Legal CPD Courses

Find A Course
Introduction to Magistrates Court Advocacy

Introduction to Magistrates Court Advocacy

A comprehensive introduction to magistrates court advocacy for newly qualified criminal practitioners

5 (3 Ratings) 130 Students Preview this course

with Olwen Davies

200

See Brochure

Preview this course

Description

Designed to provide an introduction to advocacy in the magistrates’ court, this course is ideal for those preparing to undertake the Magistrates Court Qualification as part of the CLAS scheme with a view to becoming a duty solicitor.

There are limitations to a course presented in this way in that it cannot assist you trial the practical skills you will need. Given the constraints on criminal practice is unusual for us to observe those we work with whilst they are on their feet conducting cases, as it is more likely that other work needs to be done elsewhere.

How then are you to gain the practical skills you will require?

Fortunately, most junior solicitors have had some advocacy training during the LPC and the pace of magistrates’ court work allows an opportunity to observe other in action from which both good and bad techniques can be discovered.
Within this webinar solicitor-advocate and District Judge Olwen Davies aims to deal with some of the more common concerns that arise within the magistrates’ court. We have not dealt with evidence, disclosure or the trial procedure, as that has been reserved for more detailed consideration in other Datalaw courses.

During this comprehensive series of webinars, the following topics will be covered:
• Magistrates Court Personnel
• Regulation - Professional Rules of Conduct, CPR, withdrawing from a case, local protocol & court etiquette
• Magistrates Court Procedure - Plea and adjournments, summary and either-way cases, allocation
• Bail applications – Bail provisions, conditions and custody time limits
• First Hearings – Common problems and how to handle them
• Sentencing
• Appeals

What you'll learn

On completion of this course you will have a greater understanding of magistrates court practice and procedure, and will have increased confidence in your advocacy skills and abilities.

Requirements

Watch the series of recorded webinar and review the supporting documentation

Who is the target audience?

Newly qualified criminal solicitors looking to complete the Magistrates Court Qualification

Course Content

Recorded Webinars

record_icon

Webinar

00:24:01

Welcome to Data Lord Siri's an introduction to Magistrates Court Advocacy. This is the first of six weapon ours. What we're looking at today is preparing you for the portfolio on for the interviewing, an advocacy exam that you need to complete. If you want to become a duty solicitor, what else can you look up to help you prepare? Well, we've got a series of weapon ours. Each one comes with a PowerPoint presentation. You also need to read the guidelines that Data Logger provided for assessment regulations so that you know what the rules of the exam are, and you need to read the law Society's Criminal Litigation Accreditation Scheme package. All of that can be downloaded from data law. If you get stuck, give them an email or give them a phone call. But you need to do the reading, particularly the regulations before you start, because you don't want to get this wrong. Just looking ahead. What's in our weapon on us? We're going to look at the exams in the portfolio. We're going to look at what actually happens on the day of the interviewing and advocacy assessment day, and I'll call that the I A from now on, then we're going to look. The realities of life is a Legal aid lawyer in the Magistrates Court. Well, consider what you're supposed to do at the first hearing on what's expected of everybody else. Then we'll look at things like bail application, sentencing in mitigation. Well, look at very sorts of regular applications that everybody in court will be familiar with. But when you're just starting off life as a duty solicitor, things could get a bit difficult and overwhelming and finally will finish with small trends. Things like domestic violence, protection orders, closure orders in your life. So number one, the portfolio. What's it all about? Well, you may have done something similar on the LPC, all the bar course. But if you haven't, the object of the exercise is to put together a series of cases as described by the regulations, and these will need to demonstrate that you've met the standards of knowledge that are set out in the regulations. This is done anonymously. The person who's marking the portfolio has no idea who you are. They don't know if you had a previous career. If you are only just starting off Perhaps you've been an ex police officer or other investigators, but I don't know anything about you so they can only judge you on what you put in writing. And they can only judge the case from what you tell them. But of course, there's word limits. So you want to pick cases that are easy to explain. Easy for somebody who's reading, who wasn't there to make sense off on. And you can use that case to demonstrate all the criteria set out in the regulations. So if you send off your portfolio, it doesn't make sense or it's contradictory. Or there's some other problem you're going to struggle to pass, because if it doesn't make sense to the person marking its, you're already on the back four. And essentially what you're doing is explaining what you did, why you did it, how you did it. Or perhaps there was something that you could have done, but you took a conscious decision not to do it. So you're going to be explaining why you didn't do something, just setting out the fact that you took a course of action. For example, I advise the client to plead guilty, isn't gonna get you any marks because what the Examiner needs to know as you're not sitting next to them for them to judge themselves, is what you did. So what did you say? How did you say it? Perhaps the communication difficulties. Maybe it was technical jargon. You had to put in it toward the English on why you said it. And then what advice was given how you got them to make the decision, the advantages and the disadvantages of pleading guilty as against to those of pleading not guilty on the other matters that were discussed. What you could do to help yourself is every time you draft in attendance, no include the U. R and date the court the nature of the hearing and then put them into a folder. Oh, within a few weeks, you have collected a Siris of cases. You can then look back and think which of those cases takes the criterion for the detailed case reports or the short case reports on. Then, as you've done the bulk of the work, when you drafted the attendance notes, you'll be able to write these cases up far quicker. Then if you suddenly sit down one day and then have to think back over four or six months to which cases you want to include. So read the regulations. Make sure you know what to include. Make sure what not to do. For example, make sure you have maintained confidentiality. So a bad example would be imagine were at the police station, I told the plant. Then I comment. I told the police officer, That's what we'll be doing One sweet don't introductions beginning of the tape. What the Examiner is looking for is, I explained, what the caution waas. And then you explain how you broke it down. Explain to misdirect the advantages of going no comment and you'll set those out. I explained the disadvantages and you explain. Those are then explaining he could answer questions, set out how you did that and then set out the advantages and disadvantages as you explain to them of answering questions on that, you might say, I also told him there was a bit of a whole White House, which was a pre prepared statement. And then you explain the advantages and disadvantages on record, how you did that, and then perhaps you said to him. I told him it would be best to do a prepared statement because set out your explanation and he adopted my advice. So in a criminal case in the Magistrates Court, let's imagine it's day one and you're seeing the client on these in the cell. But wrestle has been charged with shoplifting. So you're going to say in your portfolio, explain the if their offensive left of coffee to Mr Smith, I told him the prosecution would have to prove that he appropriated property belonging to another on that at the time he intended to permanently deprive. And he was dishonest. Well, in ordinary English, you would explain the ingredients, and you would then go through the strengths and the weaknesses of the prosecution case. Let's say he's stolen this from right under the nose of the store detective. So you'd say I explained to him that the coffee was property for the purposes of the that died on that by taking it and sticking it under his coat had appropriated it. It belonged to Tesco. That was obvious from the circumstances. So I explained, the prosecution has to prove to start with the physical act of the offense on that by taking the coffee. When it wasn't his to take in these circumstances, they would be able to do that. I explained to him the intention to permanently deprive, as defined by Section six of the Theft Act, meant treating something for a save your own for these purposes and that by taking the coffee is he done? He had that intention. I then went hand to explain the concept of dishonesty. Since Ivy and Genting and I explained to him that this was would be taken to the court as what was dishonest by ordinary, reasonable people, Standards explained to him that taking something that came for it when you knew for well, you have to pay for it was almost certainly going to be seeing is dishonest by ordinary standards. On that basis, the state of mind the law requires to be proved would be capable of being proved as with the physical ingredients of the offense. I took his instructions, lets him I didn't say, Oh well, I I was going to take the coffee or Senate to buy drugs with. I explained to him therefore, that he had no defense on, but he ultimately guilty today because he would receive maximum credit for so doing. And then you explain how you set out credit to him. So it's about what I did, how I did it, why I did it, or in some cases, why I refrained from advising our course of action on your slide headed purpose of the portfolio. You can see what the regulations require you to do so which cases we're going to use because it's two bits to this. There's the 20 short places than the five detailed warms these need to be in chronological order on. There can't be any older than 12 months at the date you submit them. She's another reason to start collecting them now. You've got 12 months to pass both the portfolio on the A. Unless there's exceptional circumstances. For example, you were seriously ill or you were, um, on maternity leave, and you've got to submit your portfolio electronically. That can take some time to upload it. Also, make sure you don't leave it to the last minute because the deadline is four PM on the dates. I don't start doing it at 3 30 My advice to you is to book a time out in your diary so that you put some time aside to do this. Have put a reminder in your diary seven days beforehand and then another reminder two days beforehand. You can't afford to mark this are so which cases do you want to use? No. When you upload the portfolio, you're gonna need a front sheet, or at least the top half of your first page setting out type of hearing type of case. Date of hearing the U. F N or you are in. Make sure that you read them all through and ask yourself what it makes sense to the person marking. Have I demonstrated what I need to do, looking at the assessment regulations in order to do it? If a case doesn't throw off ammunition for these purposes, don't include it. Find a better case you're short. Cases need to include a range of offenses. Five Summary only, and at least five either way matters. If you want to include an indicted will, only you can do. But in an adult cool, it might not generate an awful lot of ammunition because, of course, it's just sending. Although, of course, the might be a bail application on you need to show, amongst other things, you prepared for more than one clients in the course of a single court session. So in these days of diminishing work, because the police have just given up geology in some parts the country when you have a situation where you have been inactive for two people in the same court on the same day, make sure you store those cases because it's becoming increasingly rare in some court centers. For that to happen on top of this, you need to show that you prepared in more than one Magistrates court. So you've been to Nottingham A. Darby, aren't you need to demonstrate your representative youth in the youth court, and you need to show you covered a range of applications because this is all designed to show that when you reduce the sinister, you can run around the court building doing all the different things. That duty is called upon to dough. So get yourself a procedural application, at least one that might be in a German. Now it's very difficult to succeed in obtaining in a German, but that's not what you're being asked to do here. You're simply being asked, for example, to make an application. So that might be something saying, Can you put them at about for a PSL and then having to argue your course? Because the course I initially will. I don't see why I need one. A very lap a venue submission. So that's allocation on a plea in mitigation, and in each of the short cases, you're gonna do a brief description. What it was about, what you did, why and what result. Waas. The Examiner needs to know the offense earned. Whether it's either way, some really and $1 blow only what your application waas on what submissions you made in support. Did you have to deal with interventions from the judge for, for example, explain that. Did you appear for anybody else during the same session? And if so, how many people are not? Their cases were about which court on whether any professional ethical issues that survives. It may be that the word, but it's probably a good idea to pick a case or two where there was an ethical issue, for example, of the color cues asked me to represent him, but I could see from the I D. P. C that my client grassed him up. So there was a conflict. Something like that. You can't use the same cases in the short case notes as in the detailed notes, but you can use the same client as long as it was different matters on what data loss suggest you do for the detail cases moving onto those going check with the assessment regulations because these can change, you need a range of offenses. At least one summary. Only one at least one. Either way, you can't include indict Lonely, but you don't have to. And again, you need to show a range of applications, which are listed on your power coins. The assessor needs to know enough about the case description for them to understand the basics of the case. So what offenses would alleged? Was it an adult court or youth call? What sort of issues arose prior to the hearings that might be you talking to the CPS on the client's Maybe talk to mental health? The outline liaison team? Um, what happened during the court? Get a hearing on what happened after, For example, what did you say to the client after, How did you do with the issues that arose? Perhaps the judge gave a tough talking on on issue. So you want to demonstrate that you were able to deal with that? And what was the outcome? If you draw up a standard template, perhaps using the headings for the assessment regulations as to what has to be included, then you'll remember to put everything in. And you know that your description on your details cover everything, so you need to go to include it. Sectional obtaining information, one on assessing information and advice to the client. And again, what? I said why I said it, how I said it. For example, if your client is a professor of law, you're going to explain drink driving to him or her slightly differently, as you might do to a 17 year old. So how I did it, what I did, why I did it. Oh, why you refrain from doing something. This is really the crux, because the market is trying to judge whether you know what you're doing effectively. Did you make any representations to the cool or prosecution? So getting picked cases where you can demonstrate that you have this ability, actually tried to persuade the prosecutor to take a basis and play. Or maybe you tried to persuade them to take a plea to a different offense, maybe a haggled over basis of play. Maybe you have a go idea PC, and you have the hassle them to sort that out. Those are all situations that would be good to include and then heading on your professional ethics. You need an index to this. So what I do on a separate sheet of paper in your portfolio file on your laptop or iPad haven't index and as you go along at each case to it, because it's going to save time. And if you put the date of each case, then when you come to check that everything's in chronological order, that index will tell you, and there's a certificate to complete. Don't forget to complete that has always dental can't process it. So let's have a look at the I I A. Next. It's comprised of three bullets. You have a mock our interview with an actor for 50 minutes. That's not very long, so you're gonna need to make the most of that 15 minutes, you got 40 minutes to do some prep, and then you're going to have a 15 20 minute mark court scenario in front of a deejay where you're going to make a Siris of applications. So it's a tight timetable. But in fact you're probably working to this timetable anyway. In some situations, sometimes you might not even get 50 minutes with a client or 40 minutes to prepare, so you need to be efficient in terms of time. Best tips pretend it's for real, not on exam. That will help with your nerves A swell, but also it will keep you focused on the fact the judges waiting, and you don't want to upset him or her. And make sure your dress miss. You do for cool, because it's essential. But you dresses in Africa, you might fancy a new suit or a new shirt, just a buck you up a bit and make you feel a bit more confident on the day. Some scary things You can be absolutely brilliant, but this but still failed. That would be gross professional errors breaching client confidentiality, so the client said something to in the interference of but I don't want anybody to know this. And then in the panic of the moment, you blurted out and cool, misleading the court or assisting the client to manufacturer defense. So you're unlikely to do these. But no, that if you if you blow it here, it doesn't matter how good you were. It's in Africa. Some other things you need to know. Listen scary. Check what materials you can take into the prep star stage. The interview with the client on the exam. You can't take mobile phones in. You can't communicate with the outside world, I think to yourself, If I'm sitting there reading sentencing guidelines or I'm reading notes that I prepared, I'm no actually getting on with the task of practice all the time you spend looking something up, I'm reading. It is time you're taking away from yourself of making your notes for your practical. When you go into the courtroom, you can't talk to the candidates there on the day. You must arrive at least 30 minutes beforehand because sometimes things go faster in the recessions and they want to call the one earlier. But also there's paperwork doing settling down to do if you like, they may not let you do it because they just may not be any time left in the day that the other day you need to handle with a note saying So let's have a look at the interview stage. Just imagine it's riel you've got into the cells to see or you're going to a consultation room. Courts see a real person. You gotta show that you've established inappropriate and professional reputation relationship with your client, so there's a list on your slides. Make sure, for example, you understandings your client's name and how to pronounce it. The Equal Treatment Bench book, which is produced by the judiciary of England and Wales If you go global pop are the most up to date. One's got a color to naming systems. Pronunciation can be really important, and if you pronounce someone's name wrongly or badly, it could be taken quite badly by the client. If you want to establish a report getting the name wrong, it's not the way to go about it. Simple thing to do is say that's an unusual name from a I'm not sure how to pronounce it. Can you help me? And get them to teach you how to pronounce it. No, everybody wants a handshake, and you might not want to shake people's hands. Think about how you're going to greet them about the language that you're going to use and deal appropriately with them. Very mind as well that you're going to now have to take their instructions and identify their objectives. You've only got 15 minutes. You don't want to dominate this encounter equally. Don't want a client to dominates it. So once you've established your report and explain to what you're going to do namely that your duty, your independent, your free what can it tells you is confidential unless it's agreed. Otherwise, you need to try and elicit as much information as you can from them about the offense or offenses. I'll give him a much advice. You cannot 50 minutes so that you're ready to do whatever you're required to do in front of the deejay, which might be a bailout for a mitigation or something. You're going to need to decide what the appropriate course of action ISS and you quite eerie relisted. Don't let the client like you make a decision. Clients very good saying, While you do believe me, don't you? Or what would you do? Well, it doesn't matter. What would you do? They've got to take the decision on whether you believe them or not, is here or there. It's where the court believes them at the end of the day, if it's going to be a not guilty plea, for example, so keep the client focused about them taking key decisions and help them to take decisions by telling them what the pros and cons are. When you're going to court, you must be properly dressed. You're looking at using appropriate language, speaking clearly slowly so the judge can take notes making use of your notes as well. You haven't got time to write a script you can't use the script on. You won't function properly. Bullet points. Is your king here in that 40 minutes Prep time? Uh, if necessary, just right two or three bullet points per page. It might be useful if you've got a lever arch file or a small file. If you pop that on the bench, we're on the desk in front of you with its sloping down towards you. Arrest your notes. There will be slightly propped up on angle. They'll be easier to see. Don't hold your notes in front of your mouth because it will detract from being heard. And it also looks like you can't deal with the job without having notes, and you want to look confident. Project Confidence and COO Project Authority You're concentrating with the judge or making at what the regulations call coherent and persuasive Application will submission. So that's down to your advocacy skills. But it's also down to working with the client's goals and instructions. You got to be assessed on top of all of this on applying the relevant law, making appropriate submissions on the facts. Andi, in keeping with any evidential rules or procedural rules, the good news is that one of these webinars is all about the criminal procedure rules, which will help you there annually to demonstrate that you have complied with the ethics and etiquette of the court and the rules of professional pond off. So don't like things up. Don't stretch points because you're running out of things to say, Oh, you're panicking. Can you get any practice? We'll take every opportunity when you're in court to practice when you were sitting down and meeting applying. Just think back to what you're going to need to do in the Army. A exam. Maybe cut and paste the headings that we've just looked up, put them into a list. And then when you deal with a client, work through those headings. If you do that 25 times to compile the portfolio, you'll be really practiced when you're appearing in front of a judge, particularly judge in the Magistrates Court again, that checklist to make a checklist and follow it. You'll be doing this a second nature by the time of the exam. So that's an introduction. What we're going to look up next. Our tips on assistance about the realities of life is illegal, a glory in the Magistrates court. So you know what the atmosphere and environment that you're going to work in is like

