Every criminal case has a journey: it begins in a particular court, follows a set procedure, and may travel upwards if something goes wrong. As a solicitor, knowing this map is the foundation of everything else — you cannot advise a client on plea, venue, sentence, or appeal without first knowing where the case sits and where it can go next. This lesson gives you that map, from the lowest court to the highest.
We build it up step by step:
- Classification of Offences and Court Hierarchy — the three categories of offence, where each is tried, and who decides law and fact in each court.
- Allocation and Sentencing in the Magistrates' Court — how either-way cases are sent to the right court and the limits on magistrates' sentencing powers.
- Appeals from the Magistrates' Court — the two routes out: rehearing in the Crown Court or case stated to the High Court.
- Appeals from the Crown Court — appealing to the Court of Appeal, the test of an "unsafe" conviction, and what happens next.
- Prosecution References and Higher Appeals — unduly lenient sentences, points of law, the CCRC, and reaching the Supreme Court.
- The Youth Court — how defendants aged 10 to 17 are dealt with and when their cases go to the Crown Court.