People in the Criminal Courts

One of the key topics that you will examine in your first year involves looking at the people who are involved in both the criminal and civil courts within the UK. Within this activity we are only going to focus on the criminal courts.

The courts within England that deal with criminal issues are:

• Supreme Court

• Court of Appeal

• High Court

• Crown Court

• Magistrates Court

The courts where cases are first heard are called courts of the first instance. These are the Crown Court and Magistrates Court. All criminal cases within the UK start in the Magistrates Court and the majority of cases remain in this court for trial and/or sentencing. The most serious cases are however transferred to the Crown Court for trial and/or sentencing.

The process and people involved at trials within each of the courts of the first instance differ.

The process and people involved at trials within each of the courts of the first instance differ.

The clips below will give you an idea of the role of the individuals in each court.

We would like you to research the legal professionals and lay people (non legally qualified people) who are involved in criminal trials. You should research and include:

• Their role/ what they do in a criminal trial

• The qualifications or training they need to do that role e.g. How you become a solicitor/ barrister/ judge?

• In the case of lay people you should look at how they are selected e.g. How are you selected for jury service?/ How do you apply to be a lay magistrate?

• Any other interesting facts e.g. Why do barristers wear wigs? How much do judges get paid?

You can set out your research project in any way you like. You could make a booklet/ PowerPoint/ spider diagrams/ fact sheets ...

You can use these links as a starting point for your research.