Criminal Law (Crown Court)

CROWN COURT

The Crown Court sits at about 90 centres and is presided over by High Court judges, full-time "circuit judges" and part-time recorders. England and Wales are divided into six circuits for the purpose of hearing criminal cases. Each circuit is divided into areas containing one or more centres of the High Court and Crown Court. The six circuits are : Midland and Oxford, North-Eastern, Northern, South-Eastern (including London), Wales and Chester, and Western.

The Crown Court tries the most serious offences and "either way" offences referred to it by magistrates. All contested cases are presided over by a judge sitting with a jury.

Cases received from the magistrates' court as committals for trial form the largest element of the Crown Court's workload. In 1990, 103,011 cases were received for trial in the Crown Court, representing a four per cent increase on the numbers in 1989 and almost double the level received in 1980 (55,594).

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