PART 24TRIAL AND SENTENCE IN A MAGISTRATES’ COURT
Written guilty plea: special rulesI124.8
1
This rule applies where—
a
the offence alleged—
i
can be tried only in a magistrates’ court, and
ii
is not one specified under section 12(1)(a) of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980499;
b
the defendant is at least 16 years old;
c
the prosecutor has served on the defendant—
i
the summons or requisition,
ii
the material listed in paragraph (2) on which the prosecutor relies to set out the facts of the offence,
iii
the material listed in paragraph (3) on which the prosecutor relies to provide the court with information relevant to sentence,
iv
a notice that the procedure set out in this rule applies, and
v
a notice for the defendant’s use if the defendant wants to plead guilty without attending court; and
d
the prosecutor has served on the court officer—
i
copies of those documents, and
ii
a certificate of service of those documents on the defendant.
2
The material that the prosecutor must serve to set out the facts of the offence is—
a
a summary of the evidence on which the prosecution case is based;
b
any—
i
written witness statement to which Part 16 (Written witness statements) applies, or
ii
document or extract setting out facts; or
c
any combination of such a summary, statement, document or extract.
3
The material that the prosecutor must serve to provide information relevant to sentence is—
a
details of any previous conviction of the defendant which the prosecutor considers relevant, other than any conviction listed in the defendant’s driving record;
b
if applicable, a notice that the defendant’s driving record will be made available to the court; and
c
a notice containing or describing any other information about the defendant, relevant to sentence, which will be made available to the court.
4
A defendant who wants to plead guilty without attending court must, F2as soon as practicable and in any event no later than the business day before the hearing date—
a
serve a notice of guilty plea on the court officer; and
b
include with that notice—
i
any representations that the defendant wants the court to consider, and
ii
a statement of the defendant’s assets and other financial circumstances.
5
A defendant who wants to withdraw such a notice must notify the court officer in writing before the hearing date.
6
If the defendant does not withdraw the notice before the hearing date, then on or after that date—
a
to establish the facts of the offence and other information about the defendant relevant to sentence, the court may take account only of—
i
information contained in a document served by the prosecutor under paragraph (1),
ii
iii
any other information about the defendant, relevant to sentence, of which the prosecutor served notice under paragraph (1), and
iv
any representations and any other information served by the defendant under paragraph (4)
and rule 24.11(3) to (9) inclusive must be read accordingly;
b
unless the court otherwise directs, the prosecutor need not attend; and
c
the court may accept such a guilty plea and pass sentence in the defendant’s absence.
7
With the defendant’s agreement, the court may deal with the case in the same way as under paragraph (6) where the defendant is present and—
a
has served a notice of guilty plea under paragraph (4); or
b
pleads guilty there and then.
[Note. The procedure set out in this rule is prescribed by sections 12 and 12A of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980504. Under section 12(1)(a), the Secretary of State can specify offences to which the procedure will not apply. None has been specified.
Under section 1 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980505 a justice of the peace may issue a summons requiring a defendant to attend court to answer an allegation of an offence. Under section 29 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003506a prosecutor authorised under that section may issue a written charge alleging an offence and a requisition requiring a defendant to attend court. Part 7 contains relevant rules.
For the court’s power, where this rule applies, to take account of a previous conviction listed in a defendant’s driving record, see section 13(3A) of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988507.
F1See also rule 24.11(10)(a) under which the court must adjourn where the defendant is absent before passing a custodial sentence or imposing a disqualification.
F3...]