court
e.g
murder
manslaughter
rape
robbery
describe and illustrate the different categories of criminal offence
8 marker
- summary offences, less serious crimes, cases heard in mags court only, cases involve, criminal damage under 5k, common assault, driving w/o insurance etc
- triable either way, middle ranged crimes, cases heard in either mags or crown court, decision made at mode of trial where plea before venue takes place, cases such as criminal damage over 5k, theft, obtaining property through deception etc
- indictable offences, most serious crimes, heard in the crown court, cases involve murder manslaughter robbery and rape etc
what limits does the mags court have
tew offences - can only hear these cases if mags court have accepted juristcition and D has elected mags court
- can only sentence someone or 6 months to prison for one offence and 12 months for 2 or more offences
what courts make up the mags court
- adult court, criminal cases, over 18s
- youth court, 10-17
- family proceedings court - some family disputes settled
- civil court - civil cases
what is the defendant asked under the plea before venue procedure
if they plead guilty or not guilty
what happens if the D pleads guilty
no right to ask to go to crown court, will be sentenced in mags court by magistrates unless they decide they have insufficient sentencing powers
e.g 6 month 1 offence
12 months 2 or more offences
isn’t enough time for their crime
what happens if the D pleads not guilty
mags must carry out mode of trial proceedings to establish where case will be tried
what is mode of trial
proceedings which establish where case will be tried
describe mode of trial proceedings
mags first decided if they think the case should be tried in the mags court and whether they are prepared to accept jurisdiction
must consider nature, and seriousness of case
describe the procedure for deciding where a triable either way offence should be heard
8 marker
-plea before venue , D asked if they plead guilty or not guilty, if they plead guilty, there’s no right to go to crown court, mags will sentence at mags court, if they feel that they have insufficient sentencing powers for that case then they will send it to the crown court for sentencing
- if plead not guilty, mode of trial proceedings take place to decide which court the case will be tried in
- mags first decide if the case is suitable to be heard in the mags court, if not then they send the case to the crown court to be tried and sentenced
- but if mags feel prepared and accept jurisdiction, the D has the power to choose if they want to be heard in the mags court or the crown court
where/ why may the prosecution appeal
court of appeal criminal div
if believes that D received lenient sentence, or they were wrongly acquitted
where / why may D appeal
coa civ div
believe that sentence was too harsh
Describe the different appeal routes available to the defence from the Crown Court
8 marker
- D may appeal against conviction or sentence, or both to the coa crim div
- leave of appeal must be granted by the trial judge or from the coa itself
-the only ground for allowing an appeal against conviction is that the conviction is unsafe and the coa may order a retrial or quash the conviction, only if allows the defendants appeal
- when hearing appeal, coa may show new evidence,
describe the different appeal routes avaiable to the prosecution from the crown court
8 m
couldn’t tell u mate
