Bail. Under S.4 of the Bail Act 1976 there is a presumption that un convicted suspects will be given bail. This ties in with the fact that everyone is innocent until proven guilty
Assignment 2.11 Bail means a person is allowed to be at liberty, rather than held in custody while awaiting the next stage of the case. The right to bail has been reduced in recent years amid concern that individuals on bail reoffend and fail to turn up at court for their trial. Fourteen percent of those bailed to appear at court fail to do so according to the Criminal Justice Statistics 2003, another statistic says nearly twenty-five percent of defendants commit at least one offence while on bail. The criteria for granting or refusing bail are contained in the Bail ct 1976. There is a general presumption in favour of bail for un convicted defendants but there are some important exceptions. Bail need not be granted where there are substantial grounds for believing that, unless kept in custody, the accused would fail to surrender to bail, or would commit an offence and the probable sentence, along with the character, antecedents, associations and community ties of the defendant. The Act which makes the decision on bail is the need to protect the public Vs all suspects are innocent until proven guilty. Under S.4 of the Bail Act 1976 there is a presumption that un convicted suspects will be given bail. This ties in with the fact that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. However, the general public have the right to be protected from criminals. This means that the criminal
Policing Using New Technologies
C3187927 Daniel Pazeski Policing Technology Aids “New” Technologies helping aid police The law enforcers “police” have upon many obligations to uphold and to reinforce laws, and some rules rigidly/securely and justly. As crime continues, methods to prevent crime and strategies to minimize incidents involving crime also advance, Such as new technologies to help aid police officials. Some of these technologies include “Tasers”, “Capsicum Spray”, “CCTV”, and “DNA Profiling”. These are a few of the many technologies that are in use to help minimize and prevent crime occurring. Crime Prevention refers to the different methods associated with deterring an individual to not commit a crime. Strategies and technologies change and develop which results in a more positive outcome such as crime levels depleting in communities and decreased levels to re-offenders committing again. The positives of using Tasers, and Capsicum spray and other technologies is to be effective in detaining to perpetrator without the use of lethal force such as a hand gun, addition to other technologies to aid the police to be effective with the most minimal amount of force. Introduction of new laws and successes observed in the use of Tasers in the Australian special police force and other
Why was the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) created?
Why was the CPS created? The obligations of the crown prosecution service (CPS) before 2000 was to instruct independent counsel (barristers) to prosecute cases in the Crown Court and other higher courts. After changes were brought by Access to Justice Act 1999 solicitors who are employed lawyers who have the right qualification could now be able to appear in the Crown court and the higher courts. The Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 created the CPS, which only came into being in 1996. The Crown prosecution services have the responsibility of prosecuting people who have been charged with a criminal offence in England and Wales. The CPS is headed by under the supervision of an Attorney General the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). It is an independent body that works with the police, the courts, the home office, the ministry of justice as well as other agencies that are in the criminal justice system such as the RSPCA. Each year the CPS will have to deal with more than a million cases in the Magistrates court and around 130,000 cases in the Crown court, to deal with this there is around 8,775 staff that are employed by the CPS which is spilt into 3 different groups which are the prosecutors, paralegals and the administrators. The prosecutors are the barristers and lawyers who are called the Crown prosecutors because they have the responsibility to prosecute criminals on
Magistrate Courts
Magistrate Court The Jurisdiction of Magistrate Court is deal with summary offences which are of minor crimes, try triable either way cases which it is decided should be dealt in Magistrate Court and preliminary hearings in indictable cases. They also deal with side matters such as bail application and issuing warrant for arrest. zlIn summary trials, magistrate court can impose a maximum of 5000 pounds and 6 month imprisonment. However, the Criminal Justice Act 2003 sought to increase this to 12 months as to decrease the number of cases sent to Crown Court.z At the start of the case, a clerk will check the defendants name and address as well as their plea of guilty. When the defendant pleads guilty, a resume containing all facts of the case will be prepared and confirmed by the defendant. A Newton Hearing will commence if facts are wrong. The magistrate will then consider defendants mitigating and aggravating factors such as previous conviction or presentence reports, medical reports. If the defendant chooses to plead not guilty, both sides will present their case. The prosecution will begin with a speech and calling of witnesses to give evidence. The witnesses will then be examined and cross examined by both prosecution and defence. Relevant exhibits may be given. The defendant will then be called to give evidence, this is not obligatory but failure to do so may lead to
Criminal Courts Appeal Route
APPEAL ROUTES If defendant pleaded guilty, they can only appeal against sentence, whereas if the defendant pleaded not guilty, they can appeal against conviction and sentence. The case will be reheard by a judge and two magistrates which may result in a same decision, or vary decision or reverse decision which is bound by the magistrates power. If it is on a point of law, the Crown Court can decide or a further appeal to QBD by way of case stated appeals may be made. Casezl stated appeal can be made by prosecution against acquittal or by defence against conviction. The appeal will be heard by a High Court Judge or even a Court of Appeal and there will be no witnesses. Further appeal can be made to Supreme Court if it concerns great public importance or ought to be considered by Supreme Court. In the Case of Cv DPP, the divisional Court ruled that times have changed and there should be criminal responsibility of children of 10 and up however this was overruled by house of Lords. Crown Court Criminal Procedure Rules are laid down to deal with all aspects of criminal cases. The prosecution can appeal against an acquittal by making an application to the Criminal Procedure and Investigation Act 1996. They cannot appeal against a finding of not guilty by the jury unless the acquittal was the result of jury or witness being nobbled. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 removes the
Strength of the Jury System
Jury strengths Jury refers to the presence of 12 persons, randomly selected into the trial procedure to be arbiters of the fact, strengthens the legal system. The role of juries are to decide on matters of fact whereas judges decide on the matters on law. In Criminal Cases, the judge would decide on the verdict, whereas juries would decide on the sentence. In Civil cases, judge would decide on the sentence and juries would decide on the amount of damages. As they do not have legal knowledge a judge would assist them and direct them. Juries are not used in complex cases or where there is a risk of jury tempering, this is stated in the Criminal Justice Act 2003. zl Juries are randomly selected in the Blackfriairs crown Court. They decide on cases based on their understanding of the law and assimilating factual evidence. Juries come from all walks of life as their qualifications are broad. The only qualification is for them to be 18 to 70 years old, live in the Channel Island, Isle of Man, Uk, since 13 for 5 years. This allows them to come from a wide representative of the society, as opposed to the judges who comes from the upper classes. Thus verdicts can be said to be of the society rather than the judicial system as allows ordinary citizens to take part in the administration of justice. Jurors decision are independent of anyone else. Judges cannot refuse to accept jury
Tribunals are specialist judicial bodies which deals with disputes concerning particular areas of law.
