Challenges to decisions of England and Wales magistrates' courts

Last updated

This article concerns the legal mechanisms by way of which a decision of an England and Wales magistrates' court may be challenged. There are four mechanisms under which a decision of a magistrates' court may be challenged:

Contents

Reconsideration by the magistrates' court

A magistrates' court may set aside and vary decisions of its own court, in relation both to sentence and conviction.

In relation to conviction, a magistrates' court may order a rehearing of a case against a person convicted by that magistrates' court. [1] The court may exercise the power when it appears to be in the interests of justice to do so. [1] There is no strict time limit for making an application for a case to be re-heard but delay can be taken into account when deciding whether or not to order a re-hearing. [3]

A magistrates' court has power to vary or rescind an order made by it, which includes a sentence. [1] The power is used where there has been a mistake. [4] The power may exceptionally be used to increase sentence. [4]

Appeal to the Crown Court

A person convicted of an offence by a magistrates' court may appeal to the Crown Court against their sentence. [2] [5] A person who pleaded not guilty may also appeal against his conviction. [2] A person who has pleaded guilty may only appeal if his guilty plea was equivocal when made, if his guilty plea has subsequently shown to be equivocal, if he wishes to argue that he had already been acquitted or convicted of the same offence on another occasion, or where a reference is made by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. [6]

The appeal to the Crown Court is by way of rehearing. New evidence may be called, but the Crown Court has no power to amend information upon which the appellant was convicted (or revoke amendments made by the magistrates' court). [7] The Crown Court will consider whether the decision of the magistrates' court was correct rather than whether it was reasonable. The Crown Court may confirm, reverse or vary the original decision or may remit the case to the magistrates' court. [8] When acting in this capacity, the Crown Court may not order a sentence which the magistrates' court had no power to order. [8]

The appeal will ordinarily be heard by a Crown Court judge and two magistrates (who will not be those involved in the original trial). If the appeal is from a youth court then there will ordinarily be one male and one female magistrate and each will be authorised to sit in the Youth Court. [9] Decisions on law should be made by the Crown Court judge. Decisions on the facts may be made by a majority. The presiding judge should give reasons for the decision, whether the appeal is allowed or refused.

Irrespective of whether the convicted person is against sentence or conviction, he has not more than 21 days after sentence or the date sentence is deferred, whichever is earlier, to lodge a notice of appeal. [10] No particular form is stipulated, but the notice must state whether the appeal is against conviction, against sentence or against both and the reasons for the appeal. [10] Applications made out of time may be considered by the Crown Court, taking into account the merits of the case and the reasons for the delay. [10]

Pending the appeal, a person may be granted bail by the magistrates' court [11] or Crown Court.

A party aggrieved by the decision of the Crown Court may appeal by way of case stated [12] or apply for judicial review. [13]

Appeal by way of case stated

Following any conviction, order determination or other proceeding of the magistrates' court, both the accused and the prosecution may apply to that magistrates' court to state a case for the opinion of the high court. This process may be used where the challenge is on the basis that the magistrates' decision is wrong in law or is in excess of jurisdiction. [14]

The application to the magistrates must be made within 21 days of the decision being challenged. The application may be refused on the basis that the application is frivolous, [14] so long as the justices issue a statement to that effect [11] and briefly give their reasons. Any refusal may be challenged by way of application to the High Court. [14] If the application is allowed, the justices' clerk will draft a "case", which is a document stating the facts of the case and the question or questions of law to be determined. [15] The case will only contain evidence if one of the questions was whether there was any evidence on the basis of which the magistrates could convict. [15]

The appeal is to the Divisional Court of the King's Bench Division of the High Court. Two or three judges will sit. Two judges must agree for the application to be successful. [16] The Divisional Court may reverse, affirm or amend the decision of the magistrates' court, or remit the case to the magistrates' court. [17] The Divisional Court may make any order as it sees fit. [17]

The appellant has no right to bail but may be granted bail by the magistrates' court [11] or, if the magistrates' court refuses, a judge of the High Court. [18]

Judicial review

An application for judicial review may be made on the grounds that the magistrates' court has exceeded its powers by making an error of law, acting outside of its jurisdiction or breached natural justice. Applications may be made against convictions or sentence, but judicial review of sentence will rarely be appropriate. [19]

An application for judicial review may be made promptly and not later than three months after the decision of the magistrates' court of which the applicant complains. [20]

Where the magistrates' court has acted outside of its powers, the High Court may grant quashing orders, mandatory orders and prohibiting orders. These orders are discretionary and may be refused in the interests of justice.

