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Write a 16 page essay on The Criminal Process in the UK.There are cases where the defendants are intimidated, threatened, kidnapped or sometimes even eliminated so that they cannot attend the court. U
Write a 16 page essay on The Criminal Process in the UK.
There are cases where the defendants are intimidated, threatened, kidnapped or sometimes even eliminated so that they cannot attend the court. Under such circumstances, these courts order a decree of Habeus Corpus. Unless there are extraordinary circumstances, a defendant cannot be tried without being present.
“No matter how serious the charge, the defendant has to appear first before the Magistrates, where he confirms his name and address and the legal adviser reads out the charge,” Smartt (2006, p. 78).
Magistrate courts deal with summary offences, which are less serious cases like minor assaults or driving offences and these offences are not eligible to be tried by the jury being rather legally insignificant. They also deal with Either-way offences and they are called so because they could either be dealt with by judge and jury or by a magistrate, which is usually the case. Offences here include theft, handling of stolen goods, etc. Here the right of the defendant is upheld by making the defendant ask for either a Crown trial or a Magistrate trial and the choice belongs not to the court, but to the defendant. In case if the offence is of a more serious kind, magistrate himself might commit the defendant to a trial by the jury and under those circumstances, a defendant’s rights are not considered. Magistrate courts cannot try Indictable-only offences, and these are of a more serious kind like murder, manslaughter, rape and robbery. Even though magistrate courts do not have the right to hold the entire trial, they have a brief commitment in these cases too. There is a distinction between summary and indictable offences. Jurisdiction and procedure usually are affected by this distinction because the distinction is fundamental.
“Summary offences can be tried only in magistrate’s courts, while indictable offences are triable on indictment before a jury. . .