record_icon

Webinar

00:37:14

Welcome to the second in the series of Webinars. If your introduction to the Magistrates called Advocacy, Siri's helping you to require the portfolio the I A on the realities of life as a legal aid lawyer doing crime first thing to know is, as your boss is probably always telling you, League light rights are incredibly love. There are only 24 hours in a day. None of us would spend all of the working, although sometimes it feels as if you have done, they're only seven days in a week because the hourly rates are so low. Even if you work incredibly long hours, you'll never gonna make a huge amount of money. But if you don't earn fees, then the firm can't pay its bills. And if it can't pay its bills, one of those immediate casualties is likely to be your wages. So there's a constant pressure to earn fees, not just her to pay your wages, but also some firms will rate your abilities in terms of fees. You under pressure to find clients. You're under pressure sometimes in some firms to try to persuade courts to send stuff to the Crown Court allocation because That's the most cost effective way for some firms in some cases. So first thing to know this. Always record your time because that has some effect on what you can build and, in some cases, non standard fees. For example, it could make a huge difference to the fee that is actually received by your firm. If you're lucky enough to have any private payers, then you want to record your time critically because you're going to need to give an honest account to your client of how much time is involved on what they're being charged for, but also making sure that you get paid the full value of the time that you spend and keep proper attendance notes because your attendants know is very often the justification for what you did while you did it on how long it took. But its attendance notes that very often targeted by the legal aid agency, they want to knock you feel you down or up for criticism by contract managers and the like. And if the client is a part of a payer and I want to challenge your bill at the end of the day, it can go to the county court. For those purposes on the judge, there will be guided largely by your attendance notes. You can't afford to lose money, and you can't afford to waste time. Those are the critical things. Sadly, legal aid work is going to involve you in a lot of non chargeable time. That's time that you can't build for its dead time. But it has to be done because otherwise you're not keeping up to date with the contractual obligations with the L. A. And if you don't keep up to date with the contractual obligations, they can make life pretty miserable for you, where you got too much long chargeable time and not enough chargeable told him. It's increasingly difficult to make any sort of profit, so you need to restrict the non chargeable part of your professional life to the bare minimum. That means being really efficient. So don't duplicate things. Make sure you recorded time now, lost its fresh in your memory. Don't guess it it three days later, when you're hanging around a cool, sometimes you want to go for a cup of tea in the tea ball for a bit of downtime. But other times. Take work with you. Catch up with Prepped for a trial. Do you see three D work? Perhaps even do some billing. Aim to be in and out of court as quickly as possible because you're not being paid to hang around, get back to the office and get always something that you can charge for. Try and identify which parts of the working day or nights are the worst paid. Try and restrict those to a minimum. Make sure you record everything times, disbursements, the tenants notes. Whilst it's fresh in your memory, keep receipts. Photocopy them, Photographing on your phone your iPad what have you. But the last thing you want to do when it comes to building something and you've left it to the last minute is to try and Scrabble round and think, Where's that training together? Where's that power part to get be organized? The more organized you are, the more official while on the less money unless time you're gonna waste. The next thing to know is about billing, because if you don't build something is I point doing it. The whole point about being a criminal lawyer is you're selling your time and you're selling your expertise and your knowledge. So if you leave your bills to the last minute, sometimes you might be out of time in the n. A might reject it, but that's also a job that's waiting to be billed, and your firm needs cash flow. And if you don't turn a job into money, it will have a knock on effect on cash flow. Understanding how legal bills work is a must, so make sure that you understand the billing system is a standard fears it nonstandard fairy. Is it a sort of situation where a rectal water is like it to be available? If it's no, what am I gonna do? You don't represent the client pro bono less than absolute brilliant client, because that's on unintelligible. Make sure you know, particularly with litigators, grad fees and advocates crab feeds in the Crown Court. What you're going to get paid for what you're not going to get paid for. Be alive to the fact that a case sometimes reaches a point where it's about to tip into a nonstandard Faye, and they really need to make sure that your attendants know justifies your time what you did why you did it. Why it was so necessary to progress the case. So lawyers, believe it or not, actually like building because it's just a share change from preparing for trials I d piece reading on TPC and everything else. It may be that you can take a few bills to call or not them out wants to waiting to get called on. But the point is, if you don't tell him that job into a bill and you don't send it to the L. A. You're not gonna get paid. Make sure you know where an up lift might be. Claim a ball with valuable witnesses. Quite often, the label play an up lift, sometimes as much as 100%. Is it a novel point of law? Is there some complexity? Identify potential uplifts and identified potential bone standard fees? If it's a private payer, don't be sure ever asking for money up front. These people wouldn't going to a shop and take something without paying. They're not going to go into Debenhams and buy a new suit without paying for it. They're not going to go and see. The vets are not paying a vet for the dogs in HVAC vaccinations, you're the same. If you don't take money up front, they're unlikely to pay you later on. If they're not willing to give you money up front, a smiled senior partner used to say, Let them go to another firm and let the other firm have the bad There. All clients have to have a client care letter. Your firm will have a standard one for that. Make sure you use it. It should be the first thing that goes out. Let's imagine that your client has paid privately, but her succeeded and being acquitted, you're going to need to claim a defense costs order to recover. Some of his legal costs look like her letter proves that there was a returning. If there's no retainer, if the client isn't liable for fees, you can't get them back on a D. C. And make sure if your clients involved in proceedings that begin by what's known as a complaint. Capital C. Section 64 The Magistrates Courts at 1980 if they're successful, for example, your client appeal negates the refusal of a taxi license or he fought off cash, sees your proceedings under Section 295 of the Proceeds of crime, a 2002. There's a finite limit on the prospects of recovering costs, thanks to a case called City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council on Booth 2000. It's really difficult to get your costs back even though you've won on. It's clearly really, really unfair that your client should win and not gets costs back. So that needs factoring into the clinic her discussion and into chlorine care. Letter time management's important. Maybe you've had a career before the law. You know all about time management. Maybe you've just come from university, and this is all a bit of a learning curve. Your day is likely to be unpredictable. You can set out with the best will in the world to go to work and get through your daily tasks. But in crime, there's always disruptions. The client is arrested on warrants. You have to drop what you're doing and go deal with that. Your clients just been arrested, so you got to go to the police station. A new client comes in without an appointment or an old client comes in. It doesn't keep appointments, but he's coming on the spur of the moment. And if you don't see him now, he's just going to disappear. And it could be the day of the trial before you see him so nothing will go according to plan. Expect the unexpected. Try and get your unpleasant or difficult jobs out of the way furnace in the morning because it will make me feel better if you really stuck with something and it's becoming a bugbear. Important is not to leave it. That's how negligence cases start. Go intel. Some of maybe you've got a colleague who's got a file that they Haines. Maybe you can swap because just somebody looking at something with fresh eyes might mean that they actually like the file and they can get on with it. But if you're its stock, ask for help. Going to cool next. There's lots of myths and legends about core courts are often portrayed is completely in a completely unrealistic manner on the TV or in films. The standard of press reporting this country is pretty shoddy as well. Very often, a newspaper article or TV article bears no relation to what really happened. You'll find that if you do a high profile case. You'll find out the reporting makes you wonder whether they're not. The reporter was at the same hearing as you. So it's important to know what the court experts they expected to be on time. Even better be early. If you're not ready, Go and tell the usher that you're not yet ready That you need. I need 15 minutes. Only 20 minutes. This is really complicated. I'm gonna leave a lot longer. Yeah, she might tell the legal advisor you might be told for your need to come in, make an application which case? Going before the judge or the lay bench and say, Look, I need to do the following amount of work. I think it's going to take 20 minutes. Please, can you put me to the back of the list? Or please, can you put me back and I'll let you know as soon as I'm ready? Make sure the usher knows which cases you're in. So in the case of Smith in your court, Usher, I'll in case of blocks next door. I'm gonna be ready in about 20 minutes or I'm ready now. Make sure you're properly dressed. Sometimes people turn up to call a little addressed from the L. It's not acceptable, and you may find in some circumstances, particularly old fashioned benches could refuse to hear you Make sure your phones on silence. Everybody accepts the need to use mobile phones these days. It's okay to use your phone to look something up. It may be that you're doing your diary on your phone. If you're going to need to use it quite intensively for a texting session, it's probably best that you see outside of the chair of the bench. Sometimes people get prickly and sure that you are formal at all times and professional. Occasionally, there's a bit of downtime when the deejay off the bench to talk to you on a more friendly level. But until that cube is offered by them always before more. And if the court communicates with you, although they probably drag their feet when replying to you, make sure that you always respond in a timely fashion. Sometimes the court won't chase. If you don't reply, they'll just conclude that you have no representations to make. They'll make a decision based on the lack of response. The criminal courts are unusual in that the Magistrates themselves are lay people. They're not particularly well trained. That would be the first to tell you they feel their training is really, really poor. At the moment, morale is really bad there to money changes their working lives a disruptive not because the people in charge of the road So who tell the Magistrates when they want them to come, which caught the going to be in a short staffed. The magistrate sometimes get funded, but 9 30 in the morning and asked, can he come to court at 10 o'clock? Yeah, they're being mocked about with expenses that being mocked about with the Internet system that they're expected to sign in. I'm just like the rest of us. They go to court, they're given a loaded I part with all the I. D. P. C on it. And then it doesn't work. So a lot of the frustrations they have are the same frustrations as you have. Don't write them off. You might, for example, find your mitigating about clients poor health and the chairman or one of the windows is a doctor. That's really gonna help you. Well, maybe one of the Magistrates. It works with homeless people on understands perfectly what you're trying to convey. Magistrates are no longer white, middle class staying and pale. A lot of them come from diverse backgrounds. They speak different languages, they practice different religions that got all sorts of different views on a fair number come from communities that have had poor experiences with courts. With the police prosecution, what have you so don't assume anything about them. Don't blind them with science and remember there under pressure to get through their lists. If they're doing a rebound call, nobody's gonna get home until the last prisoners dealt with. Because you can't be prisoners overnight, so they feel responsible. And I feel pressured into trying to doing the right thing. Even though you may not feel that I do their definition. The right thing isn't same as yours, for obvious reasons. But most Magistrates do you want to try to do the right thing and they want to work with you when you come to deal with the judiciary. Things are a little different because district junkies deputy district judges tend to be experienced and good lawyers. Many have been Africans themselves, so they know the tricks of the trade that often understand. If you were in difficulty, for example, would have retreated from the cells cause your client's been offensive to you and you want to give it a few minutes before you go back down there or you haven't had the idea. PC orbits missing, so you don't have full information or you're stuck. You can't get on. You want to get on. But the interpreters no arrived, which is a constant source of frustration to everybody. DJs have to get through their lists. A swell there under pressure, DJs will tell you. Sometimes they come. They're sitting for a whole day and they got 10 trials they can't possibly get through. 10 trials that conscious that there are lots of Africa. It's hanging around, waiting to get all their lots of witnesses hanging around, waiting to get on. And what's the defendant? You want to know their fate, so don't assume that they're immune to pressure either. D J sometimes work with characters called Court Associates, which is a fairly new developments. They may not be legally qualified. That's the function of a legal adviser. The deejay will duel the law on the court associate would duel the importing call associates and under a lot of pressure because the system used in port, known as D and you did you tell Mark up. At least that's one of the more polite names could be really difficult to use. It can stop. It can slow down. It couldn't seem to try to force towards associate a legal adviser. We're spitefully, so it takes a few minutes for a court associate or legal of ours, sometimes to finish in foot. In your case, on the deluge, I can't get on with anything else till that's done. So that's a big drag, and it can be frustrating for judges. DJs tend to be interventionist us. Well, they know what they're going to say. They know what sentencing guideline. And so they might say, I'm great. Trust for appear. So are dealing with the fall of matters. I'll put the case by they might say, I'm not gonna have get appear. So he's breached it really forward he's had for the last five years. I'm going to deal with him without they might say, Well, let's hear your submissions on what I should have a pair, so they might say, Well, that's not a defense. You put this in the platform, but that can't possibly be a defense. You need to give your client some instructions so that can be forceful. An interventionist. You'll just get used to this if you need time. Just sunny. Well, thank you. I'm so madam for raising that point. Well, thank you for join it to my attention. Perhaps you could put them out of back walls. Don't have a few minutes to talk to my client on that. Might defuse any stress or tension. That the reason Then you can go back to the client. So you heard it from the judge, mate, This is the judge's perception, and you might want to discuss matters again. You can't right, so I will get staffed. I'm going to carry on pleading not guilty. That's up to him. As long as he knows all the risks, that's for him. What about the poor or prosecutor? Well, I say Paul role, because life's not a better roses for prosecutors. They'll tell you that a lot of them feeling micromanaged. A lot of them have a huge amount of happening to do after court. They will tell you that quite often they're still completing admin at seven o'clock at night, having started at 8 30 in the morning, they're often hassled by police officers. Particularly see idea, who interfere with them during the working day in court, trying to dictate the agenda, the often afraid of complaints from the police on from complaints by