West Midlands and Warwickshire
Judicial Business Group
Listing Policy (Adult
and Youth Cases)
Listing is a judicial responsibility and function. Its purpose is to
ensure that:
- all cases are brought to a hearing or trial in accordance with
the interests of justice,
- the resources available for criminal justice are deployed as
effectively as possible, and
- cases are heard by an appropriate Judge or Bench with the
minimum of delay.
This policy sets out the principles by which the Magistrates’ Courts
in West Midlands and Warwickshire will achieve
this aim.
It is issued by the West Midlands
and Warwickshire Judicial Business Group (JBG).
It applies to all adult and youth court cases listed in courts across
the Cluster/Clerkship. Family work is
subject to separate arrangements.
Nothing in this policy is intended to interfere with judicial
discretion and decision-making in individual cases.
2.
Responsibilities
Judicial Business Group
The JBG, subject
to the supervision of the Presiding Judges of the circuit, is responsible for
determining the listing practice in the area.
Under the
Protocol for Responsibilities for the Leadership
and Management of the Judicial Business of the Magistrates’ Courts
, the JBG is responsible for ensuring that, at Clerkship level, there are appropriate
arrangements in place for the conduct of the judicial business of the
area. In particular, the key
responsibilities of the JBG include:
- Ensuring that that the judicial
business of the courts is conducted in a speedy and efficient manner in
the interests of justice;
- Setting strategic listing policies
for the Magistrates’ Courts;
- Reviewing overall performance of
the judicial business in the clerkship and reviewing listing policies in
light of such performance;
- Considering clerkship wide issues
relating to the conduct of judicial business, including distribution of
work between courts, any delays or backlogs at courts within the
clerkship.
The JBG retains
oversight of all sitting programmes and will in particular make decisions in respect
of cross-local justice area (LJA) matters
Judicial Leadership Groups
The key
responsibilities for the JLGs include:
- ensuring listing policies agreed
by the JBG are operated properly;
- ensuring that all cases are
brought to hearing or trial with the minimum of delay, with any delays or
backlogs reported to the JBG;
- reviewing and amending court
sitting programmes at Bench level and escalating any concerns to the JBG.
Justices’ Clerk
The key
responsibilities of the Justices’ Clerk include:
- drafting listing policies for
agreement by the JBG, taking into account the key principles as set out in
the Consolidated Criminal Practice Direction on Listing and
Allocation.
- drawing up court sitting
programmes for each Local Justice Area (LJA) in the Clerkship for review
by the appropriate Judicial Leadership Group (JLG). Court sitting
programmes will be determined in accordance with this policy and any
decisions of the JBG as to the distribution of work.
- the day-to-day operation of the
listing practice, with the assistance of the Deputy Justices’ Clerk and
listing officers.
3.
Aims of the Policy
The aims of this
Policy in relation to the listing of cases and the management of court business
in the Clerkship are:
- To ensure that the judicial
business of the courts is conducted in a speedy and efficient manner in
the interests of justice and to
avoid any unnecessary delay in the processing of cases;
- To ensure that listing practices
take account of the key principles as set out in the Consolidated Practice Direction on Listing and Allocation;
- To be sympathetic and receptive to
the needs of users, including victims and witnesses, attending court;
- To require all people using the
courts to adhere to the Criminal Procedure Rules 2013 (Crim PR) and Criminal
Practice Directions governing the conduct of cases;
- To establish, maintain and operate
planned court sitting programmes for each LJA making optimum use of
available resources.
4.
General Principles
Usual Court Sitting Day
The aim is that
all courts will be scheduled for 6 hours, with one hour for lunch. Morning sessions will commence at 10.00
a.m. and finish at 1.00
p.m. unless the court directs otherwise. Afternoon sessions will commence at 2.00 p.m. and aim to rise at 5.00 p.m
unless the court directs otherwise.
Before making such a direction the court will invite representations
from the parties and consult with the Legal Adviser in court. Full day sittings will be incorporated into court sittings programmes. Half day sittings should be the exception,
unless they form part of agreed flexible court options.
Hearing Times
Defendants will
be required to attend so that they arrive at least 30 minutes before the time
stated for their hearing.
Procedure Rules
Courts will
comply with the relevant Procedure Rules
and Practice Directions, and will expect people conducting business before the
court to do so.
