Criminal Courts

In England and Wales the initial decision to begin criminal proceedings normally lies with the police. Once the police have brought a criminal charge, the papers are passed to the Crown Prosecution Service which decides whether the case should be accepted for prosecution in the courts or whether the proceedings should be discontinued.

Magistrates’ Courts

Magistrates’ Courts play an important role in the criminal justice system. Every person charged with an offence is summoned to appear before this court, which may impose a fine up to a general limit of £ 2,000 or twelve months’ imprisonment, though for some offences the laws prescribe maximum penalties below these limits. With 98 per cent of cases the magistrates decide on guilt or innocence, and if necessary what penalty to impose. With more serious cases the magistrates can decide to send them for trial in the Crown Court.

A magistrates’ court consists of three unpaid, lay magistrates known as Justices of the Peace (JPs). They are ordinary but worthy citizens who have been appointed to their positions by the Lord Chancellor on the advice of local appointing committees. Lay magistrates have no legal qualification but receive some basic training in court procedures. Applying the law to certain facts, JPs rely on the clerk of the court who is either a qualified solicitor or a barrister. There are 28,000 JPs in England; each of them works in the court on about 30-50 days a year.

Types of criminal offences in Magistrates’ Courts

Criminal offences may be grouped into three categories offences triable on indictment – the very serious offences such as murder, manslaughter, rape and arson. The procedure begins in the magistrates’ court, which conducts a preliminary enquiry into the prosecution’s evidence and decides whether it forms serious evidence against the accused. If that fact is established, a full trial will take place in the Crown Court presided over by a judge sitting with a jury.

Summary offences – the least serious offences such as minor motoring offences, which are tried by lay magistrates sitting without a jury. The magistrates will hear the evidence and reach a verdict. If the verdict is ‘not guilty’ the defendant will be acquitted; if ‘guilty’ the magistrates will pass sentence. A case requiring a heavier punishment must be referred to the Crown Court for sentencing.

The third category of offences such as theft and burglary are known as ‘either way’ offences and can be tried summarily either by magistrates or on indictment by the Crown Court depending on the circumstances of each case and the wishes of the defendant.

1. Study the following words and phrases or look them up in a dictionary and decide what each one means.

criminal charge, to summon, a fine, imprisonment, penalty, guilt/innocence, lay magistrates, clerk of the court, offences triable on indictment, summary offences, either way offences, to acquit, evidence, verdict, manslaughter, arson, defendant, enquiry, burglary, sentence.

2. Answer the questions.

1. Who is responsible for beginning criminal proceedings in England and Wales?

2. Where do the police pass the papers after they have brought a criminal charge?

3. What’s the punishment in the Magistrates’ Courts?

4. In what cases do the Magistrates’ Courts pass the cases to the Crown Court?

5. Why are JPs appointed to the Magistrates’ Courts?

6. Who do they rely on to decide certain cases?

7. What are the 3 types of the criminal offences?

8. Which are the most serious and least serious criminal offences?

3. Complete the following table with word-families.

Verb	Noun (concept, thing)	Noun (person)	Adjective
to murder		murderer
	evidence
to apply
	imprisonment
			punishable
		prosecutor
	adjudication
to defend
			governmental
to guard
	offence
		enquirer