Solicitors' Higher Rights of Audience Qualification Criminal Procedure and Higher Courts (Criminal Proceedings) Syllabus

Criminal Procedure and Higher Courts (Criminal Proceedings) syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Criminal Procedure and Higher Courts (Criminal Proceedings) in Solicitors' Higher Rights of Audience Qualification, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   The Criminal Procedure Rules and Case Management

   3 topics

   • Overriding objective of the Criminal Procedure Rules
     • Duties of the parties and the court
     • Active case management
   • Allocation and sending to the Crown Court
     • Either-way offence allocation
     • Sending of indictable-only offences
   • Plea and Trial Preparation Hearings (PTPH)
2. 2

   Pre-Trial Procedure in the Crown Court

   4 topics

   • The indictment
     • Drafting and amending counts
     • Joinder and severance
   • Disclosure
     • Prosecution disclosure obligations under the CPIA 1996
     • Defence statements and applications
   • Pre-trial and preparatory hearings
     • Applications to dismiss
     • Abuse of process arguments
   • Bail and custody time limits
3. 3

   The Crown Court Trial

   4 topics

   • Empanelling and managing the jury
     • Jury selection and challenges
     • Discharge of jurors and the jury
   • Conduct of the trial
     • Prosecution and defence cases
     • Voir dire and trials within a trial
   • Submissions and directions
     • Submission of no case to answer (Galbraith)
     • Legal directions and the route to verdict
   • Summing up and verdict
     • Majority directions
     • Discharge and retrial
4. 4

   Sentencing Advocacy

   3 topics

   • The sentencing framework
     • Sentencing Council guidelines
     • Purposes of sentencing and totality
   • The plea in mitigation
     • Structure and content of mitigation
     • Use of pre-sentence and other reports
   • Ancillary orders and reductions
     • Reduction for guilty plea
     • Compensation, confiscation and other orders
5. 5

   Criminal Appeals

   3 topics

   • Appeals from the magistrates' to the Crown Court
   • Appeals to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
     • Leave to appeal against conviction and sentence
     • The safety of conviction test
   • Fresh evidence and references
     • Receiving fresh evidence on appeal
     • Criminal Cases Review Commission references

Criminal Procedure and Higher Courts (Criminal Proceedings) flashcards for Solicitors' Higher Rights of Audience Qualification

19 of 56 cards from the Criminal Procedure and Higher Courts (Criminal Proceedings) deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is the single overriding objective of the Criminal Procedure Rules?

   That criminal cases be dealt with justly (CrimPR r.1.1).

2. List the components of 'dealing with a case justly' under the Criminal Procedure Rules.

   Acquitting the innocent and convicting the guilty; dealing with the prosecution and defence fairly; recognising the defendant's rights (esp. Article 6 ECHR); respecting the interests of witnesses, victims and jurors; dealing with the case efficiently and expeditiously; ensuring information is available to the court for sentence; and dealing with the case in ways proportionate to its gravity, complexity and consequences.

3. Under the overriding objective, who has a duty to further it and how?

   Each participant in the conduct of a case must prepare and conduct the case in accordance with the overriding objective, comply with the Rules/practice directions/court directions, and at once inform the court and other parties of any significant failure to comply (CrimPR r.1.2).

4. How are criminal offences classified for the purpose of trial venue?

   Indictable-only (tried only in the Crown Court), either-way (triable in the magistrates' court or Crown Court), and summary-only (tried only in the magistrates' court).

5. For an indictable-only offence, what does the magistrates' court do at the first hearing?

   It sends the defendant 'forthwith' to the Crown Court for trial under s.51 Crime and Disorder Act 1998, with no consideration of plea or allocation.

6. In the allocation (mode of trial) procedure for an adult charged with an either-way offence, what is the order of steps?

   The charge is put and a plea indicated (plea before venue); if a guilty plea is indicated the magistrates proceed to sentence (and may commit for sentence); if not guilty/no indication, the court conducts allocation, considers representations and the Allocation Guideline, decides if its sentencing powers are adequate, and if it accepts jurisdiction the defendant may choose magistrates' or Crown Court trial.

7. On allocation, what right does the defendant have even if the magistrates accept jurisdiction, and what may they request first?

   The defendant may elect (choose) trial by jury in the Crown Court instead of summary trial. Before electing, the defendant may request an indication of whether a custodial or non-custodial sentence would be more likely on a guilty plea (a sentence indication).

8. What is the maximum custodial sentence the magistrates' court can impose for a single either-way offence?

   Up to 6 months' imprisonment for a single either-way offence (the previously enacted 12-month power under s.224 Sentencing Act 2020 was not brought fully into force/was reversed).

9. What is an indictment and when does it become valid as a bill?

   An indictment is the formal written document containing the charges (counts) on which the defendant is tried in the Crown Court. It becomes the indictment when it is preferred and served on the Crown Court officer in accordance with CrimPR Part 10.

10. What are the constituent parts of a count on an indictment?

    A statement of offence (naming the offence and the statutory provision contravened) and particulars of offence (giving such details as are necessary to make clear what the prosecution alleges).

11. What is the rule against duplicity in an indictment?

    Each count must allege only one offence; a single count charging two or more separate offences is bad for duplicity (CrimPR r.10.2).

12. When may two or more counts be joined in the same indictment?

    Where the charges are founded on the same facts, or form or are part of a series of offences of the same or a similar character (CrimPR r.3.21 / former Indictment Rules).

13. What is the purpose of the Plea and Trial Preparation Hearing (PTPH)?

    It is the single, standardised first hearing in the Crown Court at which the defendant is arraigned (pleas taken) and, if pleas are not guilty, the court gives case-management directions to prepare for trial.

14. What are the two stages of a PTPH and what happens at each?

    The plea stage, at which the defendant is arraigned on the indictment and enters pleas; and the trial preparation stage, at which (on a not-guilty plea) the judge sets directions, identifies issues, fixes the trial date and deals with witness and trial-management matters.

15. What is the prosecutor's duty of initial disclosure under s.3 Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996?

    To disclose to the defence any prosecution material not previously disclosed which might reasonably be considered capable of undermining the prosecution case or of assisting the case for the accused, or to give a written statement that there is no such material.

16. What triggers the duty to serve a defence statement and is it mandatory in the Crown Court?

    It is triggered once the prosecutor complies (or purports to comply) with initial disclosure. A defence statement is compulsory in the Crown Court (s.5 CPIA 1996) and voluntary in the magistrates' court (s.6 CPIA 1996).

17. What must a defence statement contain under s.6A CPIA 1996?

    The nature of the defence and particular defences relied on; the matters of fact on which the accused takes issue with the prosecution and why; particulars of matters of fact relied on for the defence; any point of law (including admissibility/abuse) and authorities; and particulars of any alibi with witness details.

18. What is the continuing duty of disclosure on the prosecution after initial disclosure?

    Under s.7A CPIA 1996 the prosecutor must keep disclosure under review throughout the proceedings and disclose any further material meeting the test (capable of undermining the prosecution case or assisting the defence), particularly in light of the defence statement.

19. What is the test and procedure for public interest immunity (PII)?

    Where disclosable material attracts a public interest in non-disclosure, the prosecution must apply to the court, which balances the public interest in non-disclosure against the defendant's right to a fair trial; the court only orders non-disclosure if it does not render the trial unfair, and must keep the issue under review (R v H and C).

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