Appeal by way of case stated should be the ordinary method of challenge where it is alleged there has been an error of law. Judicial review should not be used to evade the 21-day time limit. Judicial review is more appropriate where there is an issue of fact which may have to be raised and decided and which the Justices cannot have decided for themselves. [21]

Appeal from the magistrates' courts in family matters

Provisions contained within the Access to Justice Act 1999 (Destination of Appeals) (Family Proceedings) Order 2009 s.4 insert s.111A into the Magistrates' Court Act 1980. This section dictates that:

  • (1) This section applies in relation to family proceedings in a magistrates' court.
  • (2) Any person who was a party to any proceeding before the court, or is aggrieved by the order, determination or other proceeding of the court, may question the proceeding on the ground that it is wrong in law or is in excess of jurisdiction by appealing to a county court.

Subsequently, all appeals from the magistrates' courts will now be dealt with by the County Court and will have 21 days in which to file the appeal. [s.111A(4)]

Related Research Articles

Perjury is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Summary offence</span> Crime tried without a jury

A summary offence or petty offence is a violation in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded against summarily, without the right to a jury trial and/or indictment.

A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the jurisdiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Court of Justiciary</span> Supreme criminal court in Scotland

The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Court building in the Old Town in Edinburgh, or in dedicated buildings in Glasgow and Aberdeen. The High Court sometimes sits in various smaller towns in Scotland, where it uses the local sheriff court building. As an appeal court, the High Court sits only in Edinburgh. On one occasion the High Court of Justiciary sat outside Scotland, at Zeist in the Netherlands during the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial, as the Scottish Court in the Netherlands. At Zeist the High Court sat both as a trial court, and an appeal court for the initial appeal by Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crown Court</span> Court of first instance of England and Wales

The Crown Court is the criminal court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is one of three Senior Courts of England and Wales.

A hybrid offence, dual offence, Crown option offence, dual procedure offence, offence triable either way, or wobbler is one of the special class offences in the common law jurisdictions where the case may be prosecuted either summarily or as indictment. In the United States, an alternative misdemeanor/felony offense lists both county jail and state prison as possible punishment, for example, theft. Similarly, a wobblette is a crime that can be charged either as a misdemeanor or an infraction, for example, in California, violating COVID-19 safety precautions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magistrates' court (England and Wales)</span> Lower court in the criminal legal system of England and Wales

In England and Wales, a magistrates' court is a lower court which hears matters relating to summary offences and some triable either-way matters. Some civil law issues are also decided here, notably family proceedings. In 2010, there were 320 magistrates' courts in England and Wales; by 2020, a decade later, 164 of those had closed. The jurisdiction of magistrates' courts and rules governing them are set out in the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judiciary of Israel</span> Part of the article of the series of government of Israel

The judicial system of Israel consists of secular courts and religious courts. The law courts constitute a separate and independent unit of Israel's Ministry of Justice. The system is headed by the President of the Supreme Court and the Minister of Justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Court of Singapore</span> Lower division of national supreme court

The High Court of Singapore is the lower division of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the upper division being the Court of Appeal. The High Court consists of the chief justice and the judges of the High Court. Judicial Commissioners are often appointed to assist with the Court's caseload. There are two specialist commercial courts, the Admiralty Court and the Intellectual Property Court, and a number of judges are designated to hear arbitration-related matters. In 2015, the Singapore International Commercial Court was established as part of the Supreme Court of Singapore, and is a division of the High Court. The other divisions of the high court are the General Division, the Appellate Division, and the Family Division. The seat of the High Court is the Supreme Court Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Court of Appeal of Singapore</span> Supreme appellate court of Singapore

The Court of Appeal of Singapore is the highest court in the judicial system of Singapore. It is the upper division of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the lower being the High Court. The Court of Appeal consists of the chief justice, who is the president of the Court, and the judges of the Court of Appeal. The chief justice may ask judges of the High Court to sit as members of the Court of Appeal to hear particular cases. The seat of the Court of Appeal is the Supreme Court Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminal law of Canada</span>

