First Hearing Before Magistrates Court Flashcards
What are the 3 offence classifications?
Only on indictment
Either way
Summarily
What are indictable only offences
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
What are either way offences
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
What is low value shoplifting?
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.
When is criminal damage classed as summarily?
When the value of property is less than 5,000, they will be treated as summarily offence, UNLESS caused by fire.
What is a summary offence?
Lease serious form. Dealt with only at magistrates court
Examples: common assault, public order act, road traffic incidents.
What are the 2 tests for legal aid?
Interests of justice and means test
How is the work done at a police station paid for?
Police station advice and assistance scheme, fixed payment for every police station case.
What is the free legal advice after the client is charged?
Duty solicitor scheme, operates in magistrates court. Will have their name on a rota.
What is the interest of justice test?
D must show that it is in the interests f justice that they receive public funding to cover the cost of their legal representation
What ist the means test
The defendant must demonstrate that their finances are such that they are unable to pay for costs of legal representation
What form is needed to apply for criminal legal aid in magistrates court
Form CRM14, and Form CRM 15 for financial statement if they dont automatically meet it
What factors are taken into account for the interests of justice test?
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
What are examples of a substantial question of law which May result in ther interest of justice test
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
Which defendants will recieve criminal legal aid AUTOMATICALLY without needing to satisfy the means test?
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
What form must be filled for Means Test
CRM15
What does the means test calculate
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
What happens if someone does not pass the means test?
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
What is a representation order?
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.
What 4 things will happen at the first hearing?
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
What happens in summary offences if D Enders guilty plea?
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.
When may magistrates adjourn a summary only offence?
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.
What happens if the D pleads not guilty in summary only in magistrates?
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
What happens if the D enters a guilty plea in either way offence in magistrates court?
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.
What happens if D enters not guilty plea of either way offence in magistrates court?
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
What is the role of the defence solicitor at the first hearing?
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
What is the CJSSS?
Criminal justice - simple, speedy, summary
What are the 4 key principles of the CJSSS
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
What is the max penalty of a low-value shoplifting offence?
200, summary only, therefore max 6 months when sentenced in magistrates court.
What is LAA
Legal aid agency
What is the duty solicitor scheme?
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.
What are the factors to be taken into account when deciding if there are interests of justice?
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)
Who does not need to pass the means test?
Applicants who receive governmental support of any kind
Applicants who are under the age of 18
What items are deducted from the applicants gross annual income, in a FULL means test?
Tax and NI
Housing costs
Childcare costs
Maintenance to former partners and children
Adjusted annual living allowance
What are the 4 steps that happen at the first hearing?
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.