witnesses. And, of course, the prosecutor is likely to be sitting in court throughout the morning in the afternoon session. They're not getting the opportunity that you might be having if you're defending in a gap orange apple PSL core, have been out of walk into court, do a job and then taught out, perhaps have a cup of tea and go back in and do another case prosecutors to stop there for the duration. They've got a different interest, but they've got a shared interest in getting through the work. Russia's next. You might think that the district judge is the most important post in court, but the reality is it's the OSHA. Ushers don't just do the ushering in court there photocopying. They're fetching and carrying stuff. They're looking for lawyers. They're looking for defendants. They're trying to sort out click share the printer That's Brooklyn. That joint toe work out whether WiFi isn't working there looking for the interpreter. Some of them also have management roles behind the scenes, so ushers could be busy people doing lots of things. They also have a vested interest in getting through the list, so you'll find everybody. You're in court way, whatever side they're on. Whatever job I do just wants to get through the list. Always been honest to the usher. Ushers are really good at making your life a misery if you know one anecdotal example not to emulate is a situation in a Midlands call. When a solicitor was extremely rude to rushes and using their mobile phones, they conspired to calling on in front of two separate district judges. But the same time that's earning him a massive telling off from the judge will be kept waiting. If you're nice to the offshore, then they will help you if you turn up a call and you've got to be away for 4 30 because you've got a dentist appointment going into court and saying I need to be aware for 30 got a dentist appointment is unlikely to provoke very much sympathy because you know that court last until it finishes. But if you're nice to the Upshur, is the actual try that you want as fast as they can probation next, probationer there to protect the public and to rehabilitate offenders. They don't provide mitigation. A lot of them are incredibly short staffed. It's stressful for them. They're trying to do dozens of things At the same time, they're making phone course to other probation officers to the youth offending team, social services, police, prisons, all sorts of things. They're constantly waiting for information. A lot of the more start 8 30 with a meeting toe identify who's in today's lists on what we know about them. They'll be trying to get updates on anybody who's appearing today who is already on order. Or perhaps they're a breach proceedings in the pipeline. Then they're trying to prepare reports for the court, which might be in a well report. It might just be an informed update based on progress on ruled out so far. It might be more complicated. Report. It may be that they say, Well, we want the mental health of liaison and diversion team to see the defendant first so they to want the court day to finish. They may be able to help you in some circumstances, for example, with an alternative bail address in a bail hostel. But they might know some parts the country around. Hey, it may be that they declined to prepare a pre sentence report because the clients blown it so many times he's not worth taking on board. He may tell you he will cooperate with a drug rehabilitation requirement or are days. But if he's blown it several times in the past, the recent press particularly they're not gonna work with him. So be alive to the fact that they won't simply agree to prepare a report. And they may quite forcefully tell the court that not willing to prepare one and then the other professionals, you'll meet the youth offending team yachts, mental health and liaise and team. They tend to be psychiatric nurses. They could be really helpful people to talk to. You can't doesn't generally have to be in custody. They will see people on bail. They can often access medical records. In the same NHS area was the court on. They can sometimes provide guidance and helpful information on how to deal with the defendant if they're presenting in a particular manner, very mind that when they prepare a report that will be given to the court and quite likely the prosecutor as well, probation will get a coffee. So that report isn't going to be kept in confidence from the other court professionals. Dark officers have specific rules downstairs in the cells. Technically, the prison rule was applied. They may require you to give up your phone annoying pounds. It may be that you need your iPad because you got your I. D P c on it. You need to explain that if you don't follow their rules, then they could make life difficult. They're often a major cause of delay in courts as well, because they seem to be perennially short staffed, which means that they don't bring prisoners up and down fast enough. Court security staff have a really bad reputation in some parts of the country, but a good one in others they can come across is completely overbearing with all sorts of pathetic rules. The problem is, you're gonna have to meet them on their own terms many times. Otherwise, they won't let you into core. They can be rude. There could be intrusive. They could be insulting and demeaning. You're just gonna have to get through to get into court to get on with your working day and make a complaint after at the moment it's considered to regard to tweet the chief executive officer rate, Jim CTS. So feel free to do that and raise complaints about security stuff either with court management or do it on Twitter, the core back office staff of the people who keep the place going. That could be hard to locate. Sometimes all you've got is a generic email address. They're often under pressure. They're often not enough of them, and moral could be pretty lie. When you deal with a very mind all of those factors, they'll do their best to help, but they won't. If you're rude or impatient, you're bumping to journalists. Journalists make their living out of selling information. Their particular information that nobody else is go and they will sometimes tap you up. Very more confidentiality bear remind us well that there's no such real thing is off the record. What you spoken to a journalist? They've got the information, so be careful how you deal with them. Don't be flattered by their attentions. You'll see they'll soon move off to somebody else if they don't get what they want from you. And it sometimes makes sense to us. Two. CNN. New J. National Union of Germany's Caldas. Well, because lots of people say they're journalists, but not all of them are on any. J members will have some laws, regulations and ethics. You might also deal with clients hangers on. These people might be well meaning, but they might be drunk or drugs. They might just interrupt all the time. They might wind you up. They might want deploying off. It makes sense to try to persuade the client to leave his hangers on at the door of the consultation room. I always explain that you're going to talk at the same time. I can only hear one of your one time. It's really distracting, and I was trying to sort of the client just to come in the room with May and explain to the home result that they could go and have a cigarette able cup of tea that you can departments important in court? No, you modes of address circle, madam. For a district judge or deputy, they call them Judge. Don't call them your worships. Don't call them your Honor. If it's a lay bench, several madam of the person you were dressing and your worships is a collective. If you don't know the name of the Usher, all the legal advisor, just call them Mr Russia or Mrs Legal Adviser until you've worked out or Mr Probation Officer before moral times. Unless you're invited to do otherwise, Familiarity is best avoided until you feel you've got a relationship. It's easier to cultivate with people such as Usher's when you're in court. The rule is that one person speaks at a time on whoever's on their feet is addressing the bench and you don't get up until they got down is tempting to get off but interrupt, particularly when somebody saying something that you regard is irritated, more stupid. Just just wait till they've sat down because they might say something else that puts matters right or it may be that you want to listen to the whole of what they've got to say, and then you can delivering all response. Don't talk over each other. It's really difficult for the tribunal to follow. Make sure you're properly dressed and it's customary that you put the course convenience first. People turned up, of course, sometimes something that they've got to leave early because of child care or have got to leave because they got an appointment. The court will resent this because it's got business to get through. Everything has to respond, ordinated to getting through listing. So if there's going to be a hiccup in your working day, you need to try and get into court. Will be ready ASAP or arrange to swap with a colleague who can take over. If it's a real emergency, then you go. I want to explain that to the court and see if they will assist you. But if your clients in custody, he's got to be dealt with to die. And if it can't be called on early, for example, the interpreters not turned up, then you will have to make arrangements for somebody to represent him. If you have to leave, you're going to cultivate soft skills. If you've had another career first, you've already got some of these treating people with courtesy and respect, even if I don't deserve it. Smiling at people can help to defuse tension and help calm them, putting people it knees whether it's your client, whether it's Russia, whether it's on opponent, whether it's a witness is always a good way to make friends and influence people. Make sure your communications effective. If you deal with a professor of all, you can talk to him about actors where Simmons riot. But if you're dealing with a 14 year old girl who's been accused of assaulting another girl at school, you're going to need to adjust your communication to make sure she understands you. It's not her job to understand you. It's your job to make sure she understands, have strategies for defusing tension, for defusing stress or regression. We will encounter it frequently because of the nature of the beast. Ironically, you're more likely to meet psychopaths sitting on the bench or prosecuting or defending that you are in the cells. The people that you do is professionals could be equally aggressive or frightening or bullying, so strategies to deal with distressed or angry people are always good to have learnt, perhaps by watching others. What works. If in doubt, if you're dealing with an aggressive, defame window, find a means of disengaging, for example, right? Well, I think it makes sense for me now to go and talk to the prosecutor. You get a cigarette and I'll come back and find you in a few minutes. Or do you want to get a cup of tea whilst I sit down and think about this? Someone's air braking that tension so that you can resume the relationship in a column away in a few minutes? Well, all of this probably sounds quite exhausting. And that's the next thing looking after yourself, because being a criminal legal aid lawyer means that you're doing a day shift in court and you do the night shift on a weekend shift in the bank holiday shift. Dealing with police stations on dealing with prep of dealing with billing and all the other things because there simply aren't enough hours in the day to do it. That means it's stressful. It's tiring. It depletes your energy. Being resilient is important, but even the most resilient of people can have too much. Sometimes you'll see a flash of temper in a courtroom from a professional. They just had enough to die, They put been coping, But this is just the last straw. Another stressful feature is the fact that being a legal aid lawyer just doesn't bring the financial resort rewards that the people around you think it does. A lot of people think you're only 100 grand years, a training system for start, because that's what big city London firms play. If I am late, you probably got student debts and other debts. The money you earn is really hard. Earn your knackered by the end of the week. Excuse the expression and there isn't the money in the bank that you'd hoped. So you need to look after yourself. You need breaks from work. Any distractions like obvious going to the gym, playing football, watching the cricket, all those sorts of things reading books on you need sleep That could be difficult. Make sure that if you're no on call on the in house rotor or duty road, sir, just switch your phone off minds. You could always find another way of setting in a long if that's what gets you up in the morning, but just have a break. People will think nothing of phoning you at two in the morning for advice because they're open about working. You don't really want a phone. Call it two in the morning asking for advice. So my advice to you is switch your phone off. Coming to the end. A couple of other things ethics. Ethics are really important. Some people don't have them. It takes ages to get a good reputation. When you're starting out because nobody knows you and you have to prove yourself, you could just blow that reputation in a matter of seconds. As a result of misjudgment, it's far better to have a bland reputation or not at all than to be perceived as the bent bloke from blog's and kind judges. Now you, who has a bad reputation, ushers No probation, no prosecution, no other defense lawyers. No, you don't want one. You've got the SA write code of conduct. You can always use that if you're stuck. You confirmed the law, the SRE Ethics help line, although it has to be said they're not particularly responsive. You can also email them as well. If in doubt, find an experience and trusted source. Maybe there's an older practitioner. Court will sit down and give you 10 minutes of their time. Maybe there's somebody in your firm. Maybe there's a mate. You did the LPC with who you feel you can trust. One of the annoying thing was, is that you could be squeaky clean, but people around you don't have those standers current problems in court because of the diminishing around the work of the firms that turn up at nine o'clock, troll the cells and sure before you and try Nick. Your clients get to call early whatever you can, particularly in a high profile case. Otherwise, you'll find the scenario. But it's Midland's Crown Court with 15 defendants in the slavery case on 23 solicitors, all claiming to represent them when you're at the police station, get the cream. 14. Sign there. Don't if you get a phone call or you make a call and find out clients. Me. George Deacon Logic. If you got a reporter is gonna be hard for somebody to nick that plan. Solicitors were often trying undermine other solicitors either directly by going and speaking to the client, which is not unheard of in the Midlands. The resisters who pretend to be the duty solicitor and sitting the duty room when the real duty isn't that there are people who will get their clients to try and undermine you by getting their clients to tell your clients you're not up to the job. So for the best report with your client, give them one guarantee that you can give in in the business of a call environment, and that's a currency that you do your best for them. And then, lastly, what if horror of horrors You make a mistake? Well, it's some mistakes there, just minding misjudgments. This job is thinking on your feet, and you will make a mistake because you've had to make a judgment call on you. Called it wrong That happens, learned from it what color have done to improve the outcome. If you've made a mistake that is gonna have a knock on effect, can you put it rides without breaching any professional or any other obligation? For example, you cooked up in court. Excuse the expression, he told the duck judge. Something you've now discovered isn't correct. Gary Bracun. Ask if it could be called back on again, if necessary. Just do a brief note to the judge. Dear Sir Dear Madam, I now realize I furnished you with some information. Alya, that's wrong. I need to correct the matter of friends off you and my opponent and the judge will probably be funding for to you. So confessing. Avoiding is one strategy. It may be that you need to start again if you're panicking or you think you're gonna panic, which is not an unusual reaction. Ask the time I apologize If you've misled somebody, it may be what this work sometimes with circuit judges. What would you wanna wish me to do to try to put matters right? You're desperate to avoid wasted costs, which can happen. You don't want to make a mistake and cover it up because that mainly to difficulties with your professional indemnity insurers, it may need to complaints from the court or maybe took complaint toothy S r i or to the l A. So if in doubt, speak to somebody within your firm. A managing car, for example, explain what's happened. The sooner you share the problem, the sooner attempts could be made to put right or minimize the damage. So that's a guide to everyday life in the Magistrates court. You don't need to know this to pass the exam that you're about to do with a portfolio in the I A. But I hope you'll agree that it's helpful to know a bit about the environment that you're going to spend your professional life in good luck with it.

