... the offences such as murder, manslaughter or rape; (2) offences triable only summarily by the magistrates. These offences include most minor offences and include common assault, road traffic offences and battery; and (3) offences triable either way. The Magistrates Court Act 1980 applies a single procedure within the Magistrates court to all cases where the defendant is of an age of 17 or over (the court also has limited jurisdiction for defendants under 17 years of age which I shall deal with separately). If an offence is triable only on indictment then the magistrates will carry out a preliminary investigation. The object of this is to see whether the prosecution can establish a case against the defendant. If they can or if the defendant and his lawyer agree, then the case is sent to the Crown Court for trial. If the prosecution cannot establish a case then the matter is dismissed and ...

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