THE COURTS

If the Crown Prosecution Service believe the evidence is there to charge you with the offence you've been falsely accused of this is the next phase of the process.

Everyone regardless of the crime they have been charged with will be brought before the magistrates court.

If you've come straight from police custody it will be via one of the vans or lorries that you occasionally see on the roads. It's an unpleasent experience regardless of the distance.

You will be placed in a holding cell at the magistrates court where prior to standing in front of a judge you will have an opportunity to speak to the duty solicitor whom hopefully is the same person that represented you at the police interview.

There are some important distinctions to be made based on the charges you face. Summary, Indictable and Either Way. 

Summary offences are on the less serious end of the spectrum and can only be heard in a magistrates court. 

Indictable offences are the more serious offences and can only be heard in the Crown court.

Either way offences are in the middle and can be heard in either the magistrates or the crown court. The defendant can decide which.

Justice is delivered faster in the magistrates court and the maximum prison sentance that one can be given is six months whereas the process in the crown court takes longer and the prison sentence could be anything up to a whole life term so if given a choice why on earth would you CHOOSE to have a crown court trial? 

Firstly the magistrates court comprises of three people known as magistrates or justice of the peace (JP's for short) These people are volunteers from the community and recieve very little if any legal training. They have a legal advisor who sits with them with whom they can consult on areas of the law. One might want to question the motivation of a person who is able to volunteer themselves to a position that allows them to administer prison sentences of up to six months without the need to have studied criminal law. 

The crown court on the otherhand is only home to professional judges most of whom have practiced law for the entirety of their career who are experienced and know the criminal justice system like the back of thier hand.

If the law has evolved in the UK over 100's of years of nuance then you would expect that the conviction rates across both the magistrates and the crown courts to be around about equal wouldn't you. Unfortunantely statistics say you are 25% more likely to be aquitted and found not guilty in the crown court than you are against a bench of three magistrates