record_icon

Webinar

00:52:01

we'll continue Webinar number three in the introduction to Magistrates Court Advocacy, Siri's and today we're going to look at what's going to be expected of the parties that the first hearing, so first thing, check in with your client If he's in the cells, if he's on bail, he's probably going to turn up late. But look for him. The problem in many courts today is there are firms looking to nick your client. If you check in with your client as soon as possible, you reduce the risk of this happening. The other thing is, if your client's been in the cells, he's probably lost all concept of time. He's impatient to see you. He's anxious, his welfare. Maybe the question that needs to be addressed and you turning up a soon as possible will reassure him, and that will help with your relationship with him. Let the usher known the ushers job is to keep everything moving. The usher needs to know who's there. Who's representing whom. Which cases are ready, where there's likely to be delays where the CPS have got a problem like no papers where the court Clark is ready to call on cases what have you so make the life of the usher easy by letting them know that you're here very representing when you likely to be ready. And if you're going to be out of sight, for example, in another courtroom or in the cells, let them know that, too. You want the usher to be your mate for the rest of your career because ushers have a lot of influence and could make your life easy or they can make it miserable. You need the I. D. P. C. If it's a CPS case, there'll be a generic email address for the court you're using. Seek that as soon as possible. If you're encountering problems, let your prosecutor no, although there's no always anything they can do about it. And let the court know that the impediment to progress this morning is you obtaining the I. D. P. C. It may be the prosecutor will let you read their i D PC off their screen. It's not a brilliant solution, but at least you can start to think about the case. If you're not being prosecuted by the CPS, let's imagine Probation breach, R S P C. A. Local authority they may have already sent the equivalent of I d pc direct to your client. Your client probably hasn't bought it to court or given it to you, So you're gonna need to get another copy. Probation normally have breached reports available. Of course. In any event, and you're going to work off that to advise your client if you need time, let Legal Advisor all the judge known they're trying to plan the court list. They want to get the list finished. And if they know they're going to be issues and glitches that can work around that on the other news. How are you getting paid to die? Have you got a reporter already? Do you need to get the client signed up, get him signed up first, then get on with the discussion about what? Please going to enter and what else needs to be done? If you, sir Private payer, then you're going to need to talk to him about money upfront before you do very much more. That's imagine you in front of consultation with your client, Andi. He's decided it's going to be a not guilty plane. You need to complete the preparation for effective trial form. The pet for one easy way of doing this as you're talking to the client and getting instructions is to fill it in, particularly the boxes about advice on credit for guilty play, because you can show him the box is your ticking, and that will help you explain to him why you have to raise credit for a guilty play. Some clients take The discussion about credit is being pressure to plead or ignoring the fact that they're denying the offense so is useful to be able to point to the box on the pep form and say, Look, I've got to take this box, so I've got to talk to you about it. I'm not pressuring you, and I'm not ignoring the fact you're telling me that you want to plead not guilty. Say it may be that he will plead to alternative. You can discuss that tickle the relevant box. It may be that he's pleading guilty with a basis. You might want to put that basis on the platform, or you might want to do a separate document and have him sign it. The prosecutor will want that on the court will want it, too. It is going to be a guilty plea. You're going to want the client to complete the means form unless it's an obvious committal for sentence. Some clients need help with this because they're reading writings. Pour some, can't deal with figures. So it may be that your client needs some assistance. If he's got, for example, his model girlfriend, their moms and girlfriends usually pretty good at filling and means forms four clients and it may be that they will help. And then you can get on with something else. If this is a case that's likely to be sent for trial, you're going to need to complete your portion of the better case management for the B C. Make sure it's completed fully because it can irritate the court Clark on the bench if they have to ask further questions to complete it. If the case is going to be adjourned, the client will be in court. He will hear the date time place, but clients don't tend to retain details such as this, so you're going to need to reinforce it with him outside the courtroom. Can you get him to put it into his mobile phone. You're going to write to him with a follow up letter anyway. But if he's of no fixed abode and he's got a phone putting it in the phone and then and there might help and make sure he knows that if he doesn't show up for trial, it could go ahead in his absence and he won't get any saying if he's not there. The other thing is, if he's been bailed, he'll be committing a bail act offense. If he doesn't come back to court on bail, Out says it's his tend to be in consecutive to the main sentence. Let's just have a quick chat about pat forms now, and this will apply if you go to the crown, Call on your doing any advocacy there, and you have to fill in a PT pH preparation for trial. Crume, the object of the exercise, is to set out everything that the court needs to know so it can work out how much time is needed. What needs to be done by the court to ensure this trial is effective on the date and time set aside for it. Problem is that what you put in a pet or Petee pH form can be used against your client in certain circumstances. And if you go back to the e book that we've prepared for you look at Value Authority and the DPP. You will see that it can be used in certain circumstances. The too obvious circumstances are the client has admitted something on the platform and now tries to change his mind and deny it. Or let's say he's made admissions but is pleading not guilty. For example, he's put down an example from real life possession of a stun gun, and he's saying not guilty. Somebody gave me the stun gun. Well, he doesn't have a defend someone might have given in the stun gun, but the fact that he took it into his hands means he's in possession away. So in those circumstances, the prosecutor wants to use what's in the pet form to prove that he was in possession and he doesn't have a defense. So how can that be used? Well, it's section 118 subsection five of the Criminal Justice Act 2000 and three. The prosecutor will need to prove the contents of the pet fall, but In essence, that doesn't take very much. It's simply really need to see court to be hounded the pet form, and there's no need to call a witness to produce it. In essence, it's become a public document, so be careful. When you fill in these forms, it may be that you want to tailor language, make it conditional or phrase it in a careful manner so it can't be used against the defendant. Sometimes, however, that's impossible. So the defendant needs to know that what goes on the platform can be used against him in limited circumstances. You'll find when you have the pet forming as well that sometimes the legal adviser or the district judge ask questions that would do this sometimes of the prosecution, particularly where it's a week prosecution case, for example, the judge doubts whether it's a matter of law, it can be improved. But equally, let's imagine, the defendant has said, I'm not guilty to possession of Tasers or stun gun. Somebody gave it May. The judge is going to say, Well, he doesn't have a defense, does E because he's just accepting possession. What he's driving out is basis of plane. I was only just given it when I was stopped by the police. So do expect to be challenged and questioned about the contents of the platform from time to time. It's not bullying. The Office for Judicial Conduct won't won't respond to complaints if you're shopped around by a judge. In these circumstances, it's known as robust case management. Let's imagine you're in court and it's a summary only matter you want to make sure the defendant knows what's going to be setting. Call what's expected of him. So run through that before you go in the courtroom, you might want to sit as close as possible to him, particularly if he's inexperienced or nervous or anxious. And just say to him, If you don't understand what's going on, you don't understand the question. You don't know what to say. Just say so or whatever I do with clients is say if you don't understand, just lapsed and you've got my attention and then you tell me what's wrong are more. Sort it out so he'll be identified. Name, address, date of birth. Some clients don't know their dates of birth. It's not unheard of, particularly in cultures where the date of birth isn't recorded. He may not have an address. No fixed abodes. Fine. There's no justification for refusing bail because somebody's homeless. There's nothing under the bail act that justifies that you'll be asked his nationality. A lot of people have strong feelings about this. Whether they're legal advisers, Magistrates, judges, Africa, it can come across is demeaning. So forewarn him because he may feel alarmed by this particular of his immigration status is irregular. You may feel insulted. His nationality is what he thinks it is. If he says that he's English or that is British, or that his Pakistani Bangladeshi that's entirely his choice. It may be that the reporting restrictions, for example, it's a sex offense. And so the name of the complainant can't be broadcast it. Maybe from time to time, you want to apply for reporting restrictions to try to prevent your client's name coming into the public domain. It would be very rare that you do this. It will be even rare that you succeed and you'll find notes about that in your e book. The prosecutor may also want reporting restrictions, for example, in blackmail. Then you won't be naming the victim in open court if they were going to be sequential trials inju course at the Crown Court, for example, the prosecutor may want reporting restrictions now, so the court will deal with that. As a preliminary matter, play could be taken on. He's either going to plead guilty, and you may have to mitigate now. So for wall him, if you plead guilty now, you may well be sentenced now without a report, or it may be put back for a report for later on today or in some cases, it may be that it has to go off for a few days. But the client needs to have his expectations manage that he could be sentenced now, and that can include going to prison straight away. It is pleaded not guilty, is off the trial, and he'll be remanded either on bio or in custody. Courts don't always want Pierre sells these days. Sometimes they're not necessary. If he's already on order, For example, he's on a community order probation, congenitally give the court an update on how well or badly he's doing, and that might inform the court it's always a good idea to have a quick word with probation. First color clients will tell you that they're doing really well on the order, but then when you speak to the probation service, you'll find out has not kept any appointments and breach proceedings were in the pipeline, the court might say. Well, in that case will bring forward the breach proceedings and deal with those as well this morning. It may be that you want to apply for another reporter at that stage because you're going to be doing move in one case. If he's going Teoh contest the bridge proceedings. You definitely want a reporter because that's going to go off patrol on another day. It may be that your kind is pleaded guilty to a summary only offense, but these had some sort of benefit out of this offense, and the prosecution want to confiscate that benefit. They can insist that the court commits the matter to the Crown Court for sentence under section 70 of Parker. So warm the cloning. In some cases, this could go to the Crown Court for sentence, even though it's summary only because the prosecution are after confiscation. He can't get any bigger sentence than the Magistrates can impose in this situation. But if it's an either way, offence on the prosecution insist on committal. Under Section 70 he could be committed with the Crown Court's powers of sentence. Or he could be committed with the Magistrates course. Powers of sentence. The critical thing is the prosecution want the poker, but you need to be ready to make representations about which basis it should go up with the powers of the Mac score. Only all with powers of the Crown Court on sentence, that's imagine, wouldn't with an indomitable only offence. Well, this is going to be sent to the Crown Court. It might be as quickly as two weeks time. It might be 48 hours. In the case of a murder, it might be four weeks. It depends on local practice, but again, manager clients expectations, because the client is not keen on going to the crown call, and the more immediate that hearing at the Crown Court, the more he's gonna be panicky and anxious. So if it's going to be a hearing in two days time 14 days time, for example, there's a child under 10 involved in the proceedings or longer. Make sure he knows if the Riko accused already at the crown call, then the next hearing date might tie him with their hearing date. You need to complete the BCM form. Very mind that what you put on that could be used against your client in the same way as the pet form can be used in your course. Note the effect of the Crown versus Clark from 2019. You're client. If he indicates a guilty plea on the B C own form will receive maximum credits providing, he pleads at the Petee pH. The other issues you need to deal with now, if it's indicted, will only apart from issues like reporting restrictions of their relevant will be the question of bail custody. The Magistrates Court can give directions for the conduct of the matter on its way to the crown called. So this is your chance to say, Please direct service of the evidence in particular. If there's been an A B e video interview, you want to get that as soon as possible. So ask the Magistrates for directions that you think you need to get this moving so that the Petee pH could be effective only disclosures. Another thing. Case of DPP and Lee is a helpful case to know. Here, let's imagine the prosecution ago Expert evidence. But oh, you go. Is that sf R one, which is just a 23 line? Expert reports. Obviously, you need the expert evidence in full to consider it. You're not going to take the word of an SFR one. It's too vague that maybe stuff that you really need to know that. So invite the court following lead to direct disclosure of that type of matter. Because again, if you're going to need to instruct an expert of your own, you're going to need to get proud authority from the Legal Aid agency in a legal aid case and then get your expert on the ball as quickly as possible. If it's an either way matter, your client will be identified as we've described, if you please guilty. He may be sentenced now, but it may be the sort of case where they commit for sentence. Manage again. That expectation of you may be sentenced immediately. You may be sentenced in the Magistrates, but there'll be a delay of a few hours for a PSR or you may have to come back on another date for sentence, or I think that I streets might commit you for sentence here, So be prepared for that. The Magistrates courts have AH variety of powers of committal for sentence, but most them are to be found under sections 3 to 6 of the powers of Criminal Court. Sentencing Act 2000 or Section 70 of Parker, Baylor or custody is a decision they will have to make generally if he's come into court on bail, he'll leave on bail even if he's pleaded and it's going to the Crown Court. He's pleaded to a motion offense that carries mandatory disqualification like dangerous driving. Then the interim disqualification kicks in. Now on, if he's goingto be subject to the notification regime for sex offenders, he'll have to sign the forms for that now before he leaves court. If you are dealing with someone pleading guilty to sex offenses, they may understand notification because of previous convictions. They may know you need to explain this because it comes as a shock to many defendants that they're now going to have to sign papers and have obligations and liabilities immediately because of the nature of the offense that they pleaded guilty to and that will have knock on effects if they want to move. Address. Go on holiday. What have you starting now? If they don't sign the forms and don't comply with the regime, they may be prosecuted for that. So they need to know that this is quite a serious matter and that they must comply. All risk, further prosecution. Let's imagine that the clients pleaded not guilty to the either way matter. We're going to go through allocation. Should the case be dealt with in the Magistrates, should it be adult within the Crown Court, It all comes across is very confusing to defendants. It may sound as if they're being asked to rent to replete twice. They hear this convoluted language about you could have your case tried here, but it could go to the crown call. Even if you haven't tried here because you could be sent there for sentence, you can ask for it to be Don't here, you can say, want it Don't here, But in fact, we can decide that it goes to the Crown court so it must come across is very, very confusing But the procedure set out in your e book, you know, need to be able to explain that to your clients. And again, this is a sort of situation where the client needs to know that if he's lost by all of this Burbage, he could just say, Pabst on your turn around and you'll tell him what's going on and help him answer the questions. If you've got a climate learning disabilities, it's even harder for them to understand. And indeed, they may not understand because there's too many conditional clauses. And if sandbox, in what's being said to them? If there's an interpreter again, it can be difficult because not all languages like the complexity, the of the words that he used by the legal adviser. In these circumstances, if your interpreter is new to the criminal justice system, you might want to forewarn them that this is going to be quite technical, complicated language, grammatically speaking. So your client, my indicate guilty pleas to some of the offenses but not guilty to the others, Or it might be straight, not guilties to everything he could say no indication, which means he's just preserving his powder. And if the Magistrates decided to accept jurisdiction. Andi, he agrees to consent to summary trial. Then he will be asked to enter a plea. At that stage, the prosecution will make representations about where they think the case should go. Very often, they overlook the allocation guidelines, particularly the second paragraph, which makes it plain that even in serious cases, the Magistrates contrived the case of It's not very complicated, and they can commit for sentence if they think that it's outside their powers. Prosecutors almost always say it's too serious because they only look at the sentencing guidelines. They don't look at the allocation guidelines on the advantage to keeping it in the Magistrates court, particularly if there is a little bit of complexity. Or, for example, expert evidence is that the prosecution very often can't get their act together for the day of trial. They're they're not true already. There refused in a German, and your client walks. The other thing is that if you keep it in the Mexico and he's convicted, you've got on automatic right of appeal. The drawback to keep you in the Mexico generally is this perceived to be a greater risk of conviction for statistical reasons. Andi, the fee is not as good as it might be, so your client can insist on Crown Court trial. The Magistrates can insist on Crown Court trial, but the prosecutor can only make representations if it's going to stay in the Mac school completely. Platform fixed trial date. Do with Baylor custody. It is going to the crown course, complete the BCM form. Sometimes you get a bit of a mix of matters. You might have some either way, offenses and some summary only. What you need to do is work out whether or not there's a connection between the summary. Only on the other ways. If there isn't there, no need to be split, the the ways might go to the Crown Court. But summary only matters may stay in the Magistrates Court, for example, he's been arrested and charged with offenses occurring at different times and dates, and there's no relation. Let's say that he had a fight of the football and has been charged with a section of full and then he was arrested a few days later on Day charged him with on a BH on a pub landlord. That happened a few days afterwards and then a shoplifting that happened several weeks ago. There's no discernible connection between those events is so each one needs to be looked up separately. The Section four is going to be summary. Only the A B H on the landlord is either way on the shoplifting. Hey can elect Crown Court trial, but he can't be sent. So be loath to the fact that just because one's either way, it doesn't mean the whole lot can be sucked up and go to the crown call. If he pleads guilty to some matters but not guilty to others on some of those matters are going to the Crown Corps. It's often in his interest for everything to go if you sentenced in two sentencing exercises one in the max, because he's pleaded guilty on one of the crown because he's found guilty later on for a start, he gets to victim surcharges onto lots of prosecution costs. Potentially, if you're dealing with a breach of post sentence supervision, toe arguably, that can't be committed to the Crown Court for sentence because it's not actually a criminal offence. See the recent case of Bondo Low Grade Shop thefts can cause problems if the aggregate value of the offenses is £200 or more. But it could be committed for sentence under Section three if they're simply low grade, less than 200 altogether than the can go up Section six with the Magistrates. Powers of Sentence only. Let's imagine your client is charged with failure to surrender Andi on a B age. For In the case of Osmond, the Baylock defense isn't linked to the A B age. It might look as if it is because it's all the same proceedings, but in fact they're two distinct defenses. And so the bail act defense who adult within the Magistrates or if he pleads, it could be committed for sentence. But if he's pleading not guilty to the bailout two phones, then it can't be sent for trial as an ally defense. Have a look at the judgment Norsemen. Another situation you might get within either way or unindicted lonely offense, and it's very, very rare is something called a transfer. This relates to serious frauds or certain offenses involving Children and, essentially, the CPS server paper notice on the course on the defendant, and that essentially means that it's now got a crown court hearing date. What happens in the Magistrates cool when your client appears is academic because the decision to transfer, which is one the CPS can take on one the SFO can take, has already been made. It could be difficult to explain this to clients because it's a rarity. Few clients experience it, and they don't understand why they haven't had some say in the matter. On a situation that could be