Service Civilian Court Solicitors

Service Civilian Court Solicitors...

Our expert Service Civilian Court Solicitors can provide guidance and representation for any case. The process of dealing with crimes committed by military personnel can strongly differ to standard civilian law. Military law is formulated to maintain order and discipline and as such the legal processes can vary. It is based on the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and allows for the military to trial and sentence people.

The Armed Forces Act 2006 covers a vast variety of offences, including criminal offences under S42. Anybody in the Armed Forces must abide by both military law and civilian law.

Unfortunately, service personnel are not always exempt from both jurisdictions. This can lead to an extremely complicated process. It’s best to contact a lawyer for any civilian crimes committed by military personnel.

Obtaining legal advice at an early stage can be crucial. If you would like to discuss any aspect of your case, please contact us through our contact page here. Alternatively you can phone 0333 240 7373, or email us at info@reeds.co.uk.

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How We Can Help

We are one of a select few law firms that have specialist knowledge and skills concerning military law. We also provide legal advice and representation to police officers facing criminal and misconduct proceedings. We know the law concerning these types of matters inside out and you can be confident that we will manage your case strategically and build a vigorous defence.

Military and police discipline investigations and criminal prosecutions can have a devastating effect on your family and other personal relationships. You may also feel sidelined and isolated at work. We will fight tenaciously to defend you; you can trust that we will listen to your side of the story with compassion and sensitivity.

We have senior practitioners with a wealth of experience in successfully defending members of the Armed Forces charged with a variety of serious offences in Court Martial proceedings.

Our Police and Military Lawyers handle a wide range of legal matters, including but not limited to breach of professional standards, police criminal and misconduct proceedings (including the use of a firearm and instances where a person has been killed by an officer), misconduct in military operations, drug possession and supply, sexual offences, and more. No matter how complex your case, we have the expertise to provide robust legal advice and representation.

Our understanding of the culture and lifestyle associated with police and military life ensures that our legal advice is tailored to you. It also helps us create persuasive legal arguments and strategically plan and prepare for investigations and court proceedings.

 

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FAQ

The Service Civilian Court (SCC) consists of a judge advocate who sits alone. The Direct of Service Prosecutions (DSP) allocates cases to the court. It resembles the magistrates court in normal civilian law.

If the case is serious enough, it will likely take place in the Court Martial.

The SCC typically deals with less serious offences. They will also deal with the Armed Forces Act 2006 offences which are applicable to civilians.

When the SCC tries a juvenile, however, they have the same powers at the Youth Court in England and Wales.

The SCC have the power to issue the following:

    • Imprisonment (under 12 months or if you are serving a consecutive sentence it can not be more than 65 weeks. Under 18s cannot be imprisoned)

    • Detention and Training Order

    • Fine

    • Service compensation order

    • Service community order

    • Overseas community order

    • Conditional or absolute discharge

The SCC does not have unilateral power and must adhere to similar guidelines as if one was tried in a magistrates court.

The SCC has jurisdiction for offences against service law that have been committed outside of the British Islands. The civilian who is tried is subject to service discipline.

Those that are tried are civilians who are affiliated to the Armed Forces overseas, or dependants of Service personnel who live overseas.

A Court Martial is very similar to a Crown Court Trial. This means the case is heard before a panel which is similar to a jury. A panel is made up of between three to seven service personnel who will hear the case and then decide on the verdict. The case is presided by a Judge Advocate and both parties are usually represented by a barrister. A Court Martial has the same powers of a Crown Court with regards to their sentencing guidelines and they will deal with all serious offences.

A summary hearing will deal with less serious matters and they have limited powers available to them.

In most cases, with the exception of suspended sentences, any sentence that has been passed by the SCC will take place from the day it is passed.

If the Service Civilian Court accepts jurisdiction to charge the defendant, the defendant must be offered the right to choose a Court Martial trial instead.

In cases where there is one defendant with multiple charges, the defendant gets the opportunity to elect Court Martial trial for each charge.

For cases where there is more than one defendant, if one of them chooses trial by Court Martial then the SCC will refer all charges to the Court Martial for trial.

The SCC also has the power to convict someone who has committed a Service offence other than the one specifically in the charge sheet. This means that even if the defendant is acquitted of the charge on the charge sheet, the SCC may convict them of another allegation that is explicitly or implicitly stated in the charge sheet.