So you have pleaded not guilty and are now facing a trial in the Magistrates’ Court. For many people, the prospect of giving evidence, being cross-examined and waiting for a verdict is unfamiliar and daunting.
Understanding the court process is important, but so too is understanding what can make a difference to the outcome. A criminal trial is not simply a matter of turning up and telling your side of the story. Decisions made before and during the trial can have a significant impact on your chances of acquittal. Should you give evidence? What happens if you stayed silent in interview? Can disclosure undermine the prosecution case? How do magistrates decide who to believe?
In this guide, I explain what happens at a Magistrates’ Court trial and some of the key strategic decisions and evidential issues that can influence the court’s decision.
Pre-Court – The Importance of Disclosure
Before the trial, the Prosecution must serve all the evidence they intend to rely upon. This may include witness statements, body-worn footage, CCTV, your police interview and any forensic evidence.
The Prosecution may also serve what is known as unused material – evidence that they do not intend to rely upon in court. This should be scrutinised carefully, as it may contain material that undermines the prosecution case or assists the Defence.
Disclosure issues are often overlooked, but they can make a significant difference to the outcome of a case. For example, in one recent case, I identified that police logs showed the complainant had given a different account during the initial 999 call compared with their witness statement. This became a key area of cross-examination and went directly to the complainant’s credibility and reliability as a witness.
Defence Statement (s.6 of the CPIA 1996)
A Defence statement is a document summarising the nature of the Defence, what legal issues are involved in the case, the areas of dispute with the prosecution and further requests for disclosure.
In the Magistrates’ Court it is not compulsory to serve a Defence statement. However, from a tactical point of view, serving a statement compels the Prosecution to further review their case and disclose evidence not previously provided. If the Prosecution fails to respond to the Defence statement, the Defence can make a further application under section 8 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996, which will go before the court for directions. This strategy forces the Prosecution to properly review their evidence.
Who Will Decide Your Case?
Your case can be heard by three magistrates, who are not lawyers but members of the public who volunteer to sit as judges to decide your guilt or innocence. They will be assisted by a legal adviser who is a qualified lawyer.
Alternatively, your case may be heard by a District Judge who is a lawyer. They will decide your guilt or innocence and make decisions on both the facts of the case and the law.
The Prosecution Case
The prosecution brings the charge against you and must prove each and every element of the offence.
At the start of the trial, you will be asked your name, address and date of birth and whether you still plead not guilty to the offence or offences before the court.
The prosecution will then call their first witness. There is a rule that says a person asking questions of their own witness cannot lead that witness by suggesting the answer.
The prosecution will ask questions of their own witnesses to elicit their version of what happened.
Cross-Examination and Challenging the Evidence
Once the Prosecution has finished asking their witness all the questions, it is the turn of your lawyer to cross-examine the Prosecution witness.
Effective cross-examination requires careful planning and a thorough review of the evidence prior to and during the trial.
As a Defence lawyer, we need to compare what the witness said in their statement to the police with what they say when giving evidence. If a witness has changed their evidence, this may affect their credibility and reliability.
The groundwork can be laid by asking strategic questions first before highlighting any inconsistency.
What Is a Half-Time Submission?
At this stage, your lawyer will consider whether there is sufficient evidence for the case to continue. If the Prosecution evidence is particularly weak, or has been undermined during cross-examination, your lawyer may make what is known as a half-time submission.
This is a legal argument to the Magistrates or District Judge that the Prosecution case is not strong enough to proceed and should be dismissed without the Defence having to call any evidence. It is not often that a case is stopped at half-time, as the court simply needs to consider whether there is “just enough” evidence to continue.
Should You Give Evidence?
If the case is to continue, we now arrive at the next stage of the trial, which is the turn of the Defence.
For many defendants, this is one of the most important decisions in the case. Do you give evidence?