Tribunals Some disputes are better resolved out of court. Alternative Dispute resolutions are methods to resolve disputes out of court. Tribunals are one such way. Resolving disputes via the fixed legal framework of the court may confbe detrimental if parties prefer to have more control. The aggressive atmosphere may also dvide parties making them enemies, this is bad if there is a need to sustain relationship. Judges may have technical difficulties in understanding cases hence expert witnesses may be called in, incurring time and cost. Privacy Is also an issue as some cases eg business affairs are better kept private. Also, courts will enforced solutions which may not be the most optimum solutions that parties would have preferred. The problems of court hearings calls for the need for Tribunals. Tribunals are specialist judicial bodies which deals with disputes concerning particular areas of law. They give individuals the entitlements to social rights. The cases are usually between the court and citizens but it may also be between private individuals or to do with employment. An example would be Employment tribunal(deals with discrimination an unfair dismissal), Aslym and Immigratioon tribunal that deals with the appeals on the Home Secretary Decision. The Mental Health Review Tribunal deals with cases concerning the application for the release of sectioned patients.
Alternative Dispute Resolution refers to methods of resolving disputes without going to court.
Alternative Dispute Resolution Sometimes the courts are not the most appropriate places to resolve civil disputes as they may not produce the most satisfactory outcome. Alternative Dispute Resolution refers to methods of resolving disputes without going to court. This has proved to be effective and a necessary alternative over the years. Resolving disputes via the fixed legal framework of court hearings may be inappropriate if parties prefer to be in control. The aggressive atmosphere in courts may divide the parties involved which may be detrimental if there is a need to sustain relationships. Judges may not have the technical knowledge required and would bring in expert witnesses. This incurs time and cost. Also, enforced solutions may not necessarily be the optimum solution that both parties would have preferred. Privacy is also an issue with court hearings as business disputes would be better kept private. Hence alternative dispute resolution has become increasingly popular as a necessary alternative to resolve disputes without the problems of court hearings. There are various forms of alternative dispute resolution. Tribunals are specialist judicial bodies that decide on cases concerning particular areas of law. They give individuals the entitlement to certain social rights. It is said to be a ‘halfway house’ between formal litigation and informal forms of ADR.
BTEC A Level Law P1 - explain the use of the courts in the civil and criminal court hierarchies
`P1 explain the use of the courts in the civil and criminal court hierarchies Introduction: In this assignment I will explain the use of the courts in the civil and criminal court hierarchies. I will be explaining the structure and the ranks of the courts. Civil and Criminal Law: Civil courts deal with disagreements with different individuals. They can be individual’s bodies or organisations. For example disputes with neighbours and personal injury claim etc. Criminal courts deal with arguments involving the state. It also is known as crimes against the state for example crimes like GBH and murder. Youth Court: A youth court is a type of magistrate’s court for students, for e.g. 10 – 18 A youth court has 3 magistrates and a district judge. There isn’t a jury in a youth court. A parent and guardian must be with you at all times if you go to a youth court. Youth courts are different from adult courts through many ways. For example they are less formal and members of the public are not allowed in the court unless permission, another factor is that you are called by your first name. A youth court deals with stuff like theft and burglary, anti social behaviour and drugs offences. If it is a serious crime then the case will start off in Youth Court and then progress to Crown Court. A Youth Court can give a range of sentences for e.g. community sentences and detention
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Describe the process by which it is decided where a trial will take place. [18 marks]
Describe the process by which it is decided where a trial will take place. [18] The purpose of a pre-trial procedure is to allow the Magistrates Court to decide where a trial will take place. The most important factors which influence this decision are the seriousness of D’s crime and his plea. The seriousness of a crime can be assessed by considering the type of offence with which D is charged. A summary offence is triable only in the Magistrates Court in the presence of either three lay magistrates and a legal advisor, or one district judge. Crimes such as common assault and common battery would be categorised as summary offences which carry a maximum of a 6 month custodial sentence or maximum fine of £5,000 (or £20,000 for a business). An indictable offence is one which can only be tried in the Crown Court and includes offences such as rape, manslaughter and robbery. A Crown Court judge can impose up to the statutory maximum for any offence, or impose an unlimited sentence at his discretion for common law offences. For example, the maximum sentence for statutory theft is 7 years under the Theft Act 1968. A triable either way offence can be tried in either the Magistrates Court or the Crown Court, depending on the circumstances and the seriousness of the offence with which D is charged. Examples of this type of offence include theft, ABH and criminal damage, and