difficult is a combination of youth and adults in the same proceedings adults can elect. But youths can't Very often. The prosecution will say that they should all be kept together. And if the adults are going to the Crown court, so should the youth. If the animal elects, then the prosecution was so they should stay together as well. There's a really useful chart if you go to the sentencing Children and young people, definitive guidelines at the sentencing counts or website. There's a chart that shows you how the court made the decision. Lots of people believe that it's a good idea for the youth to go to the Crown Court because he's got a better chance of acquittal boats. The younger he is the small. He will struggle in the Crown Court with the size of the courtroom, the formality, the language and all the other problems, such as the fact that public can come in and watch, whereas they can't in the youth call. If he's tried in the youth court, then he's got a right to appeal. If he doesn't like it, if he's tried in the Crown Court and he's convicted, then he will only be able to appeal conviction or sentence if he gets the leave of the judge trial or a single judge. Juries may know, understand young people Juries judging life through their own experiences. They forget what it's like to be young. Your client may come across as a horrible little individual to an elderly jury. Where is that the youth call? Although you might be cynical about youth, justice is most JPs who sit in the youth court, are trained and do have an understanding of life through the eyes of a young person. Don't assume the Crown Court is the best place for a young client to be tried on the younger he is, the better his prospects of being tried in the youth court and the better off he will pay. You will meet resistance from the CPS because they only want one trial for financial reasons and also because witnesses might only be inclined to turn up one trial, not both. So you're going to need to think about your submissions. There's case law to help you, and there's the welfare of the child. Section 44 of the group Children and Young Persons at 1933 to help us. Well, let's imagine you're in the youth court. During this exercise, the court will need to carry out a number of steps. Is it a grave crime? Well, that means they've got to be satisfied. There's a realistic prospect that if he was convicted, sentence will be one of more than two years detention. And that's the South time side case in your nose. Great crimes are limited to those gain on your slide, so you know whether it's going to be a grave crime. If you look at the sentencing guidelines for an adult and then look at the sentencing approach token to two young people, you'll be able to work out roughly given your client's age, what discount he would get on the adult sentence that will help you work out whether or not this is worth more than two years. Realistically, if it's not, then you're going to want to argue it's not worth two years. It's not a great crime that he should stay in the max thought The Magistrates Court can send for trial. They can also commit for sentence under Section three being Powers of Criminal Court Sentencing Act. Let's imagine that he's been born into a court that isn't a youth court that's imagines the other core. There's no youth court sitting, and it may be that the court can't deal with him because of its composition. Deputy District judges, for example, don't have youth ticket what will often refuse to deal with the youth other than to simply a journey into the next youth court? You want reporting restrictions because he's under 18 and you want to deal with bail because there's a lot more to it than without holes. If you send to the Crown Court in due course, the Crown court can remit him back to the Magistrates Court for sentence so it may be that he sent to the Crown Court. He pleads guilty up there, and then he sent back. That could be really confusing for a young person. Why have I been to allow these different course? Why couldn't just one court sort my case out in one go? So if you sent to the crown call by the grave crime or he sent because the magistrate to take the view it's too serious for them to deal with, then alert him to the fact that if he's convicted or pleads guilty, he may be returned to the youth court for sentence on. Just tell him if that happens, I'll explain it to you again at the time. So you understand you can actually try an adult on the youth together in the adult court. So let's imagine that both adult and youth of appeared so either summary or either way it's been decided that the case is going to stay in the Max Court. The Magistrates Court can then go on to try the matters, so it's unusual. But it does happen, and it will feel weird that the youth is actually being tried in an adult environment. But the law permits where the witness is under 18. Then a reporting restriction or direction will be made that their details can't be published. Broadcast all What have you if your client is under 18? Same privilege applies to him. If it's a sex offense than the victim isn't named under the sexual offenses a moment act. And there's also something called a reporting direction that either party can ask for. That prevents a witness being named in proceedings. Let's imagine your client is a police officer and says, I don't want my name on a just in the papers. People might come around and trash my house or my wife is going to be embarrassed about this. You could make an application for the name and address to be withheld under Section 11 of the Contempt of Court Act. You're unlikely to succeed, however, because the public interest generally lies in publication on the public right to know. But the case of Harper on Old Shop Magistrates Court will help you if you're looking for assistance with the law. One of the other things that happens at first hearings is that the client indicates he's going to play, but denies some of the prosecution case, So you're going to need to set our basis of plenty. So he's going to say, for example, I admit a B H. I did punch Jim Smith twice in the face. I didn't kick him in the head. You want to draft that on? The defendant needs to sign it. You're only setting out a basis of play. You're not setting out mitigation. You're not setting out matters that are agreed between prosecution and defense. So you're only setting out what is in dispute. Andi is relevant to the question of sentence. So not responding to the prosecution case is a hole you're looking at. What potentially aggravates sentence? What is denied by the defendant in so far it's is potentially aggregate aggravating and you're setting out in your document, which is Germany going to refer to brief that he ate pleads guilty, but he denies the following matters which a capable of amounting toe aggravating features. There's quite a lot of guidance in the criminal practice time direction, Chapter seven, and on your slides, it set out what needs to appear from what doesn't Don't forget that a basis of plea can be used against the clients. For example, if he deviates from it, if he has to give evidence but any subsequent hearing or let's say the prosecutor says you're basically isn't accepted. So he says, Well, I'm going not guilty. Ban. Well, the prosecutor can use the basis of Pouliot trial under Section 119. Subsection six is a confession subsection five Ondas an admission by him. So he needs to know that if he signs the basis of play. Indeed, even if he doesn't and you handed to the prosecutor and he then changes his mind, wants to deny the offense, then that basically could be used against him. It's up to the judge to decide all the Magistrates, whether or not there except the basis of play. If they don't, then the coast could go off for a Newton hearing. It could feel like a trial, except you're not looking at whether he's guilty or no, you're looking at how guilty he is on that confuses clients as well Off pleaded guilty. Well, my having a trial, if you just explain to him will you said that you hadn't kicked Jim Smith his hearings to decide whether you did it probably makes it easier for him to understand. Sometimes, the prosecutor says, we don't accept the basis, but we can't gain say it. District judges will get irritated at this. Well, a bunch is not so much. But what would judge can do is say, I don't accept the basis of play. It doesn't trouble me that the prosecution say they can't go and say it because I'm going to hold a Newton anyway on. The defendant will have to give evidence. If he wants me to accept his base of play on the processor, Prosecution will get the opportunity to cross examine so you can have a new turn. Even if the prosecution say we're not, we can't gain say we can't call any other evidence the court can insist upon it. And if the defendant doesn't give evidence, the judge can reject the basis of plea and sentence on the prosecution version. If you're looking at a Newton hearing, the defendant needs to know that if he loses on the cap here and goes against him, he may lose credit. Let's say he's pleaded guilty at the first hearing notionally. He's going to get 1/3 off Let's say that you're then obliged to cross examine it the noon distressed witness that may make the harm caused to that person by the offense greater and that might reflect itself in the sentence is greater home, and it might erode some of that discount. PSL was next. In theory, there's a right to appear so under section 252 of the criminal justice at 2003. For your first offense, well, it's easy to get out of that if you read the word and you see a court can decide not to have appear. So if it doesn't essentially think it needs one, so there's no right to a pay us all. Generally, a court will ask for one if it's looking at rehabilitative requirements or on alternative to custody if it just thinks is a suitable for unpaid work. Generally, the probation service can say, while on what I've heard by way of mitigation today, he is for it may be that the court just stand the case down for the unpaid work checklists to be done by probation. But that is just a checklist. It's not appear so with a curfew, all the Courtney to know is the attitude of anybody else that the property that the defendant lives out that's proposed to be the address for tagging. And if you say thumb while his mom says it's okay, then they don't need any other checks than that. If he lives on it his own, it's unlikely that they need to carry out any other checks. Sometimes, probation may say we want to carry out some checks because he's just pleaded guilty to a sex offense on. We want to make sure of who's living at that address. Lessee poses a risk to them. Ditto with violent offenders where the offence was committed against a family member. They're not going to want somebody curfew back at the scene of the crime, so to speak, even if the family are happy to have him back. Some lawyers sometimes asked for a pair. So in the hope that probation will pull a rabbit out of a hat and do their job for them by coming up with some brilliant mitigation, it's not privations. Job to mitigate probation are really under strain from lack of manpower and other resources. They won't do appear SAR unless they're rewarded to do so, And they may say to the court, There's no point because we don't have any recommendation to make. For example, he's breached the order that he's on at the moment. He's already showing that he's not suitable for drug treatment. What have you so provincial will sometimes, So there's no point preparing appear. So the knack is cameras probation beforehand, so you're not taken by surprise. And if they say he's not suitable for anything or not willing to do a report, you now know that you're gonna have to mitigate assumes that guilty pleas entered a manager. Clients expectations. Accordingly, even if probation say yes, we would be willing to do report you might come up against the D. J says, I don't want one. It is normally an indication that he or she is going to lock him up, committing to the Crown Court for sentence or impose a freestanding suspended sentence or some other disposal that doesn't require appear. So. Perhaps a fine. Incidentally, if you're ever on your hind legs mitigating or otherwise addressing a judge and the judge says, I don't need to hear from you, that's generally actually telling you that the judge is already tighten your points on board and is already a result. Decide in your favor. Unless, of course, it said in a curtain voice. In which case he's telling you to shut up. When might you adjourn sentence Very much pressures on now to do with sentence at the same time as the words Guilty said. Sex offenses, Domestic abuse, Racially aggravated matters may well require on a German for the PSR to be prepared. It depends what probation stuffer in the building today, But these are sometimes sent off to specialist probation officers. It may be a psychiatric or psychological reports required, you might think once needed, but the judge may think it isn't so. You're gonna have to argue your corner there. Bear in mind that such reports can be bad news. They may show the defendant is a risk of a high risk of re offending. It may show that no remorse. The defendant may say things to the expert when they're preparing the report that don't look good when you come to mitigate. So sometimes the turning for a psychiatric or psychological to report can rebound. But if you're looking at a potential hospital order on the interim remand that may be required in the run up to that. Then a report will be needed. What you have to decide there is is the court going to require it and they they won't obtain the report themselves if they can avoid it because of the financial implications. So who's going to obtain it? You all the calls. If your client is convicted of a motoring offence carrying obligatory disk, well, then he's gonna be disqualified now, and that will count to the Oval disqualification. That court will explain that he can't now drive a vehicle on the road or public place, but it makes sense for you to reiterate their outside. Cool, because if you ignores your advice and drives is at risk of being done next for driving whilst disqualified sex offender notification we've talked about There are some powers to make interim ancillary orders, for example, a criminal behaviour order. If your client is going to object to the making that order in due course, then now is the time to say so, because it will have to go off for a separate hearing. There's no power, however, to make it into a restraining order. All the court can do is imposed bail conditions. Not to contact the witness, etcetera. On def, your journey sentence. You gonna have to do with his remanded status. If he's coming on bail, he's almost certainly gonna leave on bail if he's in custody. The court my world say that he's remanded in custody until sentence is concluded. Don't forget there's no right to bail post conviction. But that, of course, doesn't mean to say can't be granted bail and it doesn't stop. You're applying for it. We've looked at client expectations and managing those. The first hearing is always important because that's where you establish your report with your client. You're a professional person. You have to break bad news. A doctor wouldn't shy away from telling someone to stop drinking or that they have to take medication or that their condition is serious or even life threatening. An accountant doesn't shy away from telling his client you've got a massive tax bill or you've been investigated by enough revenue, and it's not looking good. You to a professional, you have to break bad news to people. But managing expectations always helps clients tend to be excitable. You always got a client from time to time. He's been drinking or on drugs. Some clients of routes on the nasty and aggressive summer actually violent. Some can be difficult to engage with because they don't understand you because of learning difficulties or other communications. Some may be withdrawn because they're depressed all sorts of things. Many bring hangers on, and they could be a nuisance. If you can exclude them from your discussions, do so sometimes they will contribute and help. But sometimes they talk over you that contradict your advice. And I want to argue it's always best to get the client on his own unless you're confident that the person with him is going to be a help. Some clients don't talk to you, and it's difficult to get any answer report from, uh, particularly with use. Some, however, won't shut up. One good way of dealing with clients when you're just meeting them for the first time is to say, I'm going to talk to you about the evidence and what you need to dio. Then I'm gonna ask you some questions. Then, when I finished, you asked me whatever you want to ask may and explain to this will be quicker. It would be easier for you to concentrate on easier for you to give your attention to their case rather than if they keep interrupting. But stressed to them. If they don't understand, then they should say so at the time, so you can deal with that. Some clients also took perverse reasons. Blame you for their Floyd's. It's not your fault. Try not to get riled, try and ignore it and concentrate on the job in hand. But if you feel that you're getting really wound up in irritated and you will some days, you can just say to the client, Look, I'm gonna problem the talk to the prosecutor about something. You have a cigarette or cup of tea, come back in 10 minutes on that will clear the air and give you a breather. When you're dealing with a Clarin who might be vulnerable, it's always a good idea to go to the advocates. Kate World. Look, talk it 10. That will help you identify a vulnerable person, and it will help you if you go to the police station or you're seeing somebody in the office as well. The other tool kits may help you to adjust your communication to factor in the disabilities or vulnerabilities. When you're dealing with the client, they're going to have to take decisions in the same way as if you saw a doctor and you were ill. You might have to take decisions about your treatment. Don't take decisions for them. Clients are good at saying, Well, what would you do? Well, it doesn't matter what you would do. You're not in their shoes, you're sytem. It's year. That's important. We're talking about you, not me, Mr Blocks. You have to take the decision. My job is to give you the advice you need to take that decision. You want me to go through their voice again? I'm happy to do that. But you've got to take the decision. You might say some. Look, why don't you have a cigarette for 10 minutes and think about what you want to do, and then we'll sit down in a few minutes time. You tell me what your decision is, and then they got a breathing space. Hopefully they will use to make the decision. You're going to want to explain the offenses that they face, what the prosecution have to prove, what you think they can prove and anything you think they might not be able to prove or otherwise might be weak about their case. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence and explain that when you got a client's instructions, explained the strengths and weaknesses of their case, always bearing in mind that the prosecution has to prove the case. But the defendant may need to prove some aspects of a defense, you may be told by the client. Will you do believe me, don't you? It doesn't matter whether you believe them or not. The issue is whether the court's going to believe them at the end of the day, so you might want to bring them back to that point. It's not for me to believe you, Mr Smith. It's what because I think off you. Let's concentrate on that. There may be risks involved with a course of action. If we plead guilty, the risk is we go to prison to die. If it's an imprisoned defense or if we plead not guilty, the risk is we're gonna be found guilty on We'll lose that 1/3 off, which effectively means we get a longer sentence than we could have done. So when you're explaining risks, you need to make sure the client fully understands ongoing with vulnerable defendants. That could be difficult. And it may be very time consuming because you may only be able to go through portions of information and have to have frequent breaks. What, you're establishing a report with a client. It's a good idea as well to set out the rules of engagement. You've explained to me, you are what you do, that you're there to try and do the best for them. But it's a two way thing. They need to cooperate with you and answer questions and give you instructions, and in return for that, you will advise them and take them through this case. You can't promise to achieve results because it's a lot of your tons. You're very much on the back foot because ultimately the court is driving this process on that, also listening to the prosecution of perhaps probation as well as you so guaranteed to do your best. But don't guarantee to do anything else. Don't be pressured into agreeing courses of action that you don't want to do. Classic is, for example, can you send a message to so and so can you get me some stuff bought into custody, not cigarettes. And yet you will do this one. You don't agree to do things that are aren't in your power. And you're just going to have to say to the client, Can't agree to do that. I'm sorry if you're in the sale, was dealing with clients. Whatever the stock officers say, they're not watching your back there. They're doing their job. Only you are going to look after yourself in the cells. Just take sensible precautions. Be nearest the door. If there's a panic strip, that doesn't mean you're necessarily be able to reach it in a crisis. Make sure you know where it is and sit as close as you possibly can. If tensions rising or the client shown signs of aggression, then diffuse it. Just say, Look, I'm gonna go talk to the prosecutor about your case. I don't know whether I can achieve something. Give me five minutes and that will allow you to withdraw safely and have a breed in space. Hopefully, jury much the plant. Calm down. If you're not happy about the client, then see them in a secure interview room. If there is no secure interview room, then you're going to need to think about how you're going to manage talking to the clients. It may be that you end up talking to him through the doors of the hatch of the cell. It's not desirable, but it's a damn sight better than you being assaulted. So by the time you've finished with your client before you go into court, he needs to know what's gonna happen today to me. What's expected of May name, address, date, birth? Give my sister instructions. Answer questions. My solicitor asks. May. What will you be trying to achieve to die? Well, let's say the Kyle is no going to be forthcoming. For example, he's committed an offense where bail isn't available. You're going to say to him, I can't make an application for bail today, but at the Crown Court, in due course, I will be able to explain what's gonna happen between now and the next hearing or if he's just been sentenced and you're saying goodbye in the cells. Are you going to be lodging an appeal. What's the rough time scale when we hear from you? What does he need to do? If anything, In the meantime, what are you going to do in the meantime? And then, do you expect anything else from him before the next hearing? Yes, I expect him to come in and give instructions. Yes, I expect to get his witnesses details. I want to talk to his witnesses. He says he's got some evidence medical reports, CCTV footage, Facebook stuff. Make it plain to him that you need this and you can't prepare his defense. If he doesn't go in and talk to you about it on, bring this evidence. It's no good him turning up on the day at five to bringing it. The judge or much states may say, no, we're not going to allow time. We want the strongest start now, so make it plain to him what is expected of him. In the meantime, well, that's end of weapon on number three three. Water Guy