The Policy will be reviewed by the JBG
annually.
5.
Court Sitting Programmes
The Justices’
Clerk or his Deputy Justices’ Clerk will draw up court sitting programmes for
the Clerkship for review by the Judicial Leadership Groups (JLGs). The court sitting programmes should be built
in line with allocation levels and implemented following consultation with
relevant internal and external stakeholders. They should be designed to
facilitate a steady and efficient flow of work through the Criminal Justice System.
Sittings
programmes will be reviewed by JLGs at least six monthly with a view to
implementing any changes in October and April.
The sitting programmes for Magistrates’ Courts
within the Clerkship are as set out in Appendix B to this Policy. There is an expectation that courts so
scheduled will be run on a regular basis, although court sessions may be
cancelled by the Deputy Justices’ Clerk if there is insufficient work, and
additional courts run where the interests of justice so require.
There will be no permanent amendment to the sitting
programmes without the approval of the relevant JLG or the JBG as appropriate
For planning and listing purposes, the court
list will be constructed (and the Libra diary set up) in accordance with the
following assumptions:
Trial Courts
Wherever
possible, at least two trial courts should be run simultaneously at the same
site.
Trial courts
will have a 100% overbooking factor (ie double listed).
Trials should be
measured in terms of hours and minutes rather than am and pm sessions or whole
day sessions so that lists can be built more efficiently.
Non Trial Courts
The following standard
timings will be used for non-trial courts:
|
Work Type
|
Timings Per Case
|
|
1st Hearing (GAP)
|
12 mins
|
|
1st Hearing( NGAP)
|
24 mins
|
|
1st Hearing (RTA) (except bulk lists)
|
5 mins
|
|
1st Hearing Non CPS
(except bulk lists)
|
10 mins
|
|
Video Link remand cases
|
15 mins
|
|
Pre-sentence report
|
20 mins
|
|
Deferred sentence
|
30 mins
|
|
DTTO review
|
15 mins
|
|
Application to vary bail – opposed
|
10 mins
|
|
Application to withdraw warrant
|
5 mins
|
|
Application to remove disqualification
|
30 mins
|
|
Adjournment for disqualification to be considered
|
10 mins
|
|
Exceptional Hardship
|
20 mins
|
|
Application to Re-open
|
10 mins
|
|
Breaches
|
10 mins
|
For bulk courts:
- Road Traffic
Courts 70 - 100 cases per day
- Rail, and Vehicle
Licenses – 120 cases per day
- TV Licences – 200 -
300 cases per day
The standard
timings may be varied for good reason taking each case on its merits where to
use the standard time would seriously undermine the court’s ability to deal
with the cases justly.
The use of these
timings is not to be understood as an expectation that individual cases will
take this length of time – the timings are simply an average to be used for
planning purposes and for allocation in the Libra diary.
The following standards apply in respect of
all offences as the maximum amount of time that should normally be taken to
complete each stage in the process.
Efforts should always be made to improve upon that time.
These Guidelines are issued on the basis
that the requirements of the Crim PR at first and all subsequent hearings are
complied with by the Court and all parties.
|
Laying of information / issue of postal
requisition to first listing
|
21 days
|
|
Bail granted by Police Under S47(3) PACE
|
10 working days (subject to courtroom
availability and subject to change on implementation of Transforming Summary
Justice)
|
|
Defendant to see solicitor / solicitor to
take instructions / review ID
|
Stand down on day of first hearing(subject
to change on implementation of Transforming Summary Justice)
|
|
Trials (bail cases)
|
It is the court’s target to list trials as
close to six weeks from first hearing as possible, and no later than 8 weeks. The Court will seek first date available to
court, also taking account of dates convenient to relevant witnesses and
parties (having regard to leave / holidays and shift patterns notified at
time of listing). If the case is
unable to be listed within eight weeks, the court will give less weight to
the convenience of parties/witnesses.
Cases involving very young witnesses
(witnesses under the age of 10) are to be heard within 12 weeks of complaint
wherever feasible
It is recognised that many of the courts
in the area cannot currently list trials within these timescales, and JLGs will
work to reduce the delays in trial times
|
|
Trials (custody cases)
|
The aim is to list as soon as possible
within 28 days. In any event, custody
time limits must not be exceeded.
