1. Criminal Courts and Civil Courts Recap Session

2. Criminal Courts Summary offences – magistrates court. E.g. Driving without insurance. Taking a vehicle without consent. Common assault. Triable either way – Magistrates court or crown court. E.g. Theft Assault causing actual bodily harm. Indictable – Crown court E.g. Murder, Manslaughter, Rape.

3. Cont.. Mode of trial- Where a defendant is charged with a triable either way offence – The defendant is first asked whether he pleads guilty or not guilty. This is called plea before venue. If the defendant indicates his plead to be guilty he looses the right to insist that the case go to crown court (The magistrates decide). If they believe suitable case for them to deal with they will decide if not, if they believe case is too serious they will send to the crown court.

4. Cont… Not guilty plea – Where defendant indicates he intends to plead not guilty, he has the choice of jury trial in crown court or magistrates court. If defendant chooses magistrates they can still send it to the Crown Court.

5. Magistrates Each court deals with cases that are connected with its area, in other words there is a geographical limit on its jurisdiction. 93% of criminal cases are heard by magistrates.

6. Task 1 1. John has been charged with theft. Explain to him where the case could be tried. Sylvia has been charged with Manslaughter. Explain to her where the case could be tried.

7. Crown Court Crown court hears all indictable offences as well as those triable either way. People trying the case = judge and jury of 12 Person deciding sentence = Judge. Sentence available = up to life imprisonment. Representation = Barrister or solicitor with advocacy certificate.

8. Cont.. Magistrates: People trying case = 1 District judge or 3 lay magistrates Sentence available = Max 12 months and 5000 fine (Increasing to 15,000). Representation = Local CPS Lawyer for prosecution. Defence often not represented.

9. Civil Courts Civil law is quite different from criminal law and has its own court and procedure. It involves individuals or companies who wish to make a claim because their rights have been affected in some way. In most civil cases people will try to come to an agreement rather than start court proceedings. It is only when the other party disputes a claim or doesn’t answer that court proceedings should be considered.

10. Cont.. Letter before action. It’s common to write a letter known as ‘letter before action’, after this if the person still refuses to meet the claim it’s then up to the person making the claim to decide whether he/she is prepared to go to court. Many individuals decide the time, effort and cost to be to much. Companies are more likely to take action, particularly large ones that have their own legal department.

11. Starting a Civil Case The amount claimed is usually the deciding factor in where to start a case, but the seriousness and difficulty of the case will also be considered. Claims for less than 15,000 must be started in the county court. Defamation actions can only be started in the High Court.

12. County Court Jurisdiction to hear certain types of cases is restricted geographically. Generally hears the following; –Contract and Tort –Mortgages –Dispute over wills –Recovery of land –Some family procedures –Divorce –Small claims

13. Allocating Cases Since April 1999 all cases are allocated to one of three tracks. These are: Small claims for cases involving less than £5000 Fast-track for cases between £5000 and £15,000 Multi-track for cases where the claim is for more than £15,000 or where the case is very complex.

14. Cont.. Small claims and fast-track cases are always heard in the County Court but Multi-track cases can be dealt with in either the County Court or the High Court. For a claim £50,000 and above case head in High Court

15. Problems with small claims Some people not aware of procedure. Process quite complicated for someone with no legal knowledge. Legal aid is not available. Although the process is meant to be quick there may still be delays: one party not being ready, e.g. not brought all their evidence to court. Court only sits during the working day. Held in open court so members of the public can watch proceedings.

16. Cont.. The biggest problem lies in enforcing the judgement after the case, in other words collecting the money from the loosing party. It is left to the claimant to do this. Bailiff. Does not ensure full recovery of funds.

17. High Court The high Court has the power to hear any civil case. In order to help with the administration and to provide specialist judges for the different types of law involved in cases. The High Court is divided into three divisions: Queens Bench Family Chancery Each hears different types of cases.

18. Queens Bench Division Hears the following type of cases; –Tort –Contract –Various specialist courts Commercial court – banking and insurance disputes Admiralty – shipping such as salvage rights Administrative Court – Judicial Reviews. Divisional Court – Hears appeals from County Court and Crown Court and Magistrates Court.

19. Right to Jury Juries only used in four types of cases: Fraud Defamation Malicious prosecution False imprisonment In other cases a defendant can apply for a jury but this will only occur in exceptional circumstances.

20. Chancery Division Jurisdiction to hear certain types of cases is restricted geographically. Generally hears the following; –Contract and Tort –Mortgages –Dispute over wills –Recovery of land –Some family procedures –Divorce –Small claims

21. Family Division Main type of work allocated –Certain matters relating to children Divorce Wardship Adoption Wills

22. Woolf reforms In 1996 Lord Woolf led an enquiry into the civil courts. The main problems were: Delay Cost Complexity

23. Cont.. Lord Woolf proposed several reforms which were aimed at making civil claims quicker, cheaper and easier. These reforms were brought into force in April 1999.