SGS 1 - Criminal Justice System and Professional Conduct Issues Flashcards
Explain the criminal justice system in England and Wales?
- Adversarial
- Has two sides: police & prosecution on ones side, defence on the other
What is the role of the prosecution?
- Present sufficient admissible evidence to persuade tribunal (magistrates or jury) to convict defendant beyond reasonable doubt.
Arrest (must have reasonable grounds) –> charge (sufficient evidence) –> court system is entered –> plea of guilty / not guilty
What is the evidential threshold for arrest?
- Low evidential threshold
Which factors are considered when looking at a case?
ARSCW
- Admissibility
- Relevance to a fact in issue
- Strength
- Credibility
- Weight
What PACE code talks about the role of the solicitor at the police station?
- Note C6D
- Solicitor only role in police station is to protect and advance the legal rights of their client
- Solicitor might have to give advice which has the effect of the client avoiding giving evidence which strengthens prosecution cases.
What are the 2 criminal courts of first instance?
1) Magistrates court
2) Crown court
What do courts of first instance so?
- Determine defendants guilt via plea/ trial
- Have powers of sentencing
- Youth court - also court of 1st instance dealing with offenders under age 18.
How is the magistrates court comprised?
Ø Either 3 lay magistrates: called the bench / full time district judge (criminal)
Ø Magistrates deals with all matters in the court
• Bail / plea / allocation / trial / admissibility of evidence and other legal issues / sentence.
Who presides over the crown court?
- Crown Court is presided over by a circuit judge / part time judge (recorder)
- Judge - responsible for all matters in his court, apart from determining guilt.
- If D does not enter a guilty plea - this issue is decided by a jury at trial
What are the judge and jury known as?
- Judge - arbiter of law
- Jury - arbiter of fact. Can only decide guilt based on what it hears in court.
- Any arguments as to whether a certain bit of evidence is admissible must be conducted in the absence of jury.
What is “voir de”?
- Any arguments as to whether a piece of evidence is admissible must be conducted in the ABSENCE of a jury
What are the four appellate courts?
1) Supreme court
2) Court of appeal
3) Divisional court
4) Crown court (when it hears appeals from the magistrates court) - composition for MC changes.
Where do all criminal courts commence?
- Magistrates court
- Roughly 2 millions cases per year
- Either via a summons in the post / charged by the police.
What are the 3 categories of offence?
- Summary only
- Indictable only
- Either way offences
What does an indictable offence mean?
- Offence is capable of being tried on indictment
- And therefore covers indictable or either way offences
How is a summary only offence dealt with?
- Can only be dealt with by magistrates court
- Magistrates court is the court of summary jurisdiction
What is indictable only offence dealt with by? Which statute is it sent to the Crown Court pursuant to?
- Indictable only offence is so serious that only a Crown Court can deal with it
- Can spend very little time in the magistrates court
- D –> appear before the local magistrates court where matters relating to his bail / public funding / other administrative preliminaries will be dealt with.
- Case then sent to Crown Court pers. To s51 Crime and Disorder Act 1998
Which courts are capable of being dealt with by EITHER magistrates or Crown Court?
- Either way offences