Cases involving very young witnesses
(witnesses under the age of 10) are to be heard within 12 weeks of complaint
wherever feasible
|
|
Part heard trials
|
As soon as possible and in any case within
28 days. The court will expect
advocates to give priority to part-heard cases.
|
|
Production order (HOPO)
|
7 days.
Reasons must be provided for not utilising the video link.
|
|
Print-out
|
Stand down - Obtain via DVS or DVLA Link forthwith
|
|
PSRs
|
Should be dealt with on the day of the
hearing by way of an oral report where possible. If an adjournment is required, 14 days in
custody, 21 days on bail for PSR
|
|
Medical/psychiatric report
|
21 days in custody and 28 days on bail (or
shortest period which will allow report to be prepared)
|
|
To attend re disqualification (if not
disqualifying in absence)
|
14 days
|
Note – in police
bail cases, the Justices Clerk may reach specific agreements as part of local
initiatives to improve performance.
8.
Listing of Custody Cases
When considering
the listing of custody cases it must be remembered throughout that the liberty
of an individual is at stake, and the administrative convenience of the court
or other agencies cannot be used to interfere with the right of the individual
not to be deprived of his/her liberty save in accordance with law. It is however important for cases to be
properly listed, so that the court, advocates and users are aware of cases
listed and have the opportunity to prepare.
In all cases, the
use of television links must be used for second or subsequent hearings unless
the court considers it is not in the interests of justice and reasons given in
open court and recorded in the court register.
Unless the case is listed for trial, the starting point will be that the
hearing will be by live link.
Annex A sets out the
principles by which the first listing of custody matters will be dealt with.
9.
Expectations at First Hearing
In criminal
cases, the court will expect all people conducting business before the court to
have complied with their duties under Crim PR.
The Duty of the Court
3.2.—
(1) The court must further the
overriding objective by actively managing the case.
(2) Active case management
includes―
(a) the early identification of
the real issues;
(b) the early identification of
the needs of witnesses;
(c) achieving certainty as to
what must be done, by whom, and when, in particular by the
early setting of a timetable for
the progress of the case;
(d) monitoring the progress of
the case and compliance with directions;
(e) ensuring that evidence,
whether disputed or not, is presented in the shortest and clearest way;
(f) discouraging delay, dealing
with as many aspects of the case as possible on the same
occasion and avoiding unnecessary
hearings;
(g) encouraging the participants
to co-operate in the progression of the case; and
(h) making use of technology.
(3) The court must actively
manage the case by giving any direction appropriate to the needs of
that case as early as possible.
The Duty of the Parties
3.3. -
Each party must―
(a) actively assist the court in
fulfilling its duty under rule 3.2, without or if necessary with a
direction; and
(b)
apply for a direction if needed to further the overriding objective.
- The prosecution – to have complied
with Crim PR Pt21 and to have served initial details of the prosecution
case on the court and defence
- The defendant - to enter a plea or
an indication of plea
- All parties - to deal with
allocation, where relevant
- The prosecution – to prove the
case (by the use of section 9 statements) in the absence of the defendant
in all summary non-imprisonable cases started by charge, summons or postal
requisition.
In cases where the
defendant pleads not guilty, the court will hold a case management hearing and
fix a trial; and will expect all people conducting business before the court to
comply with their obligation to assist the court in actively managing the case
in accordance with Crim PR Rule 3.2. In listing trials the Court considers
the need to schedule all trials without undue delay, to make efficient use of
courtrooms and achieve a balance of fairness between parties and those
attending to give evidence. In particular, the court will expect at the case management hearing:
- The real trial issue(s) to be
identified;
- Section 10 admissions to be used
wherever possible to deal with relevant uncontested issues;
- The only witnesses expected to be
called will be those whose evidence is directly relevant to the trial
issues, and that unless the required notification has been given, that the
evidence will be in the format of a section 9 statement;
- The needs of the witnesses should
be taken into account, and the use of television links for witness
evidence should be considered;
- Issues relating to special
measures / bad character etc should wherever possible be considered at the
case management hearing, and the court will deal with such matters of its
own motion, having heard representations from the parties;
- A realistic time estimate will be
fixed, taking into account the expected time for the evidence of each
witness and deliberation time;
- In appropriate cases, and in every
case estimated to last more than one day, a timed witness schedule will be
drawn up
- Each
case should be tried within as short a time of its arrival in the court as
is consistent with the interests of justice, the needs of victims and
witnesses, and with the proper and timely preparation by the prosecution
and defence of their cases in accordance with the directions and timetable
set;
- If
the earliest trial date available in the local justice area is more than 8
weeks, the court may consider whether it is in the interests of justice to
list the case in another local justice area within the clerkship, if an
earlier date is possible at that other court.
