Magistrates' Court Trials

Whenever a defendant pleads not guilty to an offence a trial is needed.

The Magistrates' Court can only deal with summary and either way offences. For that reason trials taking place at the Magistrates' Court are known as summary trials. Indictable offences, which have an entitlement to trial by jury, are sent to the Crown Court.

In today's article we shall focus on the general conduct of a summary trial. It should be stressed that very few of the summary trials listed actually take place. Quite often there is last minute horse trading between the prosecution and defence advocates, which negates the need for a trial.

Sometimes the prosecution witnesses fail to appear, which means the prosecution can offer no evidence against the defendant and the charges against them are dismissed. Conversely, if the defendant is told that all prosecution witnesses are in attendance then they might change their plea at the last minute. Occasionally the prosecution will apply to withdraw the charges against the defendant if new information comes to light.

If the defendant fails to appear then the trial will normally proceed in their absence, unless it is contrary to interests of justice to do so. Additionally, for a defendant bailed to appear for trial, they run the risk of an absconding charge and warrant being issued for their arrest.

At the start of the trial the only information the bench will have are the charges laid and a copy of the PET (preparation for an effective trial) form. They do not have access to any of the evidence in the case or the defendant's previous convictions, although they may have had previous dealings with the defendant.

Supposing the trial does go ahead, then it will proceed as follows.

1. The legal advisor confirms the not guilty plea:

The charges are put to the defendant, just in case they have decided to change their plea at the last minute. In the event that a guilty plea is now entered, the prosecution will outline the facts of the case and the defence can mitigate. The court will then be in a position to sentence the defendant (or adjourn for sentence at some later date). The trial will proceed if the defendant maintains their not guilty plea.

2. Consideration of PET form, trial issues and timetable:

This step is sometimes very brief or omitted entirely. In theory the legal advisor will draw the court's attention to the issues agreed and disputed in the PET form. The advocates will be asked to confirm these issues. The legal advisor will also remind the advocates of the timings indicated in the PET form.

3. Prosecution summarises its case:

The prosecutor will summarise the case against the defendant and introduce any relevant legislation.

4. Prosecution presents its evidence:

The prosecution advocate will present any of its evidence that is formally agreed. This could involve reading out transcripts of police interviews or section 9 statements (e.g. witness statements that are not in dispute).

5. Prosecution witness - evidence in chief:

The witness will be sworn by the usher. The prosecutor will begin by asking the witness to identify them self to the court. The prosecutor will ask subsequent questions of the witness to help reinforce the prosecution case.

6. Prosecution witness - cross-examination:

The defence advocate will ask questions of the witness in an attempt to cast doubt on the prosecution case.

7. Prosecution witness - re-examination:

The prosecutor may ask further questions of the witness to clarify any issues raised during cross-examination. The prosecutor should not be trying to adduce new evidence from the witness.

8. Questions from the bench:

The bench will have the opportunity to ask questions of the witness. These questions should be to clarify anything raised by the witness' earlier evidence. The bench should not be trying to adduce new evidence from the witness.

9. Submission of no case to answer:

At this stage the defence advocate might make a submission that there is no case to answer - e.g. the prosecution has failed to discharge the burden of proof required for a conviction.

10. Defence witness - evidence in chief:

The witness will be sworn by the usher. The defence advocate will begin by asking the witness to identify them self to the court. The defence advocate will ask subsequent questions of the witness to help cast doubt on the prosecution case.

11. Defence witness - cross-examination:

The prosecution advocate will ask questions of the witness in an attempt to cast doubt on the defence case.

12. Defence witness - re-examination:

The defence advocate may ask further questions of the witness to clarify any issues raised during cross-examination. The defence advocate should not be trying to adduce new evidence from the witness.

13. Questions from the bench:

The bench will have the opportunity to ask questions of the witness. These questions should be to clarify anything raised by the witness' earlier evidence. The bench should not be trying to adduce new evidence from the witness.

14. Prosecution representations:

The prosecutor will summarise the key points of the prosecution case and try to convince the court that the defendant is guilty of the offence.

15. Defence representations:

The defence advocate will summarise the key points of the defence case and try to convince the court that the defendant is not guilty of the offence.

16. Legal advisor addresses the court:

The legal advisor summarises key points of law to the bench - e.g. which conditions/elements need to satisfied in order to convict the defendant.

17. Verdict and reasons:

The bench will normally retire to consider its verdict. The verdict is given in open court along with the reasons that verdict was arrived at. If the defendant is found guilty of the offence, then they will be sentenced either immediately (for those offences attracting a discharge or financial penalty) or after an adjournment (for those offences deemed serious enough for a community or custodial sentence). If the defendant is found not guilty, then they will be free to leave the court.