The Magistrates Court - Initial Procedure

INITIAL PROCEDURE

There are different ways in which a person (referred to as the defendant) can be required to attend Court to face prosecution for a criminal offence. He or she can be there in answer to a summons, following arrest authorised by a warrant, or after an arrest made without a warrant.

Summons

A summons is a document issued by a Justice of the Peace (JP) or Justices' Clerk requiring someone to attend at a specific time and place because it is alleged that he or she has committed the offence or offences stated.

The issue of a summons is a judicial act and the person issuing must be satisfied that an offence known to law is disclosed and that there is jurisdiction to deal with it. In other words, is it a crime? Is this the right place to hear it? Are the statutory requirements satisfied (e.g., if there is a time limit, has that expired)? Is the informant authorised to take proceedings? The decision must not be delegated - the person issuing the summons must be satisfied that all is in order and only then may the summons be issued.

Arrest

The power of arrest is given by statute or by virtue of a warrant issued by the Court.

Where a person is arrested and charged with an offence, he must be either released on bail or brought before a Magistrates' Court the day after being charged at the very latest (excluding Sundays, Good Friday and Christmas Day).

Warrant

A warrant is authority to arrest a person. A JP may be asked to issue a warrant in cases where it is necessary to arrest someone for a non-arrestable offence to secure that person's attendance. It may be the case that a defendant's name is unknown or his address uncertain and, for those reasons, a summons will be inappropriate. Only a JP, not a clerk, may issue a warrant and, before he or she does so, the information must be in writing and substantiated on oath (after all, one is authorising a deprivation of liberty).

The offence alleged must be either indictable (and for this purpose this includes offences triable either way) or punishable with imprisonment. However, no matter what the offence, if the address of the defendant is not sufficiently established for a summons to be served, then a warrant may be issued. If the name of the accused is not known, a descriptive warrant may be issued. Naturally, a description must be fairly precise or else half the population will be liable to arrest.

Jurisdiction

There may be geographical and time limitations on the exercise of the Magistrates Court's jurisdiction.

There is no time limit for starting a prosecution for indictable and "either way" cases. Summary cases are different and. with a few exceptions (the most common are no vehicle excise licence or failure to pay National Insurance contributions) proceedings must be commenced, i.e. information must be laid, within six months of the commission of the offence. Offences are usually dealt with in the commission area in which they were committed. If the offence is committed in a moving vehicle or vessel, the offence may be dealt with in any of the areas through which it passed (useful for the Railways Police). Once geographical jurisdiction is established, any other offence may be added on, i.e. a summary offence committed outside the commission area may be dealt with if the Court has got one "local" offence.

Proceedings Before the Court

(a) In the Presence of the Defendant

Usually, and always in more serious cases, a defendant must attend to enter a plea. The charge is read, and explained if necessary, and, if appropriate (i.e. an "either way" offence), the Court determines where it may be heard and the defendant is "put to his election". This is the mode of trial procedure, sometimes laborious but essential. Assuming he wishes summary trial, his plea is taken. If it is one of guilty, the facts are read and he is given the chance to speak in his own defence. The Court may, but need not and generally does not, hear evidence on oath. If the plea is not guilty, then a trial will take place.

If the defendant elects trial by jury, committal proceedings take place to send him, if there is sufficient evidence, to the Crown Court. If the defence agree to committal without consideration of the evidence, the Court merely certifies that documents have been tendered and commits without consideration of the evidence. Alternatively, the court may have to consider the strength of the case and either hear witnesses live or listen to their statements being read. Note, however, that Magistrates do not determine guilt or innocence, merely whether a "prima facie" case is made out. Put simply, the question is, 'Is there a case for the defendant to answer on the charges alleged?'

This presumes that the accused appears. What if he does not?

(b) In the Absence of the Defendant

In summary cases, if the summons has been sent by first class post or delivered personally to the defendant or left at his last address, the Court may proceed in his absence.

In some cases the defendant may plead guilty by letter. This enables a person to plead guilty without attending provided certain documents have been served. In Court the prosecution may say no more and no less than what is contained in those documents (the statement of facts) and it is entirely up to the prosecution or informant whether or not to use this procedure. It is limited to summary offences which are not punishable with more than three months imprisonment. The accused must be served with the statutory documents and must sign a written plea of guilty. One cannot plead guilty by telephone.

(c) Securing the Defendant's Presence

In all other cases, the defendant is expected to be present and his presence may be secured by the issue of a warrant if:

i) he has been bailed to attend and fails to do so

ii) a summons has been served personally upon him or been brought to his attention.

In case (ii), a warrant may only be issued if the offence is imprisonable or if, after conviction, the court proposes to impose a disqualification. Furthermore, the court must think it undesirable to proceed in the absence of the accused by reason of the gravity of the offence - an important proviso - emphasising the seriousness of the issue of the warrant.

The Place of the Magistrates Court