record_icon

Webinar

00:35:19

welcome to number four in the Webinar Siris on introduction to Magistrates called Advocacy. What we're looking at today are the criminal procedure rules, criminal practice direction on case management. Now you do need to know a bit about this for the purposes off the Army, A on for the purposes of portfolio, because some of that is looking at your ability to demonstrate familiarity with procedural rules. But if you're doing this job for a living, you want to know the rules. You wouldn't got a rugby or football pitch without knowing the moves. So what do you like in cold? And whilst nobody really wants to sit down and read the procedural rules because there's always something far more interesting to dough, you can do an awful lot to further your client's interests on to defend your enemies. If you know these rules, so first thing they're created by statutory instrument. So they are the law. Some people think that they're just made up by the courts, but they're not, of course, do you make up rules. But the criminal procedure rules are no amongst those. The criminal rules are drafted by the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee made up of judges of lawyers, civil servants or source, and they generally react difficulties that they're told about in the court system on the draft, fresh rules or they amend rules. So generally in April and October of each year, there'll be an update. The announcements will be trumpeted in the legal press and you need to be alive to the fact that things are changing just the same as association football or cricket or rugby has changes of rules. Before the beginning of the new season, you could download them from the website that completely free. Don't spend any money on this. I'll show you a slide with the website in a few minutes. The website doesn't just have the rules and the practice directions, but it's also got stock forms. You're always gonna be short of time. Drafting forms and drafting arguments and documents is really time consuming, even though you know what you're doing. But always look at the website because there may be a stock form you can just download and it will make my life so much easier. For example, Section eight disclosure under the criminal procedure in investigations like there's a stock form for that there's a stock for me. If you want to use it to reply to hearsay application or by character, you will go to some courts. And I'll tell you, Oh, while we have a local practice direction, well, it cannot trump the criminal procedure. Rules of criminal procedure will stick a course of action. It doesn't matter what their local practice direction says. The criminal procedurals are the law. You could always ask them what their authority for that local practice direction is. Just in case there is some weird situation where it has the force of law, but the criminal procedure rules come first. The criminal practice direction is absolutely enormous, several 100 pages long going it's created by started to instrument, the court appeal said. It has the force of law. What it does is it supplements each of the procedural rules. So if you read a rule, read the practice direction because there's an awful lot of information 24 for example, which is all about files and sentence in the magistrate. There's no end of ammunition if you want to apply to adjourn a trial or you want to resist an application from a German not just a zit set out what the court should do as a matter of procedural rules, but there's lots of case law in there as well. So these rules on the practice direction complement each other, and they're really, really useful. You can sometimes bring a whole trial toe hope. Simply that Chris, you applied the procedural rules. A classic from work at this in more detail, is expert evidence. Very often, police generated expert evidence just fails to comply with the relevant procedural role. Part 19 and it doesn't comply apart Monty. It's no admissible. We can't be used. So if the prosecution's expert report explaining it's your client's blood at the scene of the crime isn't impart 19 form they call user. So the evidence, unless they get it sorted out in time for trial, won't be appearing a trial. So if you look at the next slide before we start to look in depth into the rules there, you'll see a screen shot of the Ministry of Justice down the left hand side. There's a list of content, so there's your forms of practice directions rules. And then there's just a bit about what's new in the criminal procedurals. So when you want to see it has been amendment that's place to go to its worth. Saving that in your favorite source an icon on your screen is when you're in court, you're going to want to go to those rules periodically. Short notice. So what will rules do for you? Well, there are a weapon you can use them to fight because you can use to protect. You can fend off applications. You can promote your client's interest. You can stop people doing things you don't like. You can make them do things they don't want to do. Lots of people in court or ignorant of the rules, including prosecutors. So the object exercise to make sure that you are not one of those people Rigler of rules that you know, whether also you don't have to know them inside out. But knowing that there and knowing what you might find in those rules and have it more help is the K. And when you do your portfolio, I A. Of course, when you're demonstrating compliance with procedure, you need to show that you followed any criminal procedural that arose. So let's start with the 1st 1 It's the overriding objective. If you studied civil litigator Gatien on the LPC or the bar course, you'll have come across Rule One on the overriding interest in civil. And this is our version of it we need to do is to read the whole of the rule. What it's telling you is that proceedings have to be conducted in a way that acquits innocent people. Convict's guilty people. It does it efficiently, does it speedily. It takes into account the rights of the parties. That's the prosecutor and the defense annotate Scinto kind rights of defendants and witnesses, jurors on the other people who pop up in the criminal justice system. There's a particularly useful bit. It's known as insane as the Grasses charter, and that's a real 1.2. And that's a duty on all parties to inform the court at once and inform all of the parties of any significant failure. Whether or not the person informing the court is to blame for that to take any procedural step recorded by the rules, any practice direction or other direction of the court, a failure is significant if it might hinder the court in furthering the override objective and anybody involved in any way with a criminal case. It's a participant in its conduct. The purpose is the rule. Secular payment has not complied with the direction. For example, to serve I D. P. C. Or to serve a schedule of unused material or to respond to a skeleton argument, send an email to the court soon. This was the direction made on EC state. This was the time for compliance. They haven't complied. Copier in the court will probably just send the party into four or remind. Believe it or not, there's very little enforcement in the Magistrates. Cool. But what you're doing is you're building up ammunition because the prosecutor comes to court and says, Oh, we're not ready Coming home. The Germans, you're going to Certainly. They're not ready. It's self inflicted. Refused the A German. Make them push on now because that might just might lead them to drop the case. And you're going to be whiter than white because you report the compliance. Whereas if they say we're not ready and you took no steps to bring this to the attention of the court, you're actually at fault as well. for not complying with the grasses charter. And if both parties are to blame, it does make it easier for the Magistrates to say, All right, then we'll adjourn it so dire eyes, these things where you can you might have three or four breaches of directions. I tend to drop a schedule of non compliance, include cases. And then when you turn up a court, I've said I've already arranged for it to go to the court. I've already arranged it for you to go to the prosecutor and then argue where you're not. Try already. You haven't complied with any of these directions. It's not just warn, it's off a dozen again. That could make it difficult for the prosecution, and it may need to the case being dropped. Examples of the overriding objective of work can be found in lots and lots of case law. I don't know for not the cases that get to the high court by way of case, stated a judicial review, a bluntly speaking cock ups. Very often it's a failure to follow procedural rules that has led to that situation. So if you looked at the case of Carrigan Speed read it or Hassani. These are examples of the overriding objective work and how the court applies it on, therefore, what the expectations of the court will bay. These are also the sort of case that you're going to want to keep because they're gonna further legal arguments from time to time. So what I do with this particular presentation, I'd open another file on your iPad a laptop and stick these cases in it. You can claim the CPD not just for listening to all these webinars, but also for looking at the procedural rules on for looking at the case law. Well, we're not going through all the rules, which is good news, because there's nearly 50 of them the next, most important one, because going to stick to the significant, warns Israel three. And this is all about case management applies in the max on the crown. Cool sets out the duties on each party on on the court because sometimes it's the quarter fall. It can try and help you to make sure that people do what they're supposed to do when they're supposed to do it. It might help you argue that somebody else's up fault and therefore there's any argument over procedure or costs or any sections. You can use it to show your waterfall the other people. You might be able to use it to preventing a German or to prevent new evidence being introduced. You might be able to argue that late service should affect the course willingness to admit evidence. The possibilities are endless good examples of it at work or, in the case of Dick Armey and City of London on Back to Hasani in West London Magistrates Court. There's a power, for example, to make a defense lawyer set out what currents cases in writing under Rule three. Well, after that, because someday Jay's use it. But equally it deals with the treatment of witnesses. So, for example, you have got a witness and you're defending, and you know that they're gonna need special measures. Well, under all three, the court should sort out the needs witnesses at the first hearing. So you could say, Well, my witnesses inferior or is, um, under 18 or is vulnerable by waving age or some other reason. So we'd like to apply for special measures today at the first hearing. We don't need a formal application because, well, 18 that deals with special measures were all three together. Show that you can dispense with a formal written application and you can dispense with notice. Rule four deals with service. You did service on the LPC, probably from a civil perspective, or you did it at the bar course when you did civil litigation. If something isn't served in law, it's not served. It hasn't happened, and that might help you. For example, the police haven't served documents in a traffic coast. All they served them up the room address, and they knew they got the wrong address. If something isn't served properly, you've got a legal argument there, and it might mean on a really lucky day, the whole of proceedings Air now floored, have a look. A bagel and Luton Borough Council for Where? Luton Borough Council going hopelessly wrapped around their neck on the proceedings they wanted to issue, We're not in time. As a result, Rule Six deals with reporting restrictions. Every so often, the prosecution will ask for these, or it may be that your client says, Well, I don't want people finding out, but I'm on trial for sex offenses. I'll lose my job or my neighbors won't speak to me or the kids get bullied at school. In practice, it's really, really difficult under Section 11 of the Contempt of Court Act or under Section four of the same act to stop the press publishing the defendant's details, it's very hard to persuade the court to make a low order. One example being Harper and John Cox in your notes also have a look at that guide where there's a link about reporting restrictions. That's a really useful stuff. There will come or on total six in one of the other weapon. All's in this Siri's what we look, applications that might take you by surprise and where you need to react on the hoof. Rule seven does with issuing proceedings. There still is with things like private prosecutions, a swell. It's useful to know in a private prosecution, although those quite rare at the moment, but also have a look at the case of Brown on the DPP from 2019 which deals with when our requisitions issued because again it was not issued within the statutory time limit, it's too late. Rule eight deals with I d pc Initial details the prosecution case and accepts out what you're entitled to at the first hearing, which isn't unlawful loss. It sets out what you're entitled to if it's an overnighter. So someone has been charged last moment and produced in themselves this morning on it deals with what you might be entitled to. A gap guilty plea core or an end up not guilty plea in court. There is a practice direction, and that includes additional material material you might need for a bailout, for example, that might include a witnesses, previous convictions. If that the main witness has convictions for perjury or perverting the course of justice, then you might want to say to the Magistrates, The strength of the evidence in this case in practice is likely to be pretty weak. When you look at the nature of the person who makes the allegation on whether or not they're credible, it might be that the prosecution of God expert evidence and you can't instruct your expert until you've seen their expert evidence. So you're going to want to make reference on the pet for preparation for effective trial. For that, you want the evidence quicker. I understand the directions on the practice direction. Eight sets out that entitlement or that desire ability. Brunei does, with allocation your first few times of dealing with either way offences in the Magistrates court, it could be really difficult to follow. What's going. The language is heavily structured. It's very technical and grammatical differently. Love voices have different ways of going about it, and some district judges could be quite interventionist and do things their way. What we're looking at is the court's powers and duties when it deals with allocation. In other words, whether or not the Magistrates or the crown court going to deal with this allegation, it also deals with the situation where you get a collection of defendants or you get a mixture of adults and youths appearing for the first time, be guided by the court first and foremost, but be alive to the fact that the procedure is done properly. What happens if it isn't well, it's not your fault. But if of course sends a case, the crown call and it does it wrongly, for example, the classic is that they said not shoplifting was that are low value then it goes to crown call, it gets spotted at the Crown court, and then they get so up to the Magistrates Court because it wasn't validly committed or sense. You're not getting paid for that first hearing if it's going to the Crown Court. Legal Aid Agency rules are such that were expected to do that for free. You're never gonna get fixed for your most cases anyway. Eso If the case pictures back to the Magistrates Cool. You're gonna have another parents there. You're not got paid for your first appearance. The Crown Court hearing was abortive, and now you're back in Magistrates with another day of no, only a fee for it. So if it's not done properly, then it may have to be done again. That's a duplication of effort remains. Very often you're not getting paid for the time. Courts do make mistakes. Have a look at the case of Westminster City Council and or Dolly or the Crown versus McDermott Malene to see how simple these mistakes are to make and then just think to yourself how much work was involved in putting it. All right. Next we got Rule 14 and that does with bail in custody. Time limits. You can't just rock up to call on applying to very bail on the CPS. Can't just walk up on the floor. Interest in custody time limits. That has to be notification their time periods. You can apply to a bridge time, but you need to know. For example, if the client comes into courses that I want to bury my bail. Then, unless the prosecutor will agree to do it by consent and wave the notice today, there's going to have to be a further application because you're generally going to have to give 48 hours notice unless you can persuade the court to a bridge time. Occasionally, the prosecution will say that they need time to check out something the defense say, like address. And, they might say over The police are very busy. So can we do it a week on Thursday? Well, the correct answer feel defending is now. You can't. You're only entitled to 48 hours notice, so the police will just have to rearrange their priorities. But you have done that because you look a little 14 and you knew you could do it. Rule 15 just deals with disclosure. Disclosure is a huge topic you could spend a day on. Of course, on disclosure. There's lots of myths and legends. Lots, of course. Get it wrong. Lots amount of cuts Get it wrong. This rule sets out the procedural requirements with disclosure under the CPI, a Criminal Procedure in Investigations Act on public interest immunity applications. Good examples of this at work are the DPP in Manchester Soft Magistrates Court on a case called Kelly, where the police wanted to hold with hold part of the experts evidence on the grounds of public interest immunity. If you want your P I I is its material that's really sensitive. That shouldn't be disclosed to the defence because it could lead to harm being done to somebody or some other important public interest. Classics include not disclosing the identity of an informer or the fact of informer not disclosing material holding confidence like social services files, not disclosing matters relating to ongoing operations or national security. Say if you did a law degree is a zone undergraduate. You touched on this when you look at a case called D and the N S P. C. C, which dealt with protecting an informant, you're unlikely to have to deal with the I I very often in the Magistrates Court, but it is becoming a feature of the youth corps. If you're dealing with sex offenses, rule $16 with the requirements of witness statements, they have to be in section nine for That's the caption at the top of the statement and signed victim impact statements have to comply with all 16. So if you go to court on the prosecutors trying to prove a case with a statement taken over the telephone, which happens in the Metropolitan Police area, caught a lot. If it's not signed, it's not admissible. End off. If the prosecutor seeks to read a letter from a victim of sentence, if it's no in section section nine form and it doesn't comply with all 16 then it cannot be relied upon. If the prosecution wants to adjourn to obtain a statement in Section nine for go back to Case management and the overriding objective one on argue they should have gotten their ducks in a row. Your clients, entitled to know his fate on the court, should proceed without that statement. It may well help your clients. Of course, the might be good reason to concede. In a German, for example, you are pretty confident the witnesses are going to make a statement or you're confident the witness is going to say that they didn't suffer any harm. Rule 17 deals with witness summonses to source to compel the attendance of someone who's got material evidence to give Andi compelling them to attend is in the interest of justice or giving. The evidence is in the interest of justice or summons to produce documents. Different procedures apply. The important thing is these done in chambers. You don't need to serve your opponent with a copy. It's just between you and the court. You can ask for it to be dealt with on paper by district judge legal adviser, there's a stock form of the Criminal Procedure website. Once you're issued with your summons on the basis it's granted, you need to ensure it's served on the witness. Andi. You'll need to provide conduct money, so that's enough money for them to get from work or home to court. Generally, in most urban areas, £5 will do the trick on public transport. You need to ensure that who has served the summons does a Section nine statement because if they witness doesn't attend despite service, then you may want to upgrade and asked the court for something called a witness Warren, which will lead to them being arrested and brought to court. It may be that the witness has been served but hasn't turned up on their evidence. Is vital? Well, you're going to need to apply from the German or at least us, because if you could go park her to get the prosecution case out of the way, if you can show that you served summons and conduct money was tendered, then it's plainly not your fault that the witnesses disobeyed the summons. You probably got a sporting chance of going car heard very least, if no on a German's. If you were in that situation, the judges not making very helpful noises, then the next thing to do is show. You have done absolutely everything, probably trying, applied to a juicy under the hair site provision. Special measures is our goal. Late sitting. It doesn't just govern special measures for prosecution witnesses. It covers defense witnesses who may well want special measures, and it covers defendants, especially young defendants who may be vulnerable simply by way of age. And it might be appropriate for intermediary orphan to give evidence by way of life link, for example, a now expert evidence expert evidences of we've discussed must comply with part 19. Lots of expert reports. Don't The court will only hear expert evidence if it's a matter that's outside of course experience. So it no, you need to be something that really is expert of good examples off expert evidence, admissibility in the like set out in the cases of the very Hunt and Pavon Yes, I applications we've just mentioned here Sigh You probably done here say huh degree level Or perhaps on the LPC or Baby Sea? No, your law know where to find it and critically, the definitions of Section 115 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 older practitioners. But we're brought up under a completely different regime. If you talk to an older practitioners, sometimes they just go back to the old pre 2003 default setting and then you end up confused asking for their gardens. But not all of them are like that. Examples off her site work include SVS solicitors and hear this. Listers didn't comply with procedure to object to hear saying, because they said the client wouldn't authorize them to do that on the court there, held I should have withdrawn if they couldn't comply with the rules, they should withdraw. That won't happen very often. What you need to know is when permission to reduce here say is needed, how to apply for it and when your opponent this rely on hearsay can years, the procedural rules and the lack of compliance to stop them? A classic example is in DWP frauds. You're looking at benefit forwards here on the DWP. Investigators often try to prove the case by Hear say, very often they haven't obtained leave by the time of trial. To do this, have look at Section 117 bracket one close brackets brackets, see close brackets of the 2003 act. You have tohave leave if you want to reduce here, sigh in a business setting that was obtained for the purposes of a criminal investigation, and you may find you cannot count a large part of the DWP case which means I can't prove it. Rule 21 deals with bad character. It might be you making application to put a witness is forming or the prosecution making application to put your clients in. But the wording is very technical, and it's important because any application to reduce my character must set out the facts that that the misconduct that the party relies on very often the prosecution just say, Oh, we've got a PNC printout on the watch. Rely on engine number three and four. That isn't setting out the facts of the Miss convert. So if you're served with the notice or the prosecution, get up to make an application on their feet without serving a notice, then you're going to say, Well, we need to hear the facts that are relied upon before I can address the argument on my authority. That is 21.1 bracket. Two close brackets cooked up like that. You'll see that a fair number of CPS applications fail. It's always a good idea to encourage the CPS to do these in writing. If you defend, because very often they're not compliance. You send in your objection, saying it's not compliant because on the legal adviser or district judge dealing with it on paper may say, Well, the defense it quite right. I can't entertain this application because it doesn't comply. End of application Rule 23 does with Section 38 appointments. This is a situation where they call appointed defence lawyer not to defend, but simply to cross examine vulnerable witnesses on the course. Behalf. You don't have a duty to the defendant. You don't have to accept a Section 38 appointment if there's some reason not to. The S R raise got guidance about that on the court. Can't overrule your ethics if there's an ethical reason why you shouldn't represent someone. Section 38. You are the judge of your ethics and not the legal adviser or the judge. Beware because some firms undertake the appointment and then because the client is a regular of theirs but perhaps wasn't eligible for legal aid or for self employed. So it was going to prove impossible to get legal aid because he doesn't keep his papers in any order. And even if he did the L A. I wouldn't understand them. Well, if you stay on after you finished your cross exam? A. You have to have the court's permission. But be practice direction suggests that if it please the court, that you were always willing to act in some capacity and they can actually pull the section finished appointment. So you end up with no money, the only attraction to section 38 appointments all the money. Because, as at the date of preparing these webinars July 2019 you kept get paid a rate especially better than legal aimed and another thing to note about Section 38 appointments. Don't assume the client will be grateful. First of all, that he might think you are his lawyer and get agitated when you indicate that you're going to leave once you finish the cross examined. Some defendants resents the Section 38 appointee because they were hoping to have a girl with witness themselves in cross exam. Some were refused to work with you. Some may be hostile or aggressive, but you don't over duties because your court appointed on the S R. I guidance on their website will 40 five years trial and sentence is on extra. Well, that's wrong. 24 have a look at values. Rt Have a look at her song those will show you Part 24 Work 28 29 dowith sentencing and road traffic matters well 29. Let's imagine that your client has just been convicted. Drink drive. He's just been to school for it, and he wants to appeal. Well, you want to appeal the conviction on critically to die, and you want to appeal the intricately disqualification. Otherwise, he's gonna be banned until the case is finally heard at the Crown Corps. And if he's acquitted, he served band for nothing. So if you look at me 29 it tells you how terrified to suspend the disqualification pending appeal. Rule 31 deals with a category of matters called behavior orders on these, either ancillary orders like a restraining order or football banning order made on conviction or on sentence. Or these might be matters where the police or CPS could apply for an order without any criminal proceedings. So it's done by way of complaints with a capital C. Legal aid is generally available, and although they feel criminal, this part of hearing is actually civil on the hearsay provisions that apply here all those akin to the Civil Evidence Act 19 95 game. You might have studied that on the obvious e or the bark out, of course. So Rule 31 sex out the powers and duties of the court with these behavior orders. If you're dealing with freestanding applications like a police application for sexual harm prevention order or domestic violence protection order for after your opponent is not really qualified, that could be a real track because sometimes, frankly, they did their often ill prepares. They're unable to think in the way a lawyer things. They're unable to think flexibly or critically, and they tend to just parents the application You. It's worth trying to have a chat with them about the case, but you may feel that you could better off talking to a brick wall occasionally, in which case just politely leave it and indicate suddenly to the legal adviser that you tried. But it's pointless. The other thing is, don't be frank and candid with these people without some thought, because they don't understand the way in which, if you talk to your opponent from the CPS or co defendant, well, you have a gentleman's agreement. We don't go blab what each other said, What state? What said in the sister's room or the robing room stays there. But these non qualified people don't behave in that way, and they're quite capable of blurting something out in open call. That shouldn't be said occasionally, much to your amusement as well. These people don't actually have a right of audience rights of audience for local government, police and other potential applicants. For these orders are pretty common. Occasionally they turn up, and if it's actually a pure criminal matter, then they won't have a right of audience and you can have a bit of entertainment. Two other rules rule $45 with costs, and it's important because you'll be applying from your costs. The defense costs order, for example, to reimburse. In part, private payers has been successful. Or you might want wasted costs against somebody to try and get an indemnity for your clients. And Part 45 governs all of this. Melinda singing Ealing Magistrates Court is a quick to read example off wasted costs at work and then finally, contempt of court. Rule 48 has been given a lot of publicity recently because of the Tommy Robinson case, and you can read that decision. The citations there in your nose you might encounter this is due to because you're us to come into court and then say, Can you represent Mr Blow's? We're going to deal with them for content. Later on, proxies kicked off in the public gallery of being abused. If perhaps it's the defendant who's kicked off and it's your own client, occasionally it might be. A witness is refusing to testify. The partner doesn't want to give evidence against her husband, and the CPS are now asking for contemporary used to be girl. The procedure has to be done right. That's what the actually learning cases is about. Primarily, it's not done properly. Then the result will be another tea. There are very few disposals, contempt, fine suspended or immediate sentence of imprisonment. So if you're representing one of these, you need to make sure that you follow the procedure on the court does, and you need to make sure that you're going to get paid. It's a separate rep order, and it's not as up the current date means tested on the court grants. It's So before you embark upon one of these, if it's not being covered by the duty scheme, make sure you're getting pained. So that's the end of number four. The criminal procedure rules are not very exciting, but hopefully this has given you an idea of what you could do with them, why they're worth being familiar with.

