Question 1 Identify by means of a diagram the principal criminal courts in England and Wales. FIG 1 In reference to fig 1 the principal criminal courts in England and Wales, there are three main courts which are magistrates, crown and court of appeal. These courts deal with offenders on behalf of the state and the public and are there to maintain law and order and protect the society. The magistrates’ court deals with less serious or summary offences which may include, council tax, motoring offences, assaults and threatening behaviour. They also deal with both way offences which can be tried in both magistrates and or crown court.
Indictable offences are the more serious crimes such as murder, armed robbery, sexual assault, drug trafficking and arson. These offences are tried by a judge and jury in District or Supreme Courts. A preliminary (committal) hearing is held in Local Court before a magistrate to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for a ‘prima facie’ case. The prosecution is required to produce evidence and witnesses. The process of criminal prosecution begins when a person (usually a police officer) lays information before a court or a justice of the peace.
The court system is divided into two different sectors in order to differentiate the class of the alleged crime; civil law and criminal law are practised in two different courts. Sometimes however, both start in the magistrates’ court depending on severity. Criminal cases could be escalated to Crown Court if they present an indictable offence or a triable either way offence that is deemed too serious for the magistrates, while civil cases could be escalated to High Court if the value of the damages is higher than £30,000. An immediate difference between civil law and criminal law is the parties involved; the rule of court under civil law would usually be plaintiff vs defendant whereas in criminal court it commonly involves government in most criminal cases and the defendant in these cases are called “the accused” which sounds more severe, however you can also have the prosecution (CPS) VS The Defendant. This tells us that civil law is for individual interest while criminal law is for public interest.
We will discuss the general categories of crime and how they translate into the real world. The first of the crimes to be discussed is that of felonies. The felony is the most severe category of crime that can be committed against a person. Felonies against property are considered just as severe as felonies against persons. This particular crime consists of murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, and arson.
- At the Crown Court because these are more serious offences. E.g. murder, manslaughter, rape and robbery. 3. Where are triable either way (TEW) offences tried?
The British Crime Survey also includes crimes which are not reported to the police, therefore is an important alternative to police records and provides criminologists, the police, the courts, the media and anyone else who has an interest with the statistics, two different types of data: Firstly trends on crime over time chartered, Details are compiled from offenders who are eventually found guilty or cautioned; details gathered include sex and the age of the offender. Information is gathered on the “Known offender”, in this case the “Typical offender”, (Maguire 1997). Official crime
A jury can be defined as a group of people (usually 12 in number) who have been selected to consider the issues of fact in a trail in a Court of Law, in order to make a finding as to an individual’s guilt or lack thereof to a standard which is either “beyond reasonable doubt” or “on the balance of probabilities”. In criminal cases, the jury system exists to decide if the defendant is guilty or not. In civil cases, they aim to decide if the claimant has proved their case and the amount of compensation to be awarded. It should be noted that in the United Kingdom a Judge usually presides over civil trials except where a jury is deemed necessary. BRIEF HISTORY OF THE JURY SYSTEM The system is believed to date as far back as Norman times and is thought to have been used as a means of gathering information for the king.
Judges also deal with the issue of bail once established that there is enough evidence to hold a criminal trial against the defendant during the preliminary hearing. Judges decide on whether to grant bail, and if so at what amount and on what conditions. If any of the conditions are broken by the defendant, the judge can also revoke bail and issue a warrant for his or her arrest. Once the criminal or civil trial has begun, the judge presides over the courtroom (Meyer & Grant, 2003). When the jury reaches a verdict of guilty, the judge is responsible for following established legal guidelines during sentencing.
The Second tier would be District, superior, or circuit courts. These courts (courts of "general jurisdiction") are distributed geographically throughout the state for convenience and usually involve more serious civil and criminal claims such as felony prosecutions and major civil trials. Last but not least are the Appellate courts. These courts, known as the "courts of last resort," do not re-try cases, but rather review the record of the proceedings from earlier trials to determine whether or not the lower court made an error with its decision. State supreme appellate courts typically consist of five to nine members who rule as a panel.
A civil case is when the plaintiff decides to sue another person, organization, or a business, the individual being sued is also called the defendant. In a criminal case, the crime is based on offenses against the state, with the prosecutor charging the suspect for the crime and not the actual victim charging the suspect. (The Differences between a Criminal Case and a Civil Case, n.d) Many fundamental distinctions between a civil and criminal case separate them from one another in our court system, which include but are not limited to; the standard of proof required in a criminal case compared to that of a civil case, the terms and forms of punishment, and also whether or not you are entitled to an attorney. “In general, because criminal cases have greater consequences - the possibility of jail and even death - criminal cases have many more protections in place and are harder to prove.” (The Differences between a Criminal Case and a Civil Case, n.d) A duty placed upon a civil or criminal defendant to prove or disprove a disputed fact is known as standard of proof. (Standard of proof.