The English Legal System Flashcards
What are the 2 different courts?
Magistrates’ and Crown Court
What are the 3 different classifications of offences?
- Summary Offences
- Triable Either Way
- Indictable Offences
What are Summary Offences?
The least serious crimes that are only tried in the Magistrates’ Court
What are some examples of summary offences?
Driving offences and minor assaults
What are triable either way offences?
Middle range crimes that can be tried in either the Magistrates’ or the Crown Court depending in the defendant’s decision
What are some examples of triable either way offences?
Theft, ABH, Bigamy and Obtaining property by deception
What are Indictable offences?
The most serious crimes that can only be tried at the Crown Court by a judge
What are some examples of indictable offences?
Murder, Manslaughter, Rape, Robbery
What are the functions of the Magistrates’ Court?
- To try summary and triable either way offences
- Initial hearings of triable either way offences
- Preliminary hearings for indictable offences
- Issue warrants
- Youth court hearings aged 10-17 inclusive
- Civil jurisdiction
- Consider bail and legal aid applications
What are District Judges?
Legally qualified magistrates who sit alone but have the same powers as a bench of lay magistrates
What are lay magistrates?
Unqualified citizens of the local areas who are unpaid except for expenses. They are required to sit as a bench of 3 magistrates at least 26 half days (13 days) a year
What is the criteria to be a magistrate?
- Don’t need any legal qualifications
- Must be within 18-75 years old
- Must live or work within the local justice area
What are the 6 key qualities a magistrate should have?
- Good character
- Understanding and Communication
- Social awareness
- Maturity and Sound Temperament
- Sound judgement
6.Commitment and Reliability
Who is excluded from magistrate appointment?
- Someone whose work is incompatible
- Some disabilities (Deaf)
- People with criminal convictions
- Un-discharged bankrupts
- Relatives of those working in the local criminal justice system
Under what act and by who are magistrates appointed by?
By the Lord Chief Justice on the advice of Local Advisory Committees under the Justices of the Peace Act 1997
What is the 2 stage interview process for magistrates?
- Panel finds out about personal attributes and discusses various criminal justice issues
- Two case studies involving sentencing and trial exercises to test judicial aptitude
What do many feel magistrates are?
Middle class, middle-aged and middle-minded
What are the percentages of women, ethnic minorities and handicapped people that are magistrates?
53% Women
11% Ethnic Minorities
4% Handicapped
What does a clerk do in the magistrates’ court?
- Advise on POL’s, practice and procedure
- Doesn’t assist in the decision making
- Advise on potential sentencing options
- Admin roles
Do clerks have to be legally qualified?
Yes, they are normally qualified solicitors or barristers
What are the advantages of magistrates?
- Involves members of the community providing a wide cross section
- Cheap
- Local knowledge
- Improved training and a clerk means it’s not as amateur as it used to be
- Cases dealt with quickly
- Few successful appeals
- Public confidence
What are the disadvantages of magistrates?
- Unrepresentative of society
- Inadequate compensation for loss of earnings which deters applicants
- Inadequate training
- Prosecution minded - harsher than judges
- Rely too heavily on the clerk
- Inconsistency in sentencing and bail grants
- Too wide and heavy workload for amateurs
How many people make up a jury?
12 people
Where do jurors sit?
The crown court
Do jurors receive money for jury service?
Yes, but only expenses
What 2 acts govern jury selection?
The Juries Act 1974 S.1
The Criminal Justice Act 2003
What are the 3 criteria for jurors?
- Aged 18-75
- On the electoral register
- Resident in the UK for at least 5 years after 13th birthday
What organisation is in charge of jury selection?
The Jury Central Summoning Bureau
What are the 3 situations where someone is permanently disqualified from jury service?
- If they have served a custodial sentence of 5 years or more
- Imprisoned for public protection
- Imprisoned for life
What are the 3 situations where someone is disqualified from jury service for 10 years?
- Served a prison sentence or suspended sentence
- Had a community order
- Offenders on bail
Why might someone be ineligible for jury service?
- Someone with a mental disorder
- A disability that serious hampers their ability to perform the service (Blind, Deaf etc.)
Under what circumstances can someone defer jury service and how long can they defer it for?
Hospital operation booked, Holiday booked, Examinations imminent
Under what circumstances can someone be excused from jury service?
- Completed jury service in the last 2 years
- If they have been on a particularly distressing trial previously
- Lack of capacity (doesn’t understand english)
- Over 65yrs old
- MP’s and MEP’s
- Discretionary excusals with good reason - a mother with a small child to look after
- Soldiers if their commanding officer says their absence would prejudice the service
What are the 2 types of jury vetting?
- A check to ensure a juror isn’t disqualified and to check for any previous criminal records
- In exceptional cases, more in depth checks are conducted where police, special branch and security service records are checked to ensure no extremists are part of the jury - written permission of the Attorney General is required
What are the 3 types of jury challenges?
