First Hearing Before Magistrates Court

Question 1

What are the 3 offence classifications?

Answer 1

Only on indictment
Either way
Summarily

Question 2

What are indictable only offences

Answer 2

Most serious, crown court only.
Will make first appearance before magistrates court, then immediately send to crown court.

Examples: murder, manslaughter, GBH, rape, robbery, agg burglary, blackmail, kidnap, conspiracy

Question 3

What are either way offences

Answer 3

Dealt with either at magistrates or crown court.
First appearance at magistrates, and if guilty plea, magistrates will decide whether to keep case or send to crown court for trial if it is too serious.

Examples: theft, fraud, burglary, stolen goods, GBH, ABH, sexual assault, array, criminal damage, dangerous driving, possession of weapon

Question 4

What is low value shoplifting?

Answer 4

Summary offence
Not exceed 200
Summary only, unless adult D enters plea of not guilty, they will still be able to elect crown court at trial

Penalty of 6 months custody.

Question 5

When is criminal damage classed as summarily?

Answer 5

When the value of property is less than 5,000, they will be treated as summarily offence, UNLESS caused by fire.

Question 6

What is a summary offence?

Answer 6

Lease serious form. Dealt with only at magistrates court

Examples: common assault, public order act, road traffic incidents.

Question 7

What are the 2 tests for legal aid?

Answer 7

Interests of justice and means test

Question 8

How is the work done at a police station paid for?

Answer 8

Police station advice and assistance scheme, fixed payment for every police station case.

Question 9

What is the free legal advice after the client is charged?

Answer 9

Duty solicitor scheme, operates in magistrates court. Will have their name on a rota.

Question 10

What is the interest of justice test?

Answer 10

D must show that it is in the interests f justice that they receive public funding to cover the cost of their legal representation

Question 11

What ist the means test

Answer 11

The defendant must demonstrate that their finances are such that they are unable to pay for costs of legal representation

Question 12

What form is needed to apply for criminal legal aid in magistrates court

Answer 12

Form CRM14, and Form CRM 15 for financial statement if they dont automatically meet it

Question 13

What factors are taken into account for the interests of justice test?

Answer 13

Whether individual would be likely to lose their liberty or livihood of suffer serious damage to reputation (custodial sentence)

Whether the determination of any matter arising in proceedings may involve consideration of a substantial question of law

Whether the individual may be unable to understand proceedings or state their own case

Whether proceedings may involve tracing, interviewing or expert cross-examination of witnesses

Whether it is in the interests of another person taht the individual is represented

Question 14

What are examples of a substantial question of law which May result in ther interest of justice test

Answer 14

If there is disputed identification evidence and the court needs to apply Turnbull guidelines

If possibility that court may draw adverse inferences

If either prosecution or defence is seeking to persuade hearsay evidence

If defence are seeking to use s 76 or 78 to argue that confession should be excluded

If prosecution want to a deuce at trial evidence of previous convictions

Question 15

Which defendants will recieve criminal legal aid AUTOMATICALLY without needing to satisfy the means test?

Answer 15

Applicants who receive income support, income-based job seekers allowance, guaranteed state pension credit, income-based employment and support allowance or universal credit

Applicants under the age of 18

Question 16

What form must be filled for Means Test

Answer 16

CRM15

Question 17

What does the means test calculate

Answer 17

The means test considers the income and expenses, NOT THE capital.

The full means test is to calculate the applicants disposable income, this is done by deducting:
- tax and NI
- annual housing costs
- annual childcare
- annual maintenance
- adjusted annual living allowance

Question 18

What happens if someone does not pass the means test?

Answer 18

If the applicant can demonstrate that they can gently not fund their own defence, they may ask their entitlement to be reviewed on teh grounds of hardship by Form CRM 16

Question 19

What is a representation order?

Answer 19

If D satisfies both interests of justice and means test, magistrates court will grant a representation order, and order will be sent to solicitor

Granted to summary-only or either way, will cover ALL work done by solicitor, and may extend to cover an appeal to the crown court against conviction/setnence.

