The Criminal Justice System

Youth Courts

Youth Courts are described as being similar to a Magistrates' court that deals with criminal matters of young people aged 10 to 17 years old. There can be either a District Judge or three lay Magistrates dealing with case. Youth Courts are specially designed to make it easier for children to understand what is happening.
If the child is aged 16 or under, then they must bring a parent or guardian with them to the court.

Becoming familiar with legal words:

The Judge

The judge is responsible for overseeing the hearing, ruling on points of law and ensuring that the defendant gets a fair trial. Where the defendant is found ‘guilty’ or pleads ‘guilty’, the judge will pass a sentence that reflects the seriousness of the crime and takes into account the defendant’s personal circumstances, and whether they have previously been convicted of similar offences.

The Jury

There are usually 12 members of the public on a jury. After listening to all the evidence during the trial in the Crown Court, and any direction that the judge may give, they decide whether the defendant is guilty or innocent. When all the jurors agree that a defendant is guilty or innocent, it is known as a unanimous verdict. If they cannot all agree, they may be asked by the judge to pass a majority verdict where at least 10 of them agree.

The Prosecution

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutes most cases in the criminal courts. CPS Lawyers must follow the Code for Crown Prosecutors. The barristers are regulated by the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund.

Case decision of whether to prosecute must follow two stages:

1. The Evidential Stage

2. The Public Interest Stage

There are approximately 6,000 people who work for the CPS in England and Wales. There are 14 regional teams who decide on whether to prosecute a case in their local region.

The Defendant

The defendant is entitled to be legally represented in criminal proceedings, whether they pay for their legal representation themselves, or they qualify for legal aid. The defence team will take instructions from the defendant and advise them on legal matters. This will include evaluating whether the defendant has a viable defence based on the evidence presented by the prosecution.

Witnesses

Once a victim of a crime goes to court, they are known as a witness.
A witness can also be a third party who witnessed the crime and has been called to give evidence on behalf of the prosecution or defence.

Expert Witnesses

An expert witness is usually someone such as a doctor or forensic scientist, who uses their expertise to interpret the evidence, either in support of the prosecution or to help the defence case.

Sentencing

If a defendant pleads guilty, or is found guilty by a jury, the magistrates or a judge will decide on the most appropriate sentence to reflect the crime. The sentencing process is quite complicated, and has to follow sentencing guidelines. These guidelines help to ensure that there is a consistent approach to sentencing for similar offences across all courts.
In some cases, the CPS can ask the Court of Appeal to review what may be considered an ‘unduly lenient’ sentence in the Crown Court.

Appeals

A person convicted in the Crown Court can appeal to the Court of Appeal (criminal division) against their conviction or their sentence. The Form NG with the Grounds of Appeal must be submitted to the Court of Appeal within 28 days of the date of conviction (for an appeal against conviction) or 28 days of the date of sentence (for an appeal against sentence). The first stage is that the Single Judge will review the Appeal submission on the papers and decide whether to allow or refuse permission to appeal. If permission is given then the case will be issued for a Full Court Appeal hearing.

If permission by the Single Judge is refused then the applicant can decide whether to renew their appeal within 14 days. If the appellant decides to renew, then a renewal hearing for permission will be listed before the Full Court. Permission would be required by the Full Court at that stage for the case to progress to a Full Court Appeal hearing.

If the Full Court refuse 'Permission to Appeal' or if they dismiss the Appeal Application, then the option available to the Applicant is to make an Application to the CCRC (Criminal Cases Review Commission) . The CCRC decide whether the case can be referred back to the Court of Appeal. The CCRC will only consider an application that proposes new evidence or new legal arguments that the Court of Appeal have not already considered.