The criminal law of Canada is under the exclusive legislative jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada. The power to enact criminal law is derived from section 91(27) of the Constitution Act, 1867. Most criminal laws have been codified in the Criminal Code, as well as the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, Youth Criminal Justice Act and several other peripheral statutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminal Justice Act 2003</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Criminal Justice Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a wide-ranging measure introduced to modernise many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Large portions of the act were repealed and replaced by the Sentencing Act 2020.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is the statutory body responsible for investigating alleged miscarriages of justice in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It was established by Section 8 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 and began work on 31 March 1997. The commission is the only body in its area of jurisdiction with the power to send a case back to an appeals court if it concludes that there is a real possibility that the court will overturn a conviction or reduce a sentence. Since starting work in 1997, it has on average referred 33 cases a year for appeal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which makes significant changes in many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In particular, it changes the law relating to custodial sentences and the early release of prisoners to reduce prison overcrowding, which reached crisis levels in 2008. It also reduces the right of prison officers to take industrial action, and changed the law on the deportation of foreign criminals. It received royal assent on 8 May 2008, but most of its provisions came into force on various later dates. Many sections came into force on 14 July 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Code of Criminal Procedure (India)</span> Code of criminal law of India

The Code of Criminal Procedure commonly called Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) is the main legislation on procedure for administration of substantive criminal law in India. It was enacted in 1973 and came into force on 1 April 1974. It provides the machinery for the investigation of crime, apprehension of suspected criminals, collection of evidence, determination of guilt or innocence of the accused person and the determination of punishment of the guilty. It also deals with public nuisance, prevention of offences and maintenance of wife, child and parents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magistrate (England and Wales)</span> Legal office held by lay people in England and Wales

In England and Wales, magistrates are trained volunteers, selected from the local community, who deal with a wide range of criminal and civil proceedings. They are also known as Justices of the Peace. In the adult criminal court, magistrates decide on offences which carry up to twelve months in prison, or an unlimited fine. Magistrates also sit in the family court where they help resolve disputes that involve children, and in the youth court which deals with criminal matters involving young people aged 10-17. Established over 650 years ago, the magistracy is a key part of the judiciary of England and Wales, and it is a role underpinned by the principles of 'local justice' and 'justice by one's peers'.

Criminal procedure in South Africa refers to the adjudication process of that country's criminal law. It forms part of procedural or adjectival law, and describes the means by which its substantive counterpart, South African criminal law, is applied. It has its basis mainly in English law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal</span>

The New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, is the highest court for criminal matters and has appellate jurisdiction in the Australian State of New South Wales.

<i>Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform v Murphy</i> Irish Supreme Court case

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform v Murphy, [2010] IESC 17; [2010] 3 IR 77, is an Irish Supreme Court case in which the Court determined that inpatient treatment with a restriction order attached to it in a European Arrest Warrant came within the meaning of "detention order" in s.10(d) of the European Warrant Act 2003. This gave the definition of "detention order" a wide meaning. The case involved an appeal against extradition to the United Kingdom.

Bail in the United Kingdom is the practice of releasing individuals from remand subject to certain conditions which are designed to enable criminal justice outcomes, primarily trials and police investigations, to be completed efficiently and effectively. The right to bail is guaranteed in a wide range of contexts but is not absolute. The legal systems of England and Wales, Northern Ireland and of Scotland each deal with bail in similar but distinct ways. Bail can be granted by the courts, the police and certain other criminal justice authorities including the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, s. 142.
  2. 1 2 3 s. 108.
  3. ↑ R v Ealing Magistrates' Court, ex parte Sahota [1997] EWHC 993(Admin)
  4. 1 2 Holme v Liverpool City Justices [2004] EWHC 3131(Admin)
  5. ↑ It is also possible to appeal against being bound over by the magistrates: Magistrates' Courts (Appeals from binding Over Orders) Act 1995, s. 1 (1).
  6. ↑ Hooper, Ormerod & Murphy 2008 , pp. 1996–1997
  7. ↑ Garfield v Maddocks [19784] QB 7.
  8. 1 2 Supreme Court Act 1981, s. 48.
  9. ↑ Criminal Procedure Rules, r. 63.8–9.
  10. 1 2 3 Criminal Procedure Rules, r. 63.2.
  11. 1 2 3 Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, s. 113.
  12. ↑ Senior Courts Act 1981, s. 28.
  13. ↑ Senior Courts Act 1981, s. 29.
  14. 1 2 3 Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, s. 111.
  15. 1 2 Criminal Procedure Rules, r 64.6.
  16. ↑ Flannagan v Shaw [1920] 3 KB 96, 107.
  17. 1 2 Senior Courts Act 1981, s. 28A.
  18. ↑ Criminal Justice Act 1948, s. 37 (1) (b).
  19. ↑ Hooper, Ormerod & Murphy 2008 , p. 2006
  20. ↑ Civil Procedure Rules, r. 54.5 Archived 24 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine .
  21. ↑ R (P) v Liverpool City Justices [2006] EWHC 887(Admin)

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.