English Legal System

Trial on Indictment in the Crown Court

Aims

• The aims are this lecture are to:

1. Look at the history of the Crown Court and the allocation of business to the Court for trial on indictment;

2. Consider which judges try which cases in the Crown Court and how they are allocated;

3. Revise rights of audience in the Crown Court;4. Consider what an indictment is and the rules relating to the

drafting of indictments;5. Examine the procedure for managing cases in the Crown

Court6. Examine stages of a trial in the Crown Court.

Learning outcomes• By the end of this lecture you should be able to:

1. Outline the history of the Crown Court and the allocation of business to different judges within the Court;

2. State who has rights of audience in the Crown Court;3. Describe the purpose and rules relating to the

drafting of indictments in the Crown Court;4. Outline the main steps in the procedure of managing

cases in the Crown Court;5. Describe the conduct of a trial on indictment.

History of the Crown Court

• Created by the Courts Act 1971 to replace the ancient courts of assize and quarter sessions

• It is part of the Supreme Court of England and Wales by virtue of the Supreme Court Act 1981

Jurisdiction of the Crown Court

• Trial on Indictment – exclusive jurisdiction

• Committals for sentence• Appeals from the Magistrates against

conviction or sentence• Miscellaneous civil matters (e.g.

licensing appeals and care orders from the youth courts)

Who sits in the Crown Court?

• High Court or Red Judges

• Circuit Judges

• Recorders

• Deputy Circuit Judges

How is the work divided between the judges?

• Offences are categorized according to class

1. Treason and Murder – High Ct Judge

2. Manslaughter and Rape – High Court J

3. Indictable offences other than above – Circuit J

4. Triable either way – Circuit J/Recorder

Rights of Audience in the Crown Court

• Barristers

• Solicitors who have undertaken Law Society training and been granted ‘higher rights’

• Litigants in Person

The Indictment

• Like the information it forms the basis of the charge that will be read to the Defendant at the start of the trial

• Unlike an information it is subject to detailed rules contained in the Indictments Act 1915 and the Indictment Rules 1971

Indictments in Detail

• The indictment is divided into counts

• There is the rule against duplicity

• Joinder of Counts

• Joinder of Defendants

Preparing for trial in the Crown Court

• Reforms have been introduced in recent years with the aim of making the preparation for trial in the Crown Court more efficient

• There are three main kinds of hearings:

• Plea and Directions Hearings

• Pre-trial Hearings

• Preparatory Hearings

Plea and Directions Hearings

• Introduced by a Practice Direction in 1995

• Defence must supply a full list of prosecution witnesses they require to attend at trial

• Both sides should present a summary of the issues on which directions are sought

Other Types of Pre-trial Hearings in the Crown Ct

• Pre-trial rulings – formal rulings that are not irreversible but cannot automatically be re-considered

• Preparatory Hearings – these are for long and complex trials

Arraignment

• This is the process of putting the counts in the indictment to the accused one by one asking him whether he pleads guilty or not guilty

• Plea of not guilty puts the entire Prosecution case in issue

• If a Plea of Not Guilty the next step is normally to empanel a jury

• However, should be aware that the prosecution may not wish to proceed if the accused has pleaded guilty to some counts but not others

• The Defendant should make his plea of guilty personally, counsel should not do so on his behalf

• Williams [1978] QB 373

Refusal and Incapacity to Plead

• Muteness – malice/by visitation of God

• Unfit to plead – where D’s intellect is defective, so that he cannot comprehend the course of the proceedings so as to make a proper defence

Autrefois Acquit or Autrefois Convict

• Should not be tried twice for the same offence

• Also known as the rule against ‘double jeopardy’

Empanelling a Jury

• Eligibility for service

• Difference between a jury panel and the jury

• Challenges – abolition of the peremptory challenge by the Defence

The Prosecution

• The Duty of the Prosecutor – not the Prosecutor’s role to secure a conviction at all costs

• The Opening speech – giving the jurors an overall view of the case

The Prosecution Witnesses

• The Prosecution should call all the witnesses whose statements were tendered at Committal Proceedings

• The Prosecution have a duty to take all reasonable steps to secure the attendance of witnesses

Defence objections to Prosecution Evidence

• Not dealing with the rules of evidence in these lectures, but a lot of procedure at the Crown Court turns on the admissibility of evidence

• Fundamental principle that in the Crown Court the Judge decides these questions

• The D should give prior warning to the Prosecution

Submission of No Case to Answer

• P ends his case by saying ‘so that is the case for the Prosecution’

• Then counsel for D may make a submission of no case to answer

• The Judge can raise the matter as well

The Defence Case

• The Defence have the right to an opening speech where they intend to call another witness to testify to the facts of the case other than the accused

• Good Character Witnesses do not count for these purposes (Criminal Evidence Act 1898, s.2)

The Defence Evidence

D is competent, but not compellable (s.1 of Criminal Evidence Act 1898)

D can choose whether to give evidence

D should normally be called first if there are other witnesses

D should testify from the witness box

The decision to testify must be taken by D

Bar Code of Conduct

Closing Speeches

• After the Defence Evidence the Prosecution may sum up his case to the Jury

• The Defence then have the right to the last word – must not make things up, although can suggest that there is an innocent explanation based on the evidence

The Judge Sums Up

• Major Difference from Summary Trial

• Matters for the Judge to deal with in his summing up:1. His and the Jury’s Role;2. That it is for the Prosecution to prove its case; 3. The Judge defines the offence charged;4. Where two Ds in one indictment, the Judge must tell

the jury to consider them separately;5. Finally the Judge must deal with the evidence in the

case.

The Verdict

• The Jury retires to consider their verdict

• The jury can ask the judge for further explanations relating to the law

• No evidence shall be adduced before the jury after they have begun to consider their verdict

Majority Verdicts

• Until 1967 the verdict of a jury had to be unanimous

• Juries Act 1974 is the present legislation governing this area

• Provides for majorities of 11 to 1 or 10 to 2

• Judge directs them to try and reach a unanimous verdict

Summary of lecture

• You should now be able to:

1. Describe the jurisdiction of the Crown Court and how judges are allocated to different cases;

2. Explain what is meant by an indictment and the basic rules in drafting such a document;

3. Describe the procedure for managing cases in the Crown Court;

4. Outline the stages in a trial on indictment.