NCJ Number
162589
Journal
Justice of the Peace & Local Government Law Volume: 160 Issue: 12 Dated: (March 23, 1996) Pages: 199-200
Date Published
1996
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This paper considers a court's powers of punishment as a factor in deciding where a case should be tried.
Abstract
In determining whether an offense should be tried summarily or on indictment, the Magistrates' Courts Act 1989 requires justices to decide whether their powers of punishment would be adequate if they dealt with the case summarily. The 1980 Act, as amended by the Criminal Justice Act 1991, gave justices unfettered discretion to commit a defendant to the Crown Court for sentencing. The Mode of Trial Guidelines are intended to assist a magistrates¦ court in determining the sufficiency of its powers of punishment. Where the justices are in doubt as to the appropriate level of sentence, they should consult their clerk, whose duty it is to draw their attention to the decisions of superior courts or other authorities. A specific paragraph (g) in the Mode of Trial Guidelines should be deleted. It is not relevant to the mode of trial stage and is slightly misleading as far as previous convictions and committals for sentence are concerned. For the avoidance of doubt, previous convictions are irrelevant to the mode of trial decision.