30/10/2019
CRIMINAL LITIGATION
PRACTICE, PROCEDURE AND THE POLICE STATION
THE COURTS
Magistrates court – all cases are brought, rarely last longer than a couple of days
Crown court – cases of some substance, murder, drug related etc…
Court of appeal – criminal division – most appeals go here on conviction and sentence, those are
on points of law so you do not get a new hearing.
New rehearing when magistrates comes to a conclusion and they appeal to the crown court
Supreme Court – highest court in the land, if you think the case is of public value
Jogee went to Supreme Court – Joint Enterprise
ADVERSARIAL SYSTEM
Common Law System
Prosecution – crown brings the case and prosecutes case against the defendant
Defence – defends their case against the crown
Must satisfy the court that they have made a prima facie case against the defence
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE RULES 2015 AMENDED 2019
Up until 2005 there was no set of rules and procedures for magistrates and crown court
CPR brought in at 1998 but criminal courts did not have a uniformed set of procedures
Mostly statutes that are important in criminal cases
April 2005 Criminal Procedure Rules were created – current version is 2015 with 2019 amendments
Overriding Objective – criminal cases should be dealt with justly (needs to be enough money fed
into the system to be just). If cases are not just, go to court of appeal
Case management powers
PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
SRA Chapter 5 – Outcomes 5.1
Principle 4 =
o O5.1 must not knowingly deceive or recklessly mislead the court
Do not lie to the court. Saying nothing can be the wrong thing.
o O5.2 must not give false evidence
o O5.4 do not place yourself in contempt of court
Principle 6
pg. 1
, 30/10/2019
o Must behave in a way that maintains the trust the public places in you
o Always take the safe option, do not take risks
WHAT IF….
Client admits his guilt? You may not run a positive case which conflicts with that – test the
prosecution for evidence (negative case) but that would mean not calling witnesses or putting
forward positive statements
o Advise to plead guilty and put litigation to the court – must be admitting guilt for the crime
A conflict of interests arises? May arises when client changes instructions in a material way during
the case or preparation of the case
o Claiming self defence in a fight – then saying he wasn’t there at all
o Advise client to return to the truth and to those instructions given to them in the first place
Inconsistent previous convictions? Obtain a list of previous convictions from prosecution and ask
them to prove these convictions
o Proven via fingerprints from previous case compared with defendant in this case
ATTENDING THE POLICE STATION
SUSPECTS RIGHTS
Download copy of PACE
S.56 Right to have someone informed of arrest as soon as practicable – protects someone that
someone else knows they are there. The other person can call a solicitor to represent them
S.58 Right to legal advice at any time
Right to consult the Codes of Practice - paragraph 6.1 Code C of the Codes of Practice under
PACE 1984 – suspect has the right to consult the code of practice. Codes of Practice are quite
complicated but need to know our way around them.
o Code A = stop and search powers
o Code G = arrest
o Code C = conduct of interviews and detention at the police station
o Code D = identification procedures
WHEN CAN THOSE RIGHTS BE DELAYED?
S.58(8) PACE – where reasonable grounds exist where to believe the exercise of the rights will:
1. lead to interference with or impact evidence relating to an indictable offence e.g. sexual offences
2. will lead to the alerting of other persons suspected of having committed such an offence but not
yet arrested
3. will hinder the recovery of any property obtained as a result of such offence
pg. 2
CRIMINAL LITIGATION
PRACTICE, PROCEDURE AND THE POLICE STATION
THE COURTS
Magistrates court – all cases are brought, rarely last longer than a couple of days
Crown court – cases of some substance, murder, drug related etc…
Court of appeal – criminal division – most appeals go here on conviction and sentence, those are
on points of law so you do not get a new hearing.
New rehearing when magistrates comes to a conclusion and they appeal to the crown court
Supreme Court – highest court in the land, if you think the case is of public value
Jogee went to Supreme Court – Joint Enterprise
ADVERSARIAL SYSTEM
Common Law System
Prosecution – crown brings the case and prosecutes case against the defendant
Defence – defends their case against the crown
Must satisfy the court that they have made a prima facie case against the defence
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE RULES 2015 AMENDED 2019
Up until 2005 there was no set of rules and procedures for magistrates and crown court
CPR brought in at 1998 but criminal courts did not have a uniformed set of procedures
Mostly statutes that are important in criminal cases
April 2005 Criminal Procedure Rules were created – current version is 2015 with 2019 amendments
Overriding Objective – criminal cases should be dealt with justly (needs to be enough money fed
into the system to be just). If cases are not just, go to court of appeal
Case management powers
PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
SRA Chapter 5 – Outcomes 5.1
Principle 4 =
o O5.1 must not knowingly deceive or recklessly mislead the court
Do not lie to the court. Saying nothing can be the wrong thing.
o O5.2 must not give false evidence
o O5.4 do not place yourself in contempt of court
Principle 6
pg. 1
, 30/10/2019
o Must behave in a way that maintains the trust the public places in you
o Always take the safe option, do not take risks
WHAT IF….
Client admits his guilt? You may not run a positive case which conflicts with that – test the
prosecution for evidence (negative case) but that would mean not calling witnesses or putting
forward positive statements
o Advise to plead guilty and put litigation to the court – must be admitting guilt for the crime
A conflict of interests arises? May arises when client changes instructions in a material way during
the case or preparation of the case
o Claiming self defence in a fight – then saying he wasn’t there at all
o Advise client to return to the truth and to those instructions given to them in the first place
Inconsistent previous convictions? Obtain a list of previous convictions from prosecution and ask
them to prove these convictions
o Proven via fingerprints from previous case compared with defendant in this case
ATTENDING THE POLICE STATION
SUSPECTS RIGHTS
Download copy of PACE
S.56 Right to have someone informed of arrest as soon as practicable – protects someone that
someone else knows they are there. The other person can call a solicitor to represent them
S.58 Right to legal advice at any time
Right to consult the Codes of Practice - paragraph 6.1 Code C of the Codes of Practice under
PACE 1984 – suspect has the right to consult the code of practice. Codes of Practice are quite
complicated but need to know our way around them.
o Code A = stop and search powers
o Code G = arrest
o Code C = conduct of interviews and detention at the police station
o Code D = identification procedures
WHEN CAN THOSE RIGHTS BE DELAYED?
S.58(8) PACE – where reasonable grounds exist where to believe the exercise of the rights will:
1. lead to interference with or impact evidence relating to an indictable offence e.g. sexual offences
2. will lead to the alerting of other persons suspected of having committed such an offence but not
yet arrested
3. will hinder the recovery of any property obtained as a result of such offence
pg. 2