record_icon

Webinar

00:37:09

welcome to number five in the Webinar. Siri's an instruction to Magistrates Claw advocacy. What we're going to look at now is a lapse we're gonna cut mitigation, sentencing and planning to appeal. It may be that when you do the interviewing and advocacy assessment that you're taking instructions with a view to making obey lap or with a view to putting forward mitigation. So some of what we're going to cover will be really useful for the I A. But planning to appeal. You don't need to trouble yourself within the I. A. A. Um, this is something that rather you're going to need to know foot court life once you're up and running. So let's start with the Bail Act and adults. If you go back to the e book That data Lord of supplied you, there's a handy chart in there that sets out the grounds for objecting to bail of when they entitle the court to remand into custody, whether you have to show a realistic prospect of custody or not. So what you might want to do is tow have that toe hand. When you go to discuss bail with a client, the likelihood is he or she has been sat in a cell for some time on their own. They might not have seen the light of day for maybe two or three days, especially their picked up on a Saturday lunchtime. They can become quite confrontational because they're agitated and they're frustrated they might be withdrawing from drugs. They might be withdrawing from alcohol. They expect you to wave a magic wand, expect you to relay all their fears to get them bail on. But you will make the proceedings go away. Your job is to give honest. Professional advice on the tension can become confrontational. So going into the cells, particularly if you're prosecutor, has said to you What? I'm not agreeing bail. It's going to be opposed. You're going in to see this person possibly delivering bad news. So think about how you're going to create a report. Even if you met them last night at the police station, renewing that report, settling them down, and then you could introduce the issues of bail. It may be the client immediately pounces and said, Am I gonna get bail? And again you need to form that report and then start to break it down so that you can explain and break the bad news. That bail is opposed. But the one thing you can go and see and it's the only thing you can guarantee is that you will do your level best to get that person bio. You could also to sweeten the pill, remind them that generally there's a presumption in favour of bail. Pre conviction that presumption under section fall will be removed if it's a breach of bail. And maybe you're seeing the client because it's been arrested for bail bridge. If somebody offends on bail, if it's post conviction, substantial risk that fell to surrender, commit further offenses, interfere with witnesses or the admin of justice, all the domestic violence condition is made out. Then you're going to need to think how you're going to address the reservations the prosecution will seek to set out before the bench. There are some situations where the die is cast, and there were restrictions on bail murders, the obvious one. He'll get an opportunity to apply for bail in front of the crown call in the next 48 hours. There is simply nothing you condone to obtain bail from the Magistrates Court, like my Section 25 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 rather ties your hands. If he has a previous conviction for homicide rate or certain other sexual offenses listed in that section, he's only going to get bail in exceptional circumstances. So before you go to the cells, look at the previous convictions. Look at the current allegation. Ask yourself this. Section 25 triggered because again, you're going to need to be honest and realistic with him. But you're going to need to think, How you gonna break the news? Section 20 five Well, in our bail in exceptional circumstances. So you're going to want to sit down with a ploy and say, I need to find some exceptional circumstances and start going through his age is history. How long ago was the first offense? What's changed since? Has he been in trouble a long time? Is he perceived to be a low risk of offending all those sorts of things? There's also a bar on bail in treason cases, but it's unlikely that you'll deal with one of those. If your client doesn't get bail, then he could make an application to a judge in chambers at the Crown Court. Generally, you have to opportunities to make a bail application before the Magistrates. If you don't use one of those hearings, then it gets swallowed up on you. You've lost it, so you're going to need to make the first application a 2nd 1 at the next hearing. But you might be able to make a further one if you can show a change in circumstances that justifies a further application. There's lots of case law on this. The bench will be fairly flexible. So if you can demonstrate that something's changed, for example, the charge has been reduced. Perhaps a charge has been dropped. So you know any faces, one offense? Oh, perhaps there's been a change of circumstances in the sense that somebody's now stepped forward to offer a surety. Then that might convince them. And if they if they're convinced that there's a change of circumstances, then you can have another bash it bail. All of this is governed by Colonel Procedural 14. So you need to make sure that you follow the rules because if you don't follow the rules, the court doesn't need to hear the bail application. You can appeal against conditions of bail made in the Magistrates to the Crown Court, but you need to check Section 16 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 1st because there are restrictions on what conditions can be appealed. It used to be common to go to the high court, but there again, there were real restrictions on the high court entertained bail applications these days because of Section 17 of the Criminal Justice Act 2000 and three. You're not the only one who can appeal against the grant of bail. So can the prosecutor in the Magistrates Court. The prosecutor can appeal by announcing immediately after bail is granted that he appeals, and he must do this immediately. That then returns the clients the cells. There were two hours in which the prosecution must serve a notice of approval on the defendant. Generally, prosecutors know they're going to do this because it's been thought through in advance. Um, and they may have been notice available. That's simply going to need to get a printed copy to summer needs to be served on the defendant. But in the case of card in and Birmingham Crown Court. The associate prosecutor and call immediately gave notice. Hey! Printed off the notice of appeal, but he couldn't serve the defendant because the DOC officers have taken him to Winson Green. He tried emailing, but nobody answered At the prison, he tried phoning, but you've guessed it. Nobody ball the times to the phone. He tried to sit on the defendant's lister, who wouldn't accept service even though he got on the record by signing the pet form. The high court took the view that he hadn't failed to serve the notice cause that can noted fault. The prosecutor had not Bean a fault on whilst he hadn't succeeded in serving. Strictly speaking, the fact did not stand in the way of the prosecution successfully appealing value. So what do you do? The prosecutor invites you to accept service of the notice on your client's behalf? Well, it's difficult to refuse, really, because if you signed the pact form, you're on record, and that means you'll accept service. But the better position is that the defendant on this is the point of the legislation. The defendant ought to be so personal A, which means the prosecutor on good go down into the cells. But card in shows that it is possible to circumvent that provision, providing the prosecutor does everything he can. So your next slide, the objections to bail that have generally relied upon a set out. Let's imagine the prosecutor says to you, or were opposing bail. You need to know why. So which grounds and what is the information that's going to be relied upon? Fell to surrender? Well, he's got three recent fails to surrender, interfere with witnesses. When he was arrested, he said, I'm gonna come back tomorrow and I'm gonna kick your head in commit further offences. He's a drug addict and he's gonna commit further offences because that's the only way you can fund his drug habit. Those standards domestic violence, where it's thought that he may cause physical or psychological harm to an associative person, generally a family member. Then bail can be refused, even if there's no realistic prospect of conviction. So you need to know the combinations of one of the grounds to object. Where must the prosecution prove a realistic prospect of conviction On top on where do they not need to prove that how are you going to counter the objections? Do you need information from other people, friend or relative of the defendant? Probation. Maybe you're going to try for a bail hostel, maybe probation have got something to say. For example, he's on a current order like a community order, and he's doing really well. How long is it gonna take you to get this information? What hurdles might you encounter, such as people saying data protection, in which case you're going to want to get your clients signing authority, photographic on your phone or iPad And then you can e mail it to the person wanting it. You need to let the court know how long this is all going to take, what enquiries you need to make and how long do you think it's going to take? Bearing in mind, you're not in control at the time that it takes 1/3 party to respond. If you're called on and you haven't done any explaining asked for time, a court might give you short shrift because they're annoyed that you're not ready. So go into the beginning of the session or as soon as you can and say, I'm not ready This is what I need to do. I think it's going to take X amount of time. Please, can I have that time I'll come back and that you know how I'm getting on or if I need more time? Well, you're dealing with objections to bail particular. The first hearing have a look at Rule eight and its practice direction because the prosecutor should be disclosing material that would help you with a bail app. Let's imagine you have find yourself in the marvel of situation where there's only one witness against your client, and he's just been to prison for five years for perverting the course of justice or perjury. Then obviously, you're going to want to say to the Magistrates The evidence in this case is unlikely to be strong because it comes from a man convicted of perjury. So obtaining previous convictions of witnesses is the sort of material practice direction and visits is that you're going to be given to help with the Bela. So you say to the prosecutor under practice, Direction eight. I'm entitled to material that assists with my bail application. Have you got any and when can I see it? And listen to the prosecutor outlining their objections and counter them methodically. It helps the bench to concentrate. Let's imagine that the point the prosecutor make is making is a bit tricky, and you're thinking, I can't get around this instead, Can you swear around it and say, Well, there is, of course, a risk, but it's not a substantial one, because the bailout requires the risk to be substantial in order to remove bail is ready independent evidence that undermines the prosecution case that you can use to demonstrate that it's not evidentially strong. And it would be remote. Wrong to remind someone custody removed their liberty for a case that may not get to conviction. There's the prosecution case deficient in any respects. An extreme example. Your client gave an alibi, but the police haven't investigated it. You're going to want to counter the objections by proposing bail conditions. It's quite common for advocates to say he will have any condition. Well, the court rather suspects he'll say anything to get bail and saying, I'll do anything you want me to do to comply is basically saying he will do anything to get bail. It's not particularly reassuring, so instead of chucking everything out it you want to look at the condition, assess the strengths and weaknesses of that prosecution argument. Deal with those argue that if there is a risk, it's not a substantial one on the following condition. For example, he's a nighttime burglar, a night time curfew. It's suffice to prevent in committing further offences, he have actually fails to surrender. Well, you could argue that signing on the police station bell condition of residence that's electronically tact would do with that, interfering with witnesses norm contact by any means not to go to the street. The witness lives in not to go to the workplace, for example, but make sure your condition addresses the objection. If the objection is committing further offences, signing on at the police station doesn't really do it doesn't really reassure the bench, and it doesn't provide an adequate answer. It may be that you were in a position to propose a surety, that is, somebody comes to court. Who says Well, I'm prepared to pledge X amount of money if the defendant fails to surrender. So not paying anything today. It's not like American bail bonds. What that person says I have sufficient trust in the defendant that I will pledge X amount because I'm confident that he will turn up on I won't lose my money. The defendant himself may put up a security that's him. Pledging a sum of money, which is generally has to be deposited with the court before he can leave a surety only plays the money. If the defendant ups columns, a security has to be paid before the defendant can leave custody. There are anti money laundering considerations at work here. Primarily where's the money coming from the proposed surety or security? It's likely to have to give evidence about their means on both. A surety will need to provide evidence of identification, passport driving, license, utility bills, that sort of thing. So to tee this up on the morning could be quite difficult. It may be that you have to ask the Magistrates Court to hear the bail out on a journey it part heard so that you can come back tomorrow morning with your ducks in a row. You're gonna need to explain that to the client. The alternative is if you carry on with the bail up and you lose you've just lost one bail application with people pledging assets. There is always the risk that the police will consider launching an on anti money laundering investigation, particularly where you have a family who appeared to have no means yet. Come bring £10,000 to court joint assets. Let's say that her husband comes and says, Old Stan, Surety for my son. My assets are the match Colonial home, which I own joint with my wife. He can't pledge her half of the house, so joint assets can't be pledged is a surety. It's also an offence to indemnify a surety. So if your client says, Look what that'll put 10 Grand Doc, tell him if I do a bunk, I'll pay him back there. He's agreeing to identify. Sure say you don't want to get involved in that. Let's look at the end of the consequences of bay overreaches, because this is another situation where you find yourself applying for battle. Bale breaches could be an aggravating. The feature of a sentence, particularly is gone round on, interfered with the witness for you. There a pain because it's a disruption to your day, and very often you're not going to see any financial gain. So what you want to know is, when did he breach it? Looking back, we realized that there are only 24 hours to deal with a bell breach from the time of arrest. Is it in time? Although my just do it's going to re bail him or the prosecution going toe object, how am I going to counter it? Sentencing Mitigation. Make sure you get your hands on the relevant guidelines. If you go to the sentencing council, you can download their handy. App is it's also got a fine calculator, so you could amaze your client. We're putting in his means and telling him exactly what the fines going to bay according to whether it's banned a, B, C, D, e or F most offenses air covered with guidelines. Indeed, the Sentencing council is producing a guideline for offenses without a guideline. Generally, the court is looking at the harm caused and the culpability of the defendants. If there are no guidelines, if there aren't any guidelines, have you got banks on sentence because that might help you court might have a copy. Can you find on the case law that might help. But if there's nothing, then you're going to want to say to the court his culpability is reduced because, for example, or the home caused was not that great. And try and persuade them that combination of Harmon culpability means it doesn't cross the custodial threshold or doesn't cost the community threshold in some cases. What example Where there is no guidelines for drug driving If you go to the Magistrates Court sentencing guidelines, when you look at drug driving, you'll see it's listed guidance only, and the template there might help you. But remember guidelines, as the court of Appeal like to say, and not tram lines, the court can escape them if you can provide them with something that suggests it's in the interest of justice to go lower than the guidelines equally with a practice district judge, they may well take the matter above the guidelines, but a sentence that always has to give reasons. And if you don't think the reason stack up, then you'll be able to appeal. I will do with a pair was in a moment a structure that sometimes suggested to new advocates. When you're dealing with mitigation is to mitigate the offense. Sometimes that's difficult. There isn't any offense mitigation. For example, he denied it was found guilty. Not a lot, you can say, But you may be able to argue that even though he was convicted after trial, culpability and harm and not that great, then mitigate about the offender. What personal mitigation has he got? Previous good character Been out of trouble 10 years, putting something good into society like charity work? And then you're going to want to argue for the disposal. Now it may be that the probation of Address the court and you want to adopt that. And so you're going to say offence mitigation, offended mitigation, and I respectfully adopt what the probation service have put in front of the court today. Or if it's a really good speech from probation, you might just want to say at the outset I'm going towards you to go along with probation because sometimes probation contempt for you have in mind to the purposes of sentencing for adults and use Section 14 to 14 to Capital A of the Criminal Justice Act 2000 and three. Your current wants the least possible sentence, he wants the best possible result. But courts are there to sentence for deterrence, for retribution, for punitive reasons as well as rehabilitative reasons. And in the youth court, the primary consideration is the welfare of the young person. When you're only hind legs, it's easy sometimes to slip into cliches. Courts don't like cliches that boring, and it suggests that you haven't thought very much about what you're going to say. A classic one that irritates the judiciary is it's a matter for you, sir, or madam, because the judge knows it's a matter for him or her. You're trying to persuade. You want them to go along with what you're arguing, not simply wimp out by saying it's a matter for you. Sometimes, as I said, the reason I'm mitigation it's the 48 time has been convicted of driving masters qualified. Your play is going to be for the shortest sentence possible. All let's say he's had four or five custodial sentences in a row. You might say to the court this is a time to step back into consider either deferring sentence on certain conditions. Oh, suspend. On the basis that probation put together a package of thinking skills or other program requirements that might break the habit of offending. You don't need to address a bench at length. Sometimes short and suite is the most successful. As you do more and more of this, you'll see what works. You will learn to read the reaction of the audience you are addressing, whether it's three lay Magistrates or a district judge all. If you go to the ground, call a circuit judge, stress the positive when you're addressing your bench, then they're going to have a list of materials in front of them. I've listed those on your on your slides. You should have all the items they've got. Cluster Client's instructions and his sentencing guidelines and the character references any medical evidence of its relevant, perhaps the liaison and diversion report from a mental health team or a recent medical report from a doctor or psychiatrist or psychologist. Perhaps you've got evidence of some condition because he's claiming benefits like personal independence payments, because that in itself tells the court that there's a disability or serious illness he needs to complete a means for although very often defendants struggle with this, so you may need to do it for him. It's a good idea to go through your proposed mitigation with the clients so he knows what you're going to sigh and you're confirming with him that the information that he's given you has been correctly assimilated. There is a bit of a habit to slight client software mitigating. There was a case fairly recently in a London Crown Court when defence counsel referred to his client as an airhead. Hey, hadn't for warned her of this, and it didn't go down awfully well. If you are going to say something that might be interpreted as slugging your client off a couple of things, clear it with him first. But secondly, it might be perceived that if you think that about him, then that's what he is. He's an idea he's 1/2 wit on that might remove empathy from your sentence. Sir, A sentence of with no empathy is more likely to impose custody. You can create a bit of war with a bit of thought. Then it's that bit harder psychologically to send somebody to prison, you may have a victim impact statement. You can find more out about the law relating to victim impact statements in the Criminal Procedure Direction Shop to seven part. They've got to be a Section 94 You can cross examine if you want to, but bear in mind that might aggravate sentence if you make the witness. Distressed victims are not allow to make representations on sentence. The statement is to reduce evidence of harm and how they've been affected. But they're also community and business impact statements. And those deal with, for example, prolific shoplifting in the city of London pickpocketing in central Manchester in the effective house. So even if there's not a human victim, that may still be an impact statement, you may have appear saw it might be in writing. It might be Orel. You might hear it for the first time in court. As you're about to mitigate, some of them are very helpful. Sometimes they call except the probation service assessment and tell. You don't need to say anything. If a judge says I'm minded to go along with probation, don't try and talk him out of it. But probation all of their clients friends. They're there to protect the public and to encourage rehabilitation, so it may be that they simply say we're not prepared to work with him because he breached his orders. He's not reliable or is a horrible individual when he turns up for appointments. And that means that the quarter now going to be looking at custody probation don't mitigate. They can be helpful, but they're not going to mitigate. And they're not going to prepare a report purely to mitigate their going. To prepare a report to assist the court, decide whether it on order should be made. That's punitive, all rehabilitative or both on what form that order should take. Very mind, too, that sometimes defendants performed extremely badly in the interview. When the probation officer comes into court, the report is pretty bad. So sometimes it may be better to try and persuade the bench to deal with out a report. It may be that you can satisfy the court that he's fit from paid work because of the evidence of their own eyes, or that he's suitable for curfew. If you want a rehabilitative requirement, you're going to have to get something from probation. So always ask yourself what the risk of obtaining a Pearsall might bay what used to Can you make of the sentencing guidelines. Well, the first thing is you got to be honest to really stick with the client about what may happen, but again guarantee that you will do your best for him or her to get the least possible outcome. But to some extent, your hands are tied by these guidelines. Think about what you can do to suggest that this is less a harm. Lesser culpability have your objective evidence. For example, there is no victim impact statement, so you might want to argue. You can only speculate about home. Has he pleaded guilty? Did he plead late? Did he plead straight away? What can you say about credit that might reduce the sentence? That case cut across is the custodian threshold. What can you say to seek to persuade them to suspend? If it's a case where someone suffered rial home, there's an attraction to compensation. If a defendant goes to prison, he's unlikely to pay compensation because he won't have the means. Crown Court judges sometimes attracted in cases of a soul where people are quite badly injured, but not to the level of Section 18. In ordering independent who is in a good job to pay a substantial amount of compensation and so suspending the sentence is the only way that that's going to be achieved. It may be that you have a client who is taking the community order box but doesn't want a community order. For example, your client is a surgeon. He blew 99 in breath. He's pleaded to drink drive. He's acknowledged a drink problem. He's been going to Alcoholics Anonymous for two or three weeks. Now a curfew means that he can't react to emergencies without all the complications have been threatened with bridge unpaid work. That may be the only day of rest he gets when he's clearly a man who needs a day of rest, or a woman who needs a day of rest if they're working in a stressful environment, like an operating theater. So our doctor is no, it doesn't need a rehabilitative requirement because he's seeing Alcoholics Anonymous. He doesn't. He doesn't want a curfew or unpaid work, but the court might think that he is suitable for both. He doesn't fancy the social stigma of unpaid work or a curfew, either. So how are we gonna dodge this? Well when you look in a community order, a direct alternatives, a Band, D or B or F Fine. He go to that sentencing app from the Sentencing council on Look at Band Ranges. You'll C, D, E and air for quite startlingly large. So finding a surgeon a large amount of money might be seen by the court as a just way of disposing with off him rather than a community order with a punitive requirement that might affect his ability to work. And don't forget, in a case like his is going to be dealt with by his professional body as well. So there's a punitive element coming. Come what? My desperate running out of ideas. Deferral of sentence could be deferred for a period of time, with conditions like must go to Alcoholics Anonymous or drug treatment area and produce evidence of progress in writing the days detention. So he ruins in the cells until the court session finishes, or they dictate he can go earlier. Finally, a plea for the shortest sentence possible commensurate with the offense. Now, as well as imposing a sentence, the court will often impose ancillary orders compensation. We just touched on. You can wave the victim surcharge to nil, so that doesn't become payable. And that frees up some money for compensation. The micro disqualification from driving or keep piano was in a court case. Restraining orders, criminal behavior orders, sexual hung prevention orders, notification orders for sex offenders and costs are all common. So make sure you know what sort of ancillary orders might be made in a case. It may be that you want to resist them. It may be that you want to take part in negotiating the terms of those orders with the prosecution. So it's laid before the court has agreed, because it's always better for the client if you could do a deal rather than having something imposed. Football banning orders are being banned from license premises often go down badly with defendants. It may be that you want to contest the making of an ancillary order, in which case the defendant could be sentenced on the matter adjourned off for effectively a trial of the contested order or the whole thing might be adjourned off. But some ancillary orders have felt by defendants to be worse than the rest of the sentence, and so when you go and see the client. You need to bring them attention round to not just the fact that he may be fined or get a community order or go to prison. But there's this ancillary order lurking around as a duty sister. You're not likely to do with motoring offenses unless they carry imprisonment. But you may do with clients who come to your firm on a private payers in particular who faced totting. So under section 35 of the road traffic, a friend design. This new offense is going to take them over the limit of 12 penalty points. If he pleads guilty or is convicted of this offence, you can argue exceptional hardship. You could spend 23 hours on a course on exceptional hard tip it. In essence, it requires him to go in the witness box and give evidence on oath that he was suffer hardship of his banned from driving on. That hardship will be exceptional. There are limits on repeat arguments, so if he's used exceptional circumstances in the last three years, you need to see what was said because he may not be able to resurrect that same argument and use it again, you might argue special reasons. So the defendant is pleading guilty or is convicted. But he wants to argue special reasons because this will avoid penalty points at all on the criteria for those are set out. In the case of Wickens, the reason must be mitigating or extenuating. It doesn't amount in law to a defence to the charge. It's directly connected with the commission of the offense, and it's wanna call all to take into account when sentencing a defendant. So post sentence. You need to explain to the client what this sentence means. You may want to give advice on appeal. He may be happy with your order, but he may not be, in which case you want to advise on his prospects of appeal. You need to sort out funding because if you're going to lodge a notice of appeal, you want to know that either you're going to get a reporter in the crown call or he's going to put you in funds. If you send to prison, you're going to want to apply for bail pending appeal. Otherwise is going to spend time in custody before the crime quarter, with case generally, the Magistrates Court will require Toe Lodge the notice of appeal before you can apply it. Apply for bail pending appeal. Dito He's bound from driving and he wants to appeal conviction or sentence. You may want to apply to the court to lift the disqualification pending appeal and again draft your notice of appeal on logic. If it's coming up to have passed for five oclock and you think your bench might clear off before this is done, you need to make arrangements to get the notice uploaded as quickly as possible to the court. Maybe you can email the legal advisor now and make sure there's bench left for you to argue this about. Otherwise, he's going to go off to prison or is going to be banned until you can get the application relisted. The other thing to know is, if he's just gone down to prison, you might want to leave a few minutes before you go in the cells. You might not be very happy. The Dark officers will want to fill in some forms. If you leave them to do that, you might take his frustrations out on them. So by the time you go downstairs, he's calmed down. Make sure you don't leave it too long, though, particularly coming up to lunchtime or coming up to the end of the afternoon session because the DOC officers will want to whisk him away on the bus to prison. And you don't want to go downstairs and find he's gone because it's bad for your and then back in the office. You want to write to the client. You want to follow your file, close your procedures, whether you're legally aided, all private client and you wanna want to build the case because if you don't billet, the firm doesn't get any money. If you're appealing, have you served a notice of appeal? Have you got funding? Keep an eye for the Crown Court date. Is it a review day of some Crown courts have in an appeal conviction, which is basically a mentioned to fix the date, and I allow any issues or is it going to the full hearing? We need witnesses. We need character evidence, those source of things. Make sure the client knows the date and make sure he knows whether or not he's going to be produced. It's simply a review hearing. He may be a video link. Production will not produce it all, but you're going to want him there for an appeal against sentence, and you're going to want him there from a P elevates conviction. One final matter. Post sentence from Times Time clients put their head in the sand and they ignore the risk of imprisonment. And they don't make arrangements for people that they care for. It sometimes happens with Children. Sometimes defenders deliberately don't put anything in stop. Sometimes defendants deliberately don't put anything into place so that the Children are looked after they go to prison because I think it will stop the Magistrates. Imposing sentence of imprisonment is your client is sent to prison and has Children. Then you can contact the NSP Sisi because they have a welfare and safeguarding service. It may be that probation conspiracy to the duty social worker for you probation tend to have a working relationship with social services, and if they're not too busy, they may well do that for you. It may be that you're going to have to notify the police that there unattended Children or an unattended elderly person, for example, you want to clear that with your client First. The Magistrates also have guidance. They, too, may choose to alert social services or a child charity that there are Children with safeguarding obligations. It's always best to warn a defendant when they're coming for sentencing that there is a risk of imprisonment and they need to make a wall the arrangements. But some clients don't do this. And, of course, if your client pleads guilty, the first hearing in the court indicator going to sentence, you haven't had the opportunity to prepare them in any detail. So that's come to the end of webinar number 51 more weapon are to go in the series, and that will be looking at a variety of topics that will be useful to you when you're on your hind feet, whether before you get the doofus listed accreditation or after

