Commencing Proceedings in the Magistrates' Court

Alleged offenders can be brought before the Magistrates' Court in a few different ways:

• After being arrested and charged by the police. In this case the police will either hold them in custody to be brought before the court at the next available opportunity, or release them to appear before the court at some other time.
• By information being laid before the court, which results in the issue of a summons or warrant to secure the defendant's attendance.
• By the service of a postal requisition or Single Justice Procedure Notice.

In today's article we shall examine each of these in turn. This is a very broad subject and again we are giving the briefest account, hopefully in a nice clear manner that can be easily understood by all.

1. Arrest and Charge by the Police:

Suppose a suspect is arrested by a police officer, they are taken to the police station and must be charged as soon as the police believe there is sufficient evidence against them.

In the event that the police have insufficient evidence to justify charging the suspect, they can detain him/her for up to 24 hours before he/she is either charged or released. The 24 hour custody time limit can be extended to 36 hours by an officer of the rank of Superintendent and, in certain circumstances, can be extended to an absolute maximum of 96 hours by the Magistrates' Court.

During the charging process details of the alleged offence are read to the suspect, who will then have the opportunity to respond. The suspect is cautioned as part of the charging process and anything said in response can be used in evidence. After charging the suspect the police will either remand them in custody to appear before the court at the next available opportunity, or release them on bail to appear before the court at some other time.

The suspect is provided a copy of the charge sheet, which is also distributed to the receiving Magistrates' Court, the Crown Prosecution Service and the National Probation Service.

2. Laying an Information:

An information is a brief written description of the specific offence alleged against the accused. It provides information about the date, time and location of the alleged offence and describes the nature of the charge. A single information should not disclose more than one offence.

Laying an information is a formal act. It is the first step towards commencing a prosecution. It may be done by an informant in person, their solicitor or counsel or other person duly authorised.

An information may be laid before a single Magistrate, Justice's Clerk or other member of court staff acting with the Clerk's delegated authority.

Sometimes an information is laid in person at the court, on other occasions it is transmitted to the court electronically. Either method is equally valid.

In the case of a summary offence, section 127 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1982 dictates that a prosecution can only take place if an information is laid within 6 months of the alleged offence.

If an information is laid the court will normally issue a summons or, in certain circumstances, a warrant to secure the attendance of the defendant.

A warrant issued in this manner is known as a "warrant in the first instance" and can be authorised by a single Magistrate or Justice's Clerk. A warrant of first instance can only be issued if the defendant's address is not suitably established for the service of a summons. A warrant in the first instance can only be issued against an adult defendant charged with an indictable offence.

3. Postal Requisition or Single Justice Procedure Notice:

Section 29 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 introduced an alternative way for public prosecutors (the police, CPS, DVLA, HMRC, DWP etc) to commence proceedings against the accused.

Under this system, the prosecutor issues a written charge to the accused alongside a requisition for them to attend court and answer that charge.

The written charge and requisition must be served on the accused and a copy of both must be served on the receiving Magistrates' Court.

Any defendant requisitioned to attend court is not subject to bail for the offence charged, so there is an element of trust that they will actually attend. If they failed to attend without reasonable cause, they would not be liable to any breach proceedings, but the case would likely proceed in their absence and invariably to their disadvantage.

Certain non-imprisonable summary offences can be dealt with "on the papers" by a single Magistrate. Speeding, fare evasion and TV licence evasion are the classic examples of offences that can be dealt with this way, depending on the wishes of the prosecutor. In this case the prosecutor issues a written charge to the accused alongside a Single Justice Procedure Notice. The same documents are served on the receiving Magistrates' Court.

On receipt of a Single Justice Procedure Notice the defendant then has the following options:

• Plead guilty to the offence and not attend court, in which case any written mitigation they provide will be considered by a single Magistrate before they are sentenced for the offence.
• Plead guilty to the offence and attend court, in which case they will appear before a full court and present any mitigation in person. The court will then sentence them for the offence.
• Plead not guilty to the offence, in which case a trial will be scheduled before a full court.

The Single Justice Procedure is not an appropriate route for cases where it is likely a driver will be disqualified.

Should a defendant fail to respond to a Single Justice Procedure Notice within 21 days, then a single Magistrate will decide how the case will be progressed. It might still be dealt with on the papers, or it might be relisted before a full court.