NCJ Number
79395
Date Published
1980
Length
139 pages
Annotation
This handbook is intended as a quick and easy guide to daily practice and procedure for prosecutors in the United Kingdom working on criminal cases, as well as defense attorneys who may wish to be familiar with their opponents' procedures.
Abstract
Procedures and practice are described in the areas of the right to prosecute, information in the charge, prehearing issues, the hearing, sentencing, trial on indictment, appeals to crown court and divisional court, and cases involving juvenile offenders. Time limits, notices of intended prosecution, restrictions on who may prosecute, and prosecutorial discretion are among the topics considered in discussing the right to prosecute. The description of the information to be contained in the charge includes such considerations as general drafting, continuing offenses, duplicity, and aiders and abettors and principals in the second degree. Procedures to be followed before the hearing deal with such issues as 'splitting' the defendants, committal proceedings, and supply of information to the defense. In addition to bail procedures, the chapter on the hearing examines the plea, fitness of the defendant, witnesses, interpreters, and witnesses out of court. The chapter on the sentence notes that the prosecutor's role in this area is to ensure that all proper and relevant information is given to the court to enable it to impose a proper sentence. Procedures for doing this are described. The discussion of juvenile offenders deals with jurisdiction, juvenile courts and adult courts, committal for trial, and the disposition of juvenile offenders. Tables provide lists of cases, statutes, and statutory instruments discussed in the text, and a subject index is included.