record_icon

Webinar

00:29:38

welcome to the final webinar in the Siri's, an introduction to Magistrates Court advocacy. And now we're going to look at the unexpected on the sorts of applications that you might get longer to. It is the duty solicitor, or indeed, designing solicitor would be taken by surprise because the first you know about it is when you walk into court. So the first thing if you recently qualified you are going to be taken by surprising court. You're going to come across applications that you haven't been prepared for because you simply haven't experienced them before. But you've got to this level, and so you can master the information. What you need is time on. What I'm going to suggest is, as we go through the applications in this weapon are you save the slides to a folder, and then each time you come across one of these applications, you look up the law and then cut and paste it into this folder. So it's always toe hand. Sometimes as well. You discover that a new application is being made today simply because the law was changed. So it's not any criticism or short coming on your phone. If you come across something you haven't done before. That's alien. The question for you is how do I master the Lauren time on Where do I find it? One of the other things that can undermine your confidence is other people around. You just look so confident. That's merely because they've done this before. It was a learning curve for them once, and it's a learning curve for you. But your best friends are time and knowing where to find the law quickly. So first things, if you're asked to do something that cause how are you getting paid for it? Remember in the first and second Webinars, we thought about payment, particularly the second webinar, because if you don't get paid for your time, then your firm's not going to make money and they're going to be serious problems as a result. How so? How am I getting paid? Do I know the law or at least don't know where to find it? Do I know the relevant procedural rules? Go back to your criminal procedurals. Go back to the website. We look talking webinar for identify what has to be proved and who has to prove it is it the person applying for the order? Does the defendant have to prove anything? Is there any formal burden of proof? Or is it many orders in the Magistrates that replied for on the hoof, simply the court being bracket satisfied? Bracket is, he say, admissible? Perhaps it's admissible because the legislation makes it admissible or because criminal procedural 31 makes admissible. Or there's been a formal application. Identify where hearsay isn't admissible, because that may be a way of stopping your opponent, proving an element of their case that might be fatal to them. What can I do to stop my client's interests being damaged today or in the long term? For example, do you need an adjournment in order that you can take instructions on that you can prepare effectively? Do you need in a German until this afternoon or tomorrow morning? What can you have? Longer best thing to do is to canvass this with the legal adviser. He was generally the expert on procedure but also looking the court diary and see what spaces are available. It may be that you need 48 hours, but there simply isn't a slot in 48 hours and you'll have to compromise and come back tomorrow. So rather than doing this in open court and maybe looking a bit foolish if you don't get what you want, see if you can find out from the legal adviser. If you cannot get their attention because they're constantly dealing with the Magistrates, slip a note to them via the usher, just politely setting out what it is you want to apply for, on whether or not they could look in the diary and see whether there any acceptable dates. So one of the commonest interruptions to your day and being taken by surprise will be a bail breach. Now, if your duty on the defendant already has solicitors, then you're not going to get involved in this. Although sometimes if the solicitors are at a distance from court on Boat world can't come to call. It may be that you want to give them a ring on offer toe actors agent for them. If the defendant isn't represented, you'll need to see whether or not he's used the duty in this case in the past and therefore whether he's eligible for the duty today unless you have a simplicity site. You're his own solicitor. So relating to worry about the duty scheme, you've got a report at all. Perhaps he's a private payers and your in funds to do this. Section seven of the Bail Act 1976 deals with bail breaches. First thing to note is, it's not a criminal offence, but it is serious because it entitles the court to review bail on whether or not the client should be released on bail again. If the breaches found proved the criminal offenses that you might be thinking or with bail bridge or fail to surrenders under Section 61 and 62 of the bailouts failing to surrender it all for failing to surrender assumes practicable, and those are distinct criminal charges. So put those to one side. The procedure and bail breaches is very, very loose compared to mainstream criminal trials, and the leading authority is Liverpool City Justices. Ex parte ADP pay citations on your slide. This isn't even a civil trial. The defendants identified. If he admits the bio bridge well and good bye go onto this, decide whether or not he should be re bailed. And if so, on what terms and conditions. But if he denies the bio bridge, then the prosecution will have to prove the bridge. And this has done simply by reading out statements that they have, which may well be a statement from a police officer who says I found with his partners addressing in breach of a bail condition of noncontact, or I saw him at the chip shop for 11 o'clock at night when he was on curfew and should have been indoors a 10 in them at night. So the statements are simply red. You can't cross examine, but that doesn't mean to say you can't challenge the weight of the evidence. So look for contradictions for things that are unclear for things that don't make sense. And when you come to do your closing at the end and address the Magistrates on whether the breach is proven and here the court only need be satisfied. So it is a low test. You've got some ammunition to make them thing. There's no obligation on the part of the defendant to give evidence equally, there's no right to give evidence. You're like, I need to make a decision as to whether or not to call your client to give evidence, and you're only realistically going to have a few minutes to do that. Many defendants are just awful in the witness box sometimes, and this is going to be a cautionary tale for the rest of your practicing life. The client might look as if he's got a good tale to tell. The prosecution might not have done awfully well when it came to proving their part of the case. But your client is in the witness box, and he's an absolute disaster on all the progress that you have been making. His wife, Charles. So, do you want to put your client in the witness box? If he's under the influence of alcohol or is withdrawing from drugs or it's got short fuse or it's going to kick off, you probably best not put him in the witness box, but it may equally be that the courts say they don't want to hear from him, in which case there isn't any evidence directly from him. But you're going to argue Well, you didn't have any direct evidence from anybody else, either, so I'm going to make some points in this behalf. I see what you can achieve that way. Note. The defendant must either appear in court. MM, he must be present by video link so they can't proceed with this application if he's not been bought to court on, watch out as well. First thing you need to find out from the prosecutor when you realize you're in this position is what the time of arrest Waas? Because following the crown on the application of Culley and Dorchester Crown Court on again citations in your slides, the court have 24 hours from the time off arrest to establish whether or not there is a breach of bail and then to make any decision as to whether to buy all the defendants or no. So you may find if the prosecution clock is ticking down. A legal adviser will call the case on first or early on in the list, irrespective of whether or not you've had time to discuss matters with the clients. And you may find that in those circumstances the whole procedure feels rushed. But that's because the law requires the whole job to be concluded in 24 hours. Note that Saturday Sundays, Bank holidays, Christmas Boxing Day. Good Friday. I'm not time periods for 24 hours. So that's the first thing you want to find out is when did the clock style and when the court. I've heard the arguments. If they find no breach, well and good off it goes. But if they do find the jail has been breached, then there's no presumption in favour of bail. The court may re bail him. It may be the prosecution are agreeable to re veiling. It may be that the conditions varied, but it may be that he hits the buffers and he's now remanded in custody. And if that happens, you want to check the custody time limit date, and you want to make sure the trial is going to take place as soon as possible to minimize the time spent on remand. That might mean that the trial date has to be re fixed with all the attendant rearrangements that will have to be made, particularly with your diary and for any witnesses. So on the subject of bail, the next topic is bail variations. First thing to ask yourself is, Do I have to give notice to the CPS under all 14? Yes, you need to give 48 hours notice. There's a stock form and it's done in writing. But sometimes this is an emergency. The defendant had a condition of bail to resided to set address, but last night is duck for amount because he'd had enough. So he's let you know you're now making applications a very bail. The CPS will want to check the address. They get the police to do this. They don't want him living, for example, around the corner from a victim, all perhaps, with somebody who's vulnerable. If he's got a record for domestic abuse, so you can apply to a bridge time that simply means you stand up inside the Magistrates. This is an emergency. There's been no chance to get proper notice. Please hear the application. You lied to persuade the core that if you want to change the bail conditions, that the risks that they had in mind when they impose those conditions are equally well addressed now, as they were at the start, all perhaps the risks have diminished. Perhaps he was committing further faces because he's a habitual drug at it. But he's now on a methadone script, and he's doing well, so you're going to need to allay any reservations on where conditions are imposed on bail. It tells me that initially when the court decided to bail, they thought there was some risks, for example, of committing further offences, interfering with witnesses or failing to surrender. So it may be that the defendant's change Assad a change in his work hours. Or indeed, he's got a job, and now he needs to vary a curfew, or he needs to vary an address so that he's nearer toe work. In those circumstances, it makes sense to ask the defendant to produce evidence. And if he's just got work, it may be that you need to reconsider his eligibility for legal aid. Domestic violence protection orders. These come in with virtually no notice. Your client should have been served with the domestic violence protection notice. Generally, this happens if they've been arrested, but it may be the police of popped around, put the application through his door or handed it to him, and then the application for the order needs to be heard within 48 hours. The law set out under sections 24 to 30 of the crime and Security Act 2000 and turn. He may be covered by the duty scheme today, but equally if it's a own client and he's eligible, he can apply for legal aid. Completing a crime. 14 check. He has been validly served with the requisite notice check. The application is authorized by the right level of police officer on signs. An E signature will do very mind that sometimes the police themselves send officers to prosecute. These always send civilians. A lot of these people are completely pulled his arm. They have no understanding of the law. I'm very little understanding of the procedure. They can't conceive that their application may lack merits. They also often perceived that the court will be on their side because history demonstrates that particularly Magistrates Court have been pro police rather than open minded, but that is increasingly dying out. They often rely on hearsay. They may not produce any witnesses at all, and indeed they need not. But again, you can comment on the weight. You may want to call your client to give evidence in these circumstances, but be alive. If he's gonna be a disaster, he may make up missions to offenses that he's, for example, released under investigation or Bay or four on what he says in the witness box could be used against him. Equally he might come across is completely obnoxious. And so the Magistrates think there's more than a grain of truth in the police case. But then again, he might come across is a thoroughly decent individual, do well, So you gonna need to consider that if the order is made, then any breach will be a contempt of court, which can lead to a fine at a daily rate or two months imprisonment. Custody time limits next. These never used to be a problem in the Magistrates court, but because the problem is with listing a such that it's hard to get a trial within the 56 day time limits, sometimes custody time limits do need to be extended. If the trial has begun, there's no problem. But the trial must take place in 56 days from the initial remands, and you hear the prosecutor announced custody time limits of the first hearing. Put that in your diary. Each offence attracts it's own custody time limit. So let's imagine first hearing he's been charged with common assault, but seven days later was charged with harassment on the same defense. Some complainants well, a new custody time limit will attract to that harassment. All the procedure is government by criminal procedural 14 it needs to be on notice. Section 22 of the Prosecution of Offenses Act sets out the test. The prosecution will show they've got good and sufficient cause to remand into custody once more. Andi, They've acted with due diligence and expedition very often. The good and sufficient cause is hard to argue here, but the due diligence and expedition Get your pet full and look to see what the prosecution should have done by where complying with directions. Have they, in fact, complied. Have you had to report them to the court for non compliance? Have you had to chase them? Are they still in breach of directions? That sort of material is really good to argue, to prove that they haven't acted with due diligence and expedition black of investigation as well. That's a good one, pointing to the fact that the prosecution said they'd be serving additional statements and they still haven't because by the time they make a custody time limit application some several weeks is lightning to a past, so look for these small points. It'll take you a few minutes, but they're worth their weight in gold, in some cases. Closure orders. Next. These are where local authorities or the police force want to close a property because it's associated with disorder or nuisance, and it's causing local residents. Alarm will harassment or distress their civil in nature, but they're covered by Crim 14 for the purposes of funding. And the object of the exercise is for the premises to be closed for up to three months, although certain categories of people could be permitted access. Sometimes the tenant may be allowed to continue, but not to have visitors. For example, he says he's a victim of cookery ing. Drug dealers have taken over his flat to deal because he's vulnerable and hasn't got the ability or skills to get rid of them. Maybe he is going to be booted out, and he's going to be homeless. It may be you can negotiate the terms and conditions of an order and always think about whether or not you can exercise some control when anybody applies for one of these orders. Can you negotiate a deal? Otherwise, there's gonna be a full on paan shop on a contested hearing. The closure notice acts as an interim closure order. Make sure it's served. Make sure the right person at the right authority has given consent for the application to be bought. If the hearing is adjourned and it can be for up to 14 days so that the parties can have a contested hearing, then the closure notice will stand in place of an interim order if the defendant breaches the order that is subject to contempt sanctions These orders a rather peculiar because their civil in nature, but they're taking place in the Magistrates court. Strictly speaking, this criminal procedure rules don't apply in order the civil ones. But there's a very useful case called Cleary and Hibri Magistrates Court in your slides, which sets out what the standards of procedural fairly should be. And the high court say if there aren't procedural rules, then it makes sense to look at the civil rules for an idea of what's procedurally fair. You can find the civil procedurals, but the same website that you'll find the criminal procedure rules at the Ministry of Justice. When you need them. Fine enforcement hearings Your client could go to prison today. Part 30 of the criminal procedurals deal with these aside as Part three of the Magistrates Court and schedule five, of course, at 2003 and fine collection regulations. The Magistrates have to be satisfied, so they're sure that the client has willfully refused or culpable. He neglected to pay, and they will look at the history and they'll know the history because their legal adviser will give them a prince out of the history from the date the fine was imposed. Showing all the efforts that the quarters made to enforce, the defendant would almost always have to give evidence. If he doesn't give evidence on oath, then the court order or whatever assumptions it thinks fit, wilful refusal and culpable neck neglect can be the conclusion drawn. For example, if I was imposed in 2014 he keeps saying he's going to pay, but he hasn't so that could be interpreted as him. Refusing deliberately, for it could be interpreted as him just simply neglecting in a blameworthy fashion to pay. You're going to want to take his instructions on why he hasn't paid it. Maybe he didn't know about the proceedings, in which case you may want to employ to set the conviction aside with statutory declaration or under Section one for two. But if it goes wrong, he could be sent to prison if he's lucky. If the fine was imposed, Me didn't know about the proceedings, it's been imposed or is certainly on the assumption that he was earning what's called the relevant weekly income. Today, that's £440 a week. The court may be prepared to reopen the level of fine and remit some of it. In other words, look at what his income is now on. Reduce the fine in keeping with his means. You may be given time to pay installments, but he's gonna have to give them some assurances. Here, he may say, agreed to a deduction from benefits or an attachment of earnings. They may suspend committal for prison to prison all they may simply send him down if they feel they've reached the under the line. How long will he serve? Well? Asked the legal adviser what the default period is because mostly televises acts can access a really handy H M CTS chart that calculates to a nicety, but it for period Germany, the prison governor will release them halfway throwing that will. That will get rid of the fine, but it won't get rid of compensation, so you're still owe compensation. Council tax enforcement. You always tell when council tax enforcement is happening because they'll be dozens and dozens of people waiting to be dealt with. It's a real pain because the duty solicitor may be called up to represent a lot of people. A lot of defenders end up in this court because they're disorganized. Perhaps there may have mental illness or other health issues that marriage has broken up that been homeless. There are 10 a room, the too poor to pay. But some of the people who don't pay council tax protesters and they're doing this for political point, and they can be, frankly, a pain because not really interested in what you got to say. They know what the law is. They don't want to go to prison, but they don't want to play the council tax either, so there's very little you can do, and you may fall in with the best will in the way that there's nothing you can achieve, and I would simply explain that to them politely. You can represent them, but this little to be achieved. Two cases in your notes. Liquids in a wall Cock Walcott is an awfully long read, but it shows the sorts of things that courts do the procedural irregularities, which may be fatal to enforcement. Some Magistrates may well take the view that these people should go to prison for not paying. There are still people who hold those views simply because the Magistrates themselves pay their council tax. So why shouldn't everybody else? Courts often have long lists, and they're keen to get through but the expense of doing justice in certain cases, So be alive to the fact that there may well be a lengthy history. No defendant in these proceedings may simply be too Paul or too disorganized to pay, and you're going to want to try and come up with a payment system and some assurances this time because the court have heard this before, that the money is going to be paid. It may be that the defendant has simply blown it. And by the time you're called in, there's nothing that you can do. And again, just big, politely honest and realistic with, um, this is another situation where non lawyers will often prosecute some City Council's contract the service out to private contractors. The cost claims can simply be outrageous. Some costs claims will be in the region of hundreds of pounds for the proceedings and these around into the debt. Don't be afraid to challenge the level of cost because those air in the gift of the Magistrates court, some of these presenters have no qualifications whatsoever. One good argument is to go to the legal aid rates for great D Fear. Now that's simply a paralegal and say to the court, Why should any greater some than the Legal Aid Board would pay to a great d Fiona be paid? And then, at least if you didn't win the battle on the enforcement of the council tax debt itself? At least you've achieved something for your clients stacked decks and Section 14 to the Magistrates Court. This is the power to reopen proceedings. If the client wasn't where, for example, the requisition in a road traffic case went to address. He left some time ago. All it's a rectification of mistakes in the interests of justice. There's a lot of case law here. It's not a magic bullet only applies in criminal cases. The court can exercise these powers of their own volition. The prosecution can exercise section 14 to as common defense. It may be that the proposed defendant simply wants to swear a stacked deck and suppose to ask the Magistrates to reopen a conviction. In those situations, the Clark or the legal adviser will talk them through, but it may simply be after the There's nothing that you can do. They may not take any allergy books eligibility boxes for the duty solicitor if they don't get rid of them quickly. Because you've probably got more pressing work to do that you are going to be paid for under the scheme. If it's a 142 declaration that maybe somewhere involved in this, you know you're gonna get paid, I call that the kind is going to be eligible under the duty scheme again, the Magistrates legal adviser will talk through opposing acting on their own behalf, but where the scheme can't used is the for example, the matter went toe appeal on the crown called Upheld the conviction that can't reopen it now in the Magistrates. But believe may people do try a couple of other unexpected things dealing with the press. We touched on this a little bit earlier, but always maintain confidentiality. No such thing is off the record. Don't be flattered by their attentions. They're they're up to something. If your client wants to talk to them, dissuade him if he wants to make a statement to them, for example, has been acquitted on. He wants to say something always been convicted, and he wants to tell everybody is going to be appealing. It may be sensible to again deterrent, and Casey says something unfortunate can be used against him. If you go back to the Max Clifford case, the way he conducted himself with the press during his trial actually aggravated his sentence. If he asks you to prepare a statement, then you need to ask yourself whether or not that's wise, you need Teoh. Ask yourself what your professional indemnity insurers might think, because this may not be part of the retainer and therefore may not be covered by the I I. If it's a legally aided matter, you're unlikely to be paid for drafting a statement because again, it doesn't form part of the business on the other thing to bear in mind in this day in age, with social media, being seen as the face of a defendant because you're his lawyer can attract unpleasant people to your door, dealing with the public. Mostly, you'll be approached by defendants, families and hangers on, and you may be approached by people who completely hostile to you because they're in the other camp. The client might say it's OK to tell his mom about the case, But remember, What you say to her isn't going to be confidential now, she tells other people. Or she tells the police she made giving away something you don't want anybody else to know. Mom could end up being a compatible witnesses. Well, if the police know that she has information on that, could causing a problem. Do you know the real identity? Quite often it could be the complaint until a TV case coming in, asking you questions, and you could find yourself in a sticky ethical situation so you want to know who is what their businesses on, whether or not your client consents to you talking to them. If in doubt, politely say that you can't discuss it because you don't have instructions. If you're really bothered by somebody, then get security to intervene or go and sit in the well of the court where the public can't have access. One real problem comes with emotional cases, particularly where there's been a death or there's been a rape or offenses against Children. You will get nutters, other people turning up in the public gallery. Sometimes these people will become sometimes threatening and hostile. Generally, they confine themselves to abuse. But while the downsides of the job, people try to spit at you or punching, so just think about where your escape routes are. If you confronted in, the situation's getting hostile. Where might you find help? Where might you find a refuge on? What can you do to disengage? The other thing is that the public, no matter what you do and how good you are on our ethical you are a lot of them think that whether to tell lies on behalf of defendants on that were fat cats. That's really tedious because, you know the truth is very much the opposite. So be alive to the fact that many members of the public are not your maid, as are many hangers on. Are not your maids? Unless Lee asked, This is the last weapon on the series. Good luck with a portfolio. Good luck with your II and good luck with being a duty solicitor on your career. Thank you.

Documentation

documentation_icon

35 Pages

documentation_icon

19 Pages

documentation_icon

33 Pages

documentation_icon

31 Pages

documentation_icon

29 Pages

documentation_icon

14 Pages

documentation_icon

109 Pages

KeyWords

Criminal advocacy, MCQ, Magistrates Court Qualification

Instructor

Olwen Davies

1479 Users
38 Courses
57 Reviews

Admitted in 1990, Olwen is freelance solicitor-advocate with extensive experience in both defence and prosecution work from the magistrates' court to the Court of Appeal. Olwen has lectured at post- graduate level and has presented many CPD courses for the legal profession, the police, Health and Safety Executive and others. Olwen is the co-author of Jordan's Criminal Practitioners Guide to the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and is an avid supporter of Save UK Justice and the campaign to stop cuts to legal aid and the criminal justice system.

Reviews

Duncan Warmington 3 years ago

Emtiaj Hossain 3 years ago

Talha Javed 4 years ago

You May Also Like

The courses below were also popular with users who took this course:

Self-Defence Update 2019

4.3

with Olwen Davies 60

Knife Crime Update 2019

4.6

with Olwen Davies 60

Evidence in Domestic Abuse Cases

4.3

with Olwen Davies 60

Community Penalty Notices

4.5

with Olwen Davies 60