This decision is yours to make, but with the benefit of legal advice. Ultimately, it is a question of what gives you the best chance of winning the trial. In some cases, the risk of giving evidence comes down to how a person may come across as a witness or how they explain difficulties with parts of their evidence. However, there can also be risks in not giving evidence, particularly in relation to adverse inferences.
What Is an Adverse Inference?
If you do not say anything in the police interview, do not give evidence at your trial, or say something different at trial from what you said previously, the court is entitled to draw what is known as an adverse inference.
In plain English, if you keep quiet in interview and/or at trial, or give an inconsistent version of what happened, the court could hold this against you.
The court may ask itself a simple question: if the version given in court was true, why was it not mentioned in interview or at trial? That is the essence of an adverse inference.
What Is It Like Giving Evidence?
Many people watch courtroom dramas, especially American shows, and are fearful of being cross-examined.
The Prosecution’s job is to present the prosecution case. This means that when you give evidence, the prosecutor will put the complainant’s account to you and suggest that it is correct. They will also seek to undermine your account by pointing out perceived weaknesses or inconsistencies in your evidence. This is why preparation is so important – anticipating the likely lines of attack and having an answer ready.
Character Evidence and References
If you do not have any previous convictions, you are entitled to call character evidence. This is often overlooked but can play a crucial role in a trial. Strategically, it can help rebalance the evidence, particularly if you do not have any witnesses to call in support of your account.
Character witnesses can be called to give live evidence, but more commonly statements are obtained and read out in court. Compiling these effectively, and linking the contents of the reference to the issues in the case, can make a genuine difference.
It is also important to ensure that the court is asked to give a good character direction at the conclusion of the case, often referred to as a Vye direction. Essentially, it points out that a defendant’s previous good character makes it less likely that they committed the offence and more likely that they are telling the truth.
Closing Speeches
Once all the evidence has been heard, it is the turn of the Prosecution and Defence to make their closing speeches.
This is the part of the case where each party summarises their case, highlights the strongest parts of their evidence and identifies weaknesses in the other side’s case.
For the Defence, effective advocacy is key. The aim is to highlight weaknesses in the Prosecution case and summarise inconsistencies in the evidence in a clear, concise and persuasive way. Judgment is important – focusing on the strongest points rather than diluting them with weaker arguments. We do not need to prove innocence; we only need to raise a reasonable doubt. Equally important is emphasising the high threshold that the Prosecution must overcome before the court can convict.
How Does the Court Reach Its Decision?
If you have magistrates dealing with your case, they will retire to their room to discuss the evidence. They will consider how the witnesses gave their evidence, whether they were believable and credible, what other evidence there is to be considered, whether there were inconsistencies in the evidence, whether you gave evidence, how you gave your evidence, how you came across and, above all, whether the prosecution has proved its case.
If you have a District Judge, it is more likely than not that the Judge will remain in court and make a decision.
If the court finds you not guilty, that is the end of the matter. If you paid privately, your lawyer can make an application for a Defence Costs Order out of central funds. However, it is worth knowing that you will only recover approximately 25% (or sometimes less) of what you have paid privately.
If you are found guilty, you will either be sentenced there and then or your case may be adjourned for the preparation of a Pre-Sentence Report, which is a report prepared by the Probation Service to assist the court in deciding the appropriate sentence.
A Final Word
A Magistrates’ Court trial involves many moving parts, and the difference between a good outcome and a poor one often comes down to preparation, experience and judgment. From scrutinising disclosure before the trial begins, to effective cross-examination, to the decision about whether to give evidence, to the closing speech – every stage matters and every stage requires careful thought.
About the Author
Maria-Elena Cheshire is a solicitor in the Private Crime team at Reeds Solicitors. She has more than 30 years’ experience in criminal law and has worked as both a Defence solicitor and a legal adviser to magistrates, giving her a unique insight into how Magistrates’ Courts approach criminal cases.
If you have a Magistrates’ Court trial approaching and would like to talk it through, our criminal defence team is here to help.
