Criminal Litigation

After this chapter you should be able to: 1. understand how the criminal justice system works in overview; 2. understand the Criminal Procedure Rules (‘CrPR’) and the court’s case management powers; 3. appreciate the relevant professional conduct rules in criminal practice; and 4. advise a client as to the nature of his offence and explain the process and his eligibility for public funding. The LPC Criminal Litigation Module Module materials • 6 chapters • 6 SGSs • BPP Criminal Litigation Permitted Materials (‘permitted materials’). The module requires you to apply criminal litigation in a practical context. We will look at the following: Chapter 1 and SGS 1 – The criminal litigation process: The criminal justice system, the Criminal Procedure Rules, professional conduct issues and funding. Chapter 2 and SGS 2 – Police powers and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (‘PACE’): Detention at the police station, the role of the custody officer and an introduction to the role of the solicitor. Chapter 3 and SGS 3 – Proving offences and the nature of evidence: Introduction to advising suspects at a police station and the statutory framework of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (‘CJPOA’). Chapter 4 and SGS 4 – Magistrates’ court procedure: Bail and the provisions of the Bail Act 1976, plea before venue and allocation of trial. Chapter 5 and SGS 5 – Introduction to evidence: The admissibility of evidence, confessions, bad character, identification and witness evidence. Chapter 6 and SGS 6 – Introduction to sentencing: The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (‘CJA’) and the Sentencing Council guidelines. Please remind yourself of the key criminal offences by reading the relevant part of the pre-module reading which is located on the VLE under ‘Essential Reading’. We will be referring to these offences throughout this module. 1. The criminal justice system The criminal justice system in England and Wales is an adversarial system and is often perceived as comprising the police and the prosecution on one side and the defence on the other. This system means that it is the role of the prosecution to present sufficient admissible evidence to persuade a tribunal (either magistrates or a jury) to convict the defendant beyond reasonable doubt. This is a very important concept which underpins the system and consequently much of what we study on this module. It affects how a defendant’s case progresses from the early stages at the police station all the way through to the plea stage and ultimately to trial. If we look at a very simple case progression you can see how the assessment of the evidence runs throughout. 1. Billy is arrested - In order to make an arrest the police officer must have reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence has been committed and that Billy has committed it. This is a low evidential threshold. Billy is referred to as a ‘suspect’. Billy has rights whilst detained, including the right to free and independent legal advice. 2. Billy is charged - In order to charge a suspect, the custody officer in consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service (‘CPS’) must consider whether there is sufficient evidence to charge (i.e. believe that there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of Billy’s conviction). This is a slightly higher threshold than that required for a lawful arrest. In making this decision the contents of Billy’s interview with the investigating officer will also be considered; it is an interview under caution and is therefore admissible in evidence against the suspect. If charged, Billy is referred to as a ‘defendant’.