Introduction

Going to court, particularly for the first time, can be a rather daunting experience. There is a number of useful resources linked to below that you should take a look at if you want to know more about going to court.

Useful resources

Film by Raising Your Game – ‘Getting ready for court’

The film below has been produced by the Raising Your Game project, which is led by Mencap.

Character references for sentencing

There is little in the way of official protocol surrounding providing character references. However, it has proven to be useful in cases in the past. You should speak to your solicitor about whether they think they would help. You will probably be required to arrange the references yourself, but given they could help your case this is something you should seriously consider.

Much will depend on how your case is dealt with on the day. For example, your solicitor may not get the chance to get the references in front of the judge, your judge may be changed at last minute, or they may simply not want to consider such references. However, all you can do is try.

References should be in writing from people who have known you for some time and who can comment on you from an impartial perspective if possible. If they know about your offence, this could be useful as they can discuss this in the reference that they write. A suggested template is provided below.

These letters should be provided to your solicitor at least a couple of days before you appear in court for sentencing (you may want to take copies first to keep for your own records).

Address

Ref : [FULL NAME]

To Whom It May Concern

I have known [FULL NAME] as a Colleague/Employee/Family/Friend for X years. During that time, I have always known him/her to be honest, sincere, dependable and a good family person [use suitable wording according to the individual circumstances[. I have never known [NAME] to be anything other than a person of integrity and to find himself/herself in this current situation is completely out of character. [Insert some brief specific details about the offence if known].

I am a (provide here a description which demonstrates that the writer is of good standing, so perhaps ‘local businessman’, ‘Managing Director’, ‘Community Leader’ etc) and am writing this reference in support of [NAME] of my own free will and in the hope that the Court will take into account [NAME]’s previous good character.

Yours faithfully,

Signed [FULL NAME]

Friends and family at court

It can often be useful to have friends and family come with you to court when being sentenced. This not only provides you with moral support, but can also be an important indication to the judge of how much support you have. This can be a positive factor in sentencing.

Disclosure of previous convictions in court proceedings

If you’ve got previous convictions, you might wonder whether these will come up. Find out more here.

General

The law of disclosure in criminal proceedings applies to all prosecutions, including private prosecutions.

Under the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996, previous convictions of prosecution witnesses must be disclosed to the defence if they satisfy the test of being reasonably capable of undermining the case for the prosecution against the accused, or assisting the case for the accused.

CPS guidance on private prosecutions makes it clear that the Crown Court may grant a private prosecutor a witness summons to obtain material from the police to enable the prosecutor to comply with the disclosure obligation to the defence. Detailed guidance on this is linked to below.

Crown Prosecution Service Guidance (2007) – Disclosure of previous convictions of prosecution witnesses

Crown Prosecution Service Guidance (2009) – Private prosecutions

As a defendant

During the trial of a criminal charge, reference to previous convictions (and therefore to spent convictions) can arise in a number of ways. The most common is when a bad character application is made under the Criminal Justice Act 2003.  Much of this depends on whether you make a point as part of your case about your character – i.e. if you state you are of good character, the other side would be entitled to adduce evidence of your bad character in the form of your previous convictions.  When considering bad character applications under the 2003 Act, regard should always be had to the general principles of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

The court must be provided with a statement of the defendant’s record for the purposes of sentence. The record supplied should contain all previous convictions, but those which are spent should, so far as practicable, be marked as such. No one should refer in open court to a spent conviction without the authority of the judge, which authority should not be given unless the interests of justice so require. When passing sentence the judge should make no reference to a spent conviction unless it is necessary to do so for the purpose of explaining the sentence to be passed

If you are due to appear in court as a defendant in a trial, you should speak to your solicitor about whether they think that the proceedings will bring up your previous convictions. They are in the best position to advise in relation to your specific case.

However, it is worth bearing in mind that court proceedings are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders, and can therefore disclose spent convictions (subject to above).

As a witness

If a case goes to court some witnesses face an even greater challenge of being cross examined by the defence about their past behaviour which is totally separate from the case being heard.

This “bad character” evidence usually covers earlier criminal convictions, but it is widely defined and can even extend to a poor disciplinary record at work or at school. It is used to show that a witness is not credible and that something in their past suggests that they should not be believed. This could include where they have made false allegations similar to the allegations they are making in the trial.

Before the 2003 Criminal Justice Act there were too many witnesses who were having their character assassinated and their past dragged up with minimal relevance to the case. The Act improved the way bad character evidence is admitted in court ushering in a completely new statutory scheme designed to toughen the previous rules.

Despite this tightening up, witnesses still aren’t always being told that they might be quizzed about their past. Some people are taking the stand without the prosecution telling them that they will be forced to admit episodes from their past before a public audience. Not only can this be extremely traumatic with no prior warning, but it may even mean family members, neighbours or employers hearing about witnesses’ past mistakes without them having the chance to explain first.

If you are due to appear in court as a witness, you should speak to the legal team you are acting as a witness for. We would suggest that you be honest and open about your criminal record, including disclosing any spent convictions that you have. This will help them to advise whether this might come up as part of the process, and what the next steps would be.

For further information on this, see:

Crown Prosecution Service Guidance (2007) – Disclosure of previous convictions of prosecution witnesses

To some people’s surprise, not all court proceedings are recorded and/or transcribed. For example, no formal records of Magistrate Court hearings are kept. Obviously, the outcome of these hearings are detailed, but the actual proceedings cannot be replicated as they are recorded.

The original material (the shorthand notes, tape recordings, etc.) of any Crown Court trial belong to Ministry of Justice (MOJ). It is created and held by one of several Court Transcribing firms who are contracted by the MOJ.

You are entitled to apply to the reporting firm for a transcript (for which the reporting firm makes a commercial charge) provided you have obtained permission from the court concerned. The copyright in all transcripts remains with the Crown. The Crown gives blanket permission for copying and distribution of transcripts for any legitimate criminal justice function and/or for access to personal data.

If you wish to obtain a copy of a court case where you were the defendant, you should speak to the court concerned for details of how to go about this. Each court will be linked to a company that is responsible for transcribing at that court.

Please note: It is not possible to get a transcript of a hearing if the record of the hearing is no longer stored. Generally, records are only held for 5 years.

If you have previously had your case referred to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, they may be able to provide you with a copy of your court transcripts. You can view their policy in CCRC – Court Transcripts Formal Memorandum.

Since October 2012, a new system of imposing a victim surcharge has been in force. The previous regime involved a £15 surcharge on all convicted individuals where a financial penalty was imposed.

The new regime will see the surcharge levied on all those convicted in the courts of any criminal offence. The sums involved will depend on the sentence imposed and so the surcharge is not related to the type of offence committed, the harm caused, the loss suffered by the victim or, crucially, the means of the individual to pay. The surcharge is separate and distinct from any costs or compensation awarded. Judges will have no discretion as to whether they imposed it or not.

The amounts (for those over 18) are as follows:

The Ministry of Justice has published a circular which introduces in more detail the Victim Surcharge. This is available to download here.