Each trial shall
be designated as a High, Medium or Low Priority Trial. Classification will be determined by the Legal
Adviser in court after hearing representations from the parties. When adjourning a case the Court / Legal Adviser
shall satisfy itself / himself/herself that there is appropriate availability
for that class of trial on the adjourned date.
|
High Priority
|
Medium Priority
|
Low Priority
|
|
· All trials where children attend the hearing as witnesses or
defendants
· Trials where the defendant is remanded in custody
· Trials listed for over a day
· Trials involving vulnerable and/or intimidated witnesses required
to give evidence (special measures cases)
|
· Cases involving a novel or complex point of law
· Cases involving expert evidence
· Cases where a witness has a disability
· Cases involving witnesses who have to travel a substantial
distance
· Prosecutions for domestic abuse
· Prosecutions for sexual assaults
· Prosecutions for hate crimes
· Prosecutions for witness intimidation
· Prosecutions for Prevention from Harassment Act & and breach
of protective orders
|
· All other trials (Examples of low
priority cases are: - Minor Road Traffic cases, minor public order offences,
shoplifting cases, criminal damage, etc.
They are cases without any complex issues of fact or law.)
(Consideration should also be given to the number of live prosecution
witnesses.)
|
Cases put off for lack of court time will go up one category.
NOTE: Due to
this classification ALL Youth trials are regarded as High Priority. However, the Court will continue to double
list trials in the Youth Court.
10. Expectations for Trial Hearings
Witnesses should only have to attend court
once. Witnesses should only be called if
required. Witnesses called to court should give their evidence as soon as
possible or the Court will release them until required. In particular, trials must be managed on the
hearing day by the court and all parties so that the needs of the witnesses and
victims are met in compliance with the Code and Charter as far as is possible.
Witnesses required to attend for a 10am trial hearing must be warned their
attendance may be required for the full day.
Fairness between the Prosecution and the
Defence requires that all Advocates have sufficient time to prepare the case
for trial before the trial date.
It is the Court’s expectation that trials
can be moved between courts on the day of trial where to do so will save an
adjournment. Trials can therefore be
moved on the day to a different court room and prosecuted by a different Advocate
after that Advocate has been allowed reasonable time for preparation and
discussion with the transferring out Advocate.
Where a case is adjourned, the Justices will
explain to the witnesses the reasons for the adjournment at the time of the
adjournment being made.
The court will
expect parties to be ready to start a trial immediately the court starts. If more than one case is listed, priority
will be given to High Priority and Medium Priority trials (in that order). All parties should be present at or before
the session start time to assist the court in deciding priorities.
Priority should
be accorded to the trial of young defendants and cases where there are young
witnesses. Custody time limits must be
observed. In either of these cases,
existing trials may be displaced in order to avoid delay (always taking into
account the needs of the cases already listed).
10.
Failure to Comply with Rules /
Directions
The Court will expect and enforce compliance
with the requirements of the Crim PR in order to manage cases in a proactive
and timely fashion.
Where a party
has failed (or expects to fail) to comply with a requirement of the Rules or a
specific direction, it should notify (in writing) the court and any other party
immediately. The notification should
include reasons for the failure, an indication of the timescale in which the
requirement can be met, and any application to vary the timescales. If the trial hearing is at risk as a result
of the failure, this should be highlighted.
Any of the other parties objecting to any application to vary the
timescale should do so in writing (to court and all parties) within 2 working
days. After 2 working days, the
application will be considered out of court by a Legal Adviser.