- Challenge for cause
- Stand by for the crown
- Challenge the Array
What is Challenge for cause?
Both prosecution and defence can challenge for cause and may be on the basis that a juror is disqualified or biased
What is Stand by for the crown
Where the prosecution can ask a juror to stand by for the crown and remove them from the case - a reason doesn’t need to be given
What is Challenge the Array?
The whole jury can be challenged if they have not been selected randomly
What is the case example for challenge the array?
R vs Ford
What is the POL from R vs Ford?
If a jury has been chosen in a random manner then it cannot be challenged just because it isn’t multi-racial
What are the advantages of juries?
- Public confidence as it has been happening since 1186
- Almost anyone can be a juror
- Jury equity/fairness over verdicts
- Justice is often served
- Involves members of the public
- Secrecy of the jury room allows decisions to be made away from public
- Impartiality - the jury eliminates bias and jurors aren’t case hardened
- Fundamental part of democratic society
What are the disadvantages of juries?
- High acquittal rates - 60%
- Jury service is unpopular
- Perverse verdicts
- Media influence
- Lack of understanding/fraudulent trials
- Secrecy means the reasons for the juries’ decision are unknown and case understanding cannot be checked
- Biased
- Friday afternoon syndrome
- Jury nobbling
What is the act for sentencing?
The Sentencing Act 2020
What is included in the Sentencing Act 2020?
Sentencing procedure, aggravating and mitigating factors
What are the 6 aims of sentencing?
- Retribution
- Denunciation
- Reform and Rehabilitation
- Deterrence
- Protection of society
- Reparation
What is Retribution?
The punishment of offenders, basically if someone breaks a rule they get punished which is very popular within society and the media
What are tarrifs?
The minimum punishment for a crime, could be a fine or a community order but it can go up to a prison sentence
What is Denunciation?
Where a particular offence gets given a harsh sentence, causing that conduct and the people involved in it are denounced by society
What is Reform and Rehabilitation?
The idea isn’t to punish or deter but to treat or cure the criminal mind of the offender and therefore stop them from committing further crimes
What is Deterrence?
Harsh sentencing in order to deter individuals and society in general from committing crime
What is a problem with Deterrence?
It presumes people will think about the possible sentence before committing a crime which is an unfair assumption especially if drugs and/or alcohol is involved
What is protection of society?
When a criminal is in prison they cannot offend again
What is a problem with the basic aim of protecting society?
The offender may not have changed in prison and may have learnt off of other criminals how to conduct criminal activity better
What is reparation?
The defendant paying compensation to the victim like returning stolen property
What is a problem with reparation?
A defendant cannot pay back for emotional loss or loss of life
How can a defendant get a reduction in their sentence and by how much?
By pleading guilty at the start of the trial, this can reduce their sentence by up to 1/3
What is the case for a reduction in sentence?
R vs Webster
What is the POL from R vs Webster?
The judge was right to impose the 1/3 reduction of sentence due to a guilty plea even though the evidence was overwhelming
What is an aggravating factor?
A factor of the defendant or the conduct that may increase their sentence
What is a mitigating factor?
A factor of the defendant or the conduct that may reduce their sentence
What are some examples of aggravating factors?
Racial or Religious motive
Previous convictions
Nature of the offence - Vulnerable victim
Defendant was on bail at the time of offence
No remorse
Use of a weapon
Planned offence
What are some examples of mitigating factors?
Youth/Old age
Previous good character
Provocation
Domestic or Financial problems
Drink/drug dependency
Guilty plea
What are the 3 classifications of sentences?
- Custodial
- Community
- Other
What are the different custodial sentences?
Mandatory life
Discretionary life
Fixed term sentence
Minimum sentence
Suspended sentence
Extended sentence
What are the different community sentences?
Unpaid work
Community order
Supervision requirement
Drug or Alcohol rehabilitation requirement
Curfew
Supervised activity requirement
Prohibited activity requirement
What are the other sentence options?
Fines
Discharge
Disqualification
What are the details of a mandatory life sentence?
Will get one for an 18+ murder conviction
The tariff is from 12 years to whole life
Second serious violent or sexual offence (LASPO)
What are the details of a discretionary life sentence?
Handed out for serious offences such as robbery, rape and manslaughter
Judge has discretion in sentencing
What do you have to know for a fixed term sentence?
Judge will set a custodial sentence taking into account the A and M factors in line with the seriousness of the crime
1/2 served in prison, 1/2 served in the community
What offences get a minimum sentence?
Class A drugs or 3rd burglary
What is a suspended sentence?
Judge sets prison sentence which can be suspended up to 2 years
What is an extended sentence and what offences receive them?
Custodial sentence to maximum followed by extension on license