Triable only on indictment, will cover proceedings in both magistrates court and crown court.

For either way who have failed magistrates corut mean test, and is committed to crown court, funding will not start until the day after the sending hearing, and will ONLY cover crown court.

Question 20

What 4 things will happen at the first hearing?

Answer 20

Classification of the offence

The plea the defendant entered in respect for summary or either way offences

The level of detail provided by CPR of the prosecutions case,

Where public or private funding has been secured

Question 21

What happens in summary offences if D Enders guilty plea?

Answer 21

D will usually be required to enter a plea. If plead guilty, a representative from CPR will tell magistrates facts of case. If D is legally representative, solicitor will give a plea in mitigation on D behalf, and magistrates will either setnence D straight away, or adjourn the case if they want to obtain any pre-setnence reports before setnencing.

Question 22

When may magistrates adjourn a summary only offence?

Answer 22

If D pleads. Guilty and they need more time to look at pre-setnence report.

May also need to adjourn if D pleads guilty but disputes SPECIFIC factual allegations, a Newton hearing will be required.

Question 23

What happens if the D pleads not guilty in summary only in magistrates?

Answer 23

Court will fix a date for the D trail to take place, and will issue case management directions.

Determine if should be released or remanded in custody

Question 24

What happens if the D enters a guilty plea in either way offence in magistrates court?

Answer 24

Magistrates will haev to determine if they shoudl setnenec D, or committed to crown court or sentence, becuase their powers are insufficient. Case may then need to be adjourned either for magistrates to obtain pre-setnence report, or if they decide to commit to crown court.

Question 25

What happens if D enters not guilty plea of either way offence in magistrates court?

Answer 25

Magistrates must determine if D is to be tried in magistrates or crown court - plea before venue and allocation procedure.

If adjourned, magistrates will have to determine either bail or custody

Question 26

What is the role of the defence solicitor at the first hearing?

Answer 26

Obtaining funding from LAA to pay for work they will do on clietns behalf

Obtain details of prosecution case from CPS

Take statements from client

Advise client on strength of prosecution evidnece and plea the clietn should enter

In either-way offence, if not guilty, informing that they can choose either magistrates or crown court

Make an application for bail where necessary

Question 27

What is the CJSSS?

Answer 27

Criminal justice - simple, speedy, summary

Question 28

What are the 4 key principles of the CJSSS

Answer 28

Common presumption that a plea will be entered at first hearing

Guilty pleas - sentenced at the magistrates court, expected that sentence should take place on the same day.

Not guilty pleas, 6-8 weeks

CPS should provide sufficient information at first hearing to ensure the hearing is effective

Question 29

What is the max penalty of a low-value shoplifting offence?

Answer 29

200, summary only, therefore max 6 months when sentenced in magistrates court.

Question 30

What is LAA

Answer 30

Legal aid agency

Question 31

What is the duty solicitor scheme?

Answer 31

Operates in the magistrates court in a similar way to the scheme at the police station.

Have their name on a rota, and are available to advise any defendants who do not have thier own legal representation.

Question 32

What are the factors to be taken into account when deciding if there are interests of justice?

Answer 32

If the individual could lose their liberty, livelihood or suffer serious damage to reputation

Whether the determination of any matter arising in the proceedings may involve consideration of a substantial question of law

Whether the individual may be unable to understand the proceedings or to state their own case.

Whether it is in the interests of another person that the individual be represented (the victim etc)

Question 33

Who does not need to pass the means test?

Answer 33

Applicants who receive governmental support of any kind

Applicants who are under the age of 18

Question 34

What items are deducted from the applicants gross annual income, in a FULL means test?

Answer 34

Tax and NI
Housing costs
Childcare costs
Maintenance to former partners and children
Adjusted annual living allowance

Question 35

What are the 4 steps that happen at the first hearing?

Answer 35

Classification of offence is determined

The plea the D enters is shown

The level of detail provided by teh CPS on the prosecutions case is determined

If public or private finding has been secured for the case.