If a party fails
to notify the court of its own failure, the other party/ies should contact the
defaulting party to require compliance, or the information above within 2
working days. If the first party
continues to default, the other party/ies should contact the court, The
indication should state whether the party wishes any further directions and/or
for the matter to be further considered by the court. If so, the party should indicate what it
expects the court to do. A Legal Adviser
will then consider whether the matter should be listed before the court. At such a hearing, the court will expect the
defaulting party to provide it with the relevant information if the requirement
remains unmet (ie the reason for the default, an estimate of the timescale for
remedying the default, an indication if the trial is at risk). As well as deciding on how to deal with the
default, the court will consider wasted costs in all matters so listed, and all
parties should therefore come to such a hearing with the necessary information
to enable this issue to be dealt with
- Prior to making application to the court the party making the
application should inform the other party/ies, explaining the reasons for
the request and ascertaining whether they consent.
- If all parties consent, the applicant must notify the court in
writing, specifying the reasons for the application and the date that the
other party/ies consented.
Applications to vacate will be considered in the interests of
justice and will not be granted simply because both parties consent.
- Where consent has not been given, the applicant must notify the
court and all other parties in writing, specifying the reasons for the
application and (i) the date and time that notice was given to the other
party/ies and (ii) confirmation that the other party/ies have been
notified that they should notify the court and all other parties of any
representations in writing within 2 working days. Where the application is to fix a new
hearing date, the applicant must also provide witness availability
- If the trial hearing is imminent, the applicant may contact the
court for a direction that the period of 2 working days is reduced.
- All other parties may make representations to the court in
writing. They should also provide
witness availability where the application is to fix a new hearing date.
- After the period of 2 working days (or such other period as is
specified) has elapsed, the written application and any representations in
writing will be considered by a Legal Adviser, who will decide whether to
set aside the trial. All parties
will be notified of the decision and the reasons, and, where a new date
has been fixed, that date and time.
- The non-availability of the witness where the witness had made
himself unavailable without good reason, or where a party did not have
witness availability when the trial date was fixed;
- The non-availability of non-essential witness;
- The non-availability of a particular Advocate.
12.
Allocation of Cases to the Judiciary
District Judge
(Magistrates’ Courts)
All cases in the Youth Court involving allegations of sexual
offences which are capable of being committed for trial at the Crown Court under
the ‘Grave Crime Provisions’ must be
dealt with in accordance with the Protocol
on sexual cases in the Youth Court, and therefore allocated
to an authorised DJ(MC) for the initial hearing wherever possible (or if not
possible, referred to an authorised DJ(MC) following the hearing).
In other cases, DJ(MC)s should generally be deployed in accordance
with the presumptions set out in the Protocol to Support Judicial Deployment in
the Magistrates’ Courts, and in particular the
following cases should normally be listed for hearing before a DJMC:
- Cases involving complex points of law and evidence;
- Cases involving complex procedural issues;
- Long cases;
- Interlinked cases (given the need for consistency, together
with their likely complexity and novelty);
- Cases for which armed Police Officers are required in court, such
as high end firearms cases (note that these must be dealt with in
accordance with the Procedure for armed police presence in Crown Court and
Magistrates’ Court buildings[5])
The absence of a DJ(MC) for such a case however should not in itself
be a reason to delay or adjourn a hearing.
13.
Miscellaneous Matters
Psychiatric Reports
Adjournments for
psychiatric reports are often the cause of delay. Courts will be advised to be vigilant in
resisting applications for reports unless persuaded that the reports will
assist the Court in sentencing. The
Court Psychiatric Nurse and diversion scheme must be accessed before any formal
request for reports is considered
Where the defendant fails to attend, the Court will proceed in the
absence of the defendant in accordance with the guidance on Dealing
with Cases in Absence in the Magistrates’ Court.
Prioritising Cases in the
Courtroom
Trials will be prioritised in accordance with their categorisation
(see section 9).
In other cases:
- Where a list includes youths and adult defendants, the youth
cases should be dealt with first.
This is particularly true in respect of youths in custody, and
arrangements must be made for such cases to be called on as soon as
practicable
- Where a list includes bail and custody cases, custody cases
should be prioritised to ensure that time spent in custody at court is
minimised and (if relevant) early arrangements for transportation to a
prison can be made. Women and youth
offenders in custody should be prioritised wherever possible due to the
need to make special arrangements if remanded in custody.
- Cases involving allegations of breach of bail conditions must
be heard as soon as practicable and in any event within 24 hours of arrest
