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In England and Wales, a magistrates' court is a lower court which hears matters relating to summary offences and some triable either-way matters. Some civil law issues are also decided here, notably family proceedings. In 2010, there were 320 magistrates' courts in England and Wales; by 2020, a decade later, 164 of those had closed.
Sentencing in England and Wales refers to a bench of magistrates or district judge in a magistrate's court or a judge in the Crown Court passing sentence on a person found guilty of a criminal offence. In deciding the sentence, the court will take into account a number of factors: the type of offence and how serious it is, the timing of any ...
The maximum sentence a magistrates' court can impose is six months imprisonment for a single offence, or 12 months imprisonment for multiple offences, and an unlimited fine. [7] A magistrates' court is the starting point for the majority of the most serious types of crime that are later committed to the Crown Court.
When the county court system was created as a result of the County Courts Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. 95), there were 491 county courts in England and Wales. Since the Crime and Courts Act 2013 came into force, there has been one County Court in England and Wales, sitting simultaneously in many different locations.
Magistrates also sit at the Crown Court to hear appeals against verdict and/or sentence from the magistrates' court. In these cases the magistrates form a panel with a judge. [60] A magistrate is not allowed to sit in the Crown Court on the hearing of an appeal in a matter on which they adjudicated in the magistrates' court. There is a right of ...
Whilst previously, local justice areas were used to determine which magistrates' courts may hear a particular case, since 1 April 2015, any magistrates' court in England and Wales may hear any case from anywhere in England and Wales. [4] [5] The areas established were identical to the petty sessional divisions.
A conviction in Magistrates Court can result in imprisonment of up to and including 3 years. In NSW, the maximum term of imprisonment, for a conviction of dangerous driving occasioning death, is: 14 years, if: the person's blood alcohol content was 0.15 or more; the person drove the vehicle at 45 or more km/h over the posted speed limit;
However, as the number of court cases in Swindon grew, it became necessary to commission dedicated facilities for both Crown Court hearings, which require courtrooms suitable for trial by jury, and for County Court hearings. The site selected, on the west side of Islington Street, had previously been occupied by a row of terraced houses. [5]