UNIT 10
A Day in a Criminal Court
CRIMINAL LAW
 concerned with behaviour, such as stealing, murder,
which, though committed against an individual, is
regarded as harmful to society as a whole, and action is
taken against the wrong-doer in the name of society
 the parties (UK):
 THE CROWN – i.e. the state (represented by the prosecutor)
 DEFENDANT – the person being prosecuted
CRIMINAL JUSTICE is administered with the help of the police
the POLICE can:
-
investigate a crime
-
apprehend suspects
-
detain suspects in custody
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
Criminal prosecutions are brought and conducted by
a) The State - Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
CPS - established by the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (began
operating in 1986); before 1986 prosecutions were brought by the state
and conducted by the police
- Crown Prosecutors
b) Private individual or business (private prosecutors bring
prosecutions)
STARTING PROCEEDINGS
1. the police apprehend suspects and decide whether the offender should be
prosecuted
2. if so, a file is sent to the CPS
3. CPS reviews the file and decides whether there is a realistic prospect of
conviction and whether a prosecution would be in the public interest
4. CPS must be sure that the evidence is legally admissible and reliable, taking
account of the witnesses
5. criminal proceedings may be initiated by the serving of a requisition to appear
in court (summons), or a warrant of arrest, issued by a Magistrates’ Court
THE RIGHT TO SILENCE

the defendant has a right not to say anything, both in the police station and at trial

Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 - the silence may be adversely interpreted in
the court, i.e. the silence can be taken as an indicator of possible guilt on the part of the
defendant
DISCLOSURE = the requirement to disclose all evidence and defence/prosecution materials
to the other party in the proceedings
Starting a private prosecution
a) An individual must present a written account of the alleged
offence to a magistrate
b) Magistrate issues a summons to be served on the defendant
(if sufficient reason)
c) The case is heard at the Magistrates’ Court
Categories of offences
Three categories:
1 Summary offences (petty crimes) – the least serious
offences always tried in the Magistrates’ Court
2 Triable either way offences – the middle range of crimes
tried in either the Magistrates’ Court or the Crown Court
3 Indictable offences – more serious crimes tried at the
Crown Court (the first hearing at the Magistrates’ Court),
more severe penalties
The type of offence affects
a) the number and type of pre-trial hearings and
b) where the final trial will take place
CRIMINAL COURTS IN ENGLAND AND
WALES
Supreme Court of the UK
Court of Appeal
(Criminal Division)
High Court
(Queens Bench Divisional Court)
Crown Court
Magistrates’ Court
Which court to use?
CATEGORY OF OFFENCE PLACE OF TRIAL
EXAMPLES OF
OFFENCES
Summary
Magistrates’ Court
Driving without insurance
Taking a vehicle without
consent
Common assault
Triable either way
Magistrates’ Court
OR
Crown Court
Theft
Assault causing bodily
harm
Obtaining property by
deception
Indictable
Crown Court
Murder
Manslaughter
Rape
Robbery
Criminal courts
- The Magistrates’ Court and the Crown Court - first instance courts
The role of the court:
a) If defendant pleads guilty - the court decides on the sentence to be imposed on the
defendant
b) if defendant pleads not guilty – court tries the case and decides if the accused is
guilty or not guilty
STANDARD OF PROOF – in criminal trials THE BURDEN OF PROOF is on the
prosecution – prosecution must prove that the defendant is guilty beyond
reasonable doubt (civil trials, must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt)
Adversarial trial / Accusatorial trial (vs inquisitorial)
-
prosecution and defence present their cases and cross-examine each other’s
witnesses; the judge oversees the trial, cannot investigate the case, cannot ask to
see additional witness
Magistrates’ Courts
 have jurisdiction over a variety of matters involving criminal cases;
have some civil jurisdiction
a)
Try all summary cases
97 % of
b)
Try ‘triable either way offences’
c)
Deal with the first hearing of all indictable offences
d)
Deal with all side matters connected to criminal cases (issuing
warrants for arrest, deciding bail applications)
all cases
Presided over by MAGISTRATES:
A)
STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATES= Qualified District judges (chosen
from among barristers of at least 7 years of experience, paid)
B)
UNQUALIFIED LAY MAGISTRATES – Justices of the Peace – JPs
(no legal training, unpaid) – sit usually in threes and assisted by a
legally qualified clerk
The Crown Court
 higher criminal court; tries indictable offences
 presided by a judge – High Court judges, Circuit judges and
Recorders + jury
 Jury decides about questions of fact
 Judge decides about questions of law
Criminal Procedure Rules
- deal with all aspects of criminal cases
- came into force in April 2005
- overriding objective –’criminal cases must be dealt with
justly’
Appelate Courts
A Crown Court
B High Court of Justice - Queen’s Bench Divisional Court
C Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
D Supreme Court of the UK
Appeal routes:
- Magistrates’ Courts - Crown Court – Queens Bench
Divisional Court – Supreme Court of the UK
- Magistrates’ Courts - Queens Bench Divisional Court –
Supreme Court of the UK
- the Crown Court – Court of Appeal (Criminal Court) –
Supreme Court of the UK
A Day in a Criminal Court
 Read the text in the book and complete the table.
the Accused
Facts of the
case
sentence / final
decision
Case 1
some drunks
Case 2
Case 3
the accused
committed for
trial at the crown
court
Essential vocabulary
 to apprehend = uhititi ; detain = pritvoriti, lišiti slobode
 to bring / conduct a prosecution = pokrenuti / voditi sudski postupak
 to prosecute = kazneno goniti, pokrenuti kazneni progon
 prosecutor = tužitelj; Public Prosecutor = Državni / Javni tužitelj
 to bring a charge = podići tužbu
 to serve a summons on the defendant = tuženiku predati sudski poziv
 to summon to the court = pozvati na sud
 disclosure = otkrivanje
 to plead guilty / not guilty to the charge = priznati / ne priznati krivnju za
optužbu
 a charge against sb = tužba protiv nekog
 standard of proof = stupanj dokazivanja
 to adjourn the case = odgoditi sudski postupak
 Indictable = teško kazneno djelo koje se goni po službenoj dužnosti
 summary offences
 to try – triable – trial = suditi – sudljiv, koji se može presuđivati – sudski
postupak, parnica
 to draw up an indictment = sastaviti optužnicu
 conviction # acquittal = osuda # oslobađajuća presuda
 to fine – a fine = novčano kazniti – novčana kazna
 to accuse of – the accused = optužiti, okriviti za – optuženik, okrivljenik
 to issue a warrant = izdati uhidbeni nalog
 bail = puštanje na slobodu uz jamstvo
Vocabulary practice
Find in the text the English equivalents for the following Croatian legal
terms and expressions.
1 priznati krivnju
2 optužiti za nešto / podnijeti prekršajnu prijavu
3 platiti štetu
4 socijalni radnik koji se brine o osobama uvjetno puštenim na slobodu
5 odgoditi kaznu
6 uvjetno pustiti na slobodu / kazniti uvjetnom kaznom
7 uputiti višem sudu radi daljnjeg suđenja
8 navodno je zgrabio ….
9 potkrijepiti i potvrditi dokaze
10 izreći kaznu
11 novčano kazniti
12 mirovni suci
Vocabulary practice – Answer key
1 to plead guilty
2 to accuse of / to bring a charge against
3 to pay for the damage
4 probation officer
5 to defer sentence
6 to put on probation
7 to commit for trial at a higher court
8 is alleged to have seized …
9 to corroborate and confirm evidence
10 to pronounce sentence
11 to fine
12 Justices of the Peace