The Trial
Under the system of law we have in Northern Ireland, it is the responsibility of the prosecution to bring a charge against a defendant and prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the offence. It is the role of the defence lawyer, at trial, to assess the prosecution's case, argue against it and where necessary, provide their own evidence.
The trial begins with the prosecutor outlining the facts of the prosecution case to the court. The prosecution will then call each witness in order. Before giving evidence, witnesses must take an oath holding a religious text, or affirm that they will tell the truth. If you are aged 17 or under, you will be asked to promise to tell the truth.
Giving evidence
If you are a witness for the prosecution, you will be asked questions first. The prosecutor will begin by asking you questions to try to bring out what you said in your witness statement. The defence will then ask some questions as they will be testing the strength of the prosecution evidence. This is known as cross examination.
When the cross examination for the defence has finished, the prosecution may ask you some more questions. The magistrate, judge or jury may also ask you questions at any time. Following the examination and cross-examination of prosecution witnesses, the defence case opens. Witnesses for the defence are asked questions by their own solicitor or barrister and then the prosecution will cross examine them. Again, the magistrate, judge or jury may ask questions at any time.
Verdict and sentencing
After listening to all the evidence the magistrate, or jury (if a Crown Court), will decide on whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty. In the Crown Court if the defendant pleads guilty or is found guilty by the jury, the judge will pass sentence. In the magistrates' court, however, the magistrate will decide on the defendant's guilt as well as pass sentence.
If a defendant is found not guilty, he or she will be acquitted which means that they are cleared of all charges brought against them. If they are found guilty, they will be given either a custodial or non-custodial sentence.
Sentencing may be carried out on the day of the trial or it may be 'deferred'. If deferred, the defendant will have to return to court at a later date to receive their sentence.
When deciding what sentence to impose, magistrates and judges have to take account of the facts of the case, the circumstances of the offender and the age of the offender. To help them, they may ask the Probation Board for Northern Ireland to produce a report about the offender. This is known as a pre-sentence report.
There are four types of sentence available to the courts, depending on the seriousness of the crime. They are:
- Discharges
- Fines
- Community sentences
- Imprisonment
Imprisonment is only used for the most serious offences and offenders. As well as guideline decisions on the length of sentence laid down by the Court of Appeal, a maximum penalty is provided for all offences.
If you would like to know the outcome of the case and you have left the court before the trial has ended, you may wish to contact the person who asked you to come to court to find out the outcome of the case. They will be able to inform you, and explain to you, the sentence imposed. Their contact details should be listed on any correspondence they sent to you.
Custodial sentences
Custodial sentencing options for adult offenders include: a mandatory or discretionary life sentence; a determinate sentence of imprisonment; a custody probation order; or release on licence for sex offenders.
Custodial sentencing options for juvenile and young offenders are: a juvenile justice centre order; or a period of detention in a Young Offenders Centre.
More information on these types of sentence can be found in the Questions section.
Non custodial sentences
There are also a wide range of non custodial sentences which a court may impose on adult offenders. These include a fine, a probation order or community service order (or a combination of both) and a suspended sentence. The court may also order a conditional or absolute discharge, where this is warranted.
The non custodial sentences for young offenders include an attendance centre order, community responsibility order and a youth conference order.
More information on these types of sentence can be found in the Questions section.
Appeals against the court's decision
From the magistrates' court:
If convicted in a magistrates' court, the defendant can appeal against their sentence or conviction or both. If an appeal is made against conviction, the whole trial will be heard again, but this time it will be heard at the County Court in front of a judge. The judge may increase the sentence, reduce it, or leave it as it is. If a County Court appeal has been made, you may have to attend court to give evidence again.
Sometimes the prosecution or the defence may believe that the magistrates' court has reached the wrong decision because they misinterpreted the law. In such circumstances the case may be appealed to the Court of Appeal. If the Court of Appeal decides the magistrates' court was wrong in its decision, it can order the magistrates' court to hear the case again, applying the point of law correctly. Should this be the case, it is unlikely that you will be called again to give evidence in the case.
From the Crown Court
The defendant can also appeal his or her conviction made in the Crown Court. These appeals are heard by the Court of Appeal who can: quash the conviction, order a re-trial, or leave the conviction as it is. The Court of Appeal also considers appeals against sentencing in the same way as a Crown Court judge. In some cases, if the Attorney General considers a sentence in any particular case is too lenient, he may refer the case to the Court of Appeal to consider the sentence.
Further appeal process
If a defendant has exhausted the appeal process and believes there has been a miscarriage of justice, he/she can make an application to have his/her appeal considered by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. The Commission can refer the case back to the Court of Appeal if it considers there is a real possibility that a conviction or sentence would not be upheld. This only occurs in a very small number of cases.
Appeals by victims
A victim or the family of a deceased victim do not have the right of appeal, but can ask the Attorney General to review whether the sentence is unduly lenient. This may be discussed with the prosecutor, but written request must be made to the Attorney General.
You may find it helpful to read some of the Questions in this section.