19-599: The Stafford Combined Court Centre is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, as well as a County Court venue, which deals with civil cases, in Victoria Square, Stafford , England. Until the early 1990s, criminal court hearings were held in the old Shire Hall . However, as the number of court cases in Stafford grew, it became necessary to commission a more modern courthouse for both Crown Court hearings and County Court hearings. The site selected by
38-400: A Crown Court. From the position of the defendant: Different courts may have different layouts. Some, often older courts may have very compact layouts - like Gloucester Crown Court - or some, often newer courts may be very spacious. Some courts may have a circular layout, but the overall positioning of elements will remain the same. Courts Act 1971 The Courts Act 1971 (c. 23)
57-420: A three-storey entrance block on the right which was well set back from the road. The section on the left featured three full-height curved windows, all facing southeast and each slightly recessed from the other as the section stretched along Earl Street; there was a Royal coat of arms mounted on the brickwork on the northwest facing wall as the section curved round towards the entrance block. The entrance block on
76-605: Is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , the purpose of which was to reform and modernise the courts system of England and Wales , as well as effectively separating the business of the criminal and civil courts. It established the Crown Court , introduced the posts of circuit judge and recorder, and abolished various local courts across the country. Many of its provisions have since been repealed by
95-668: Is described as a "superior court of record" for England and Wales. This section has now been superseded by the Senior Courts Act 1981 . Report of the Royal Commission on Assizes and Quarter Sessions (Sessional Papers, House of Commons, Cmnd 4153, 1966–69, XXVIII, 433) was published in 1969 and chaired by Dr. Beeching . The Act was based on most of the report recommendations. The courts abolished by this act are: The officers of these courts were generally eligible to become circuit judges. The post of circuit judge
114-774: Is introduced in the second part of the Act. They sit in the Crown Court and county courts , are appointed by the monarch on the Lord Chancellor 's advice, and retire at the age of 72 (this has now been changed to 70 by the Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993 ). The Lord Chancellor may also sack a circuit judge on the grounds of "incapacity or misbehaviour". Judges are to have a salary and pension, and must take an oath of office. The act also introduces part-time Crown Court judges, known as recorders—also appointed by
133-588: Is primarily administered by the Clerk of Court, who wears a white collar/bib with bands and a black gown. They are assisted by the Court Usher, who is the only person that will move when the court is in session and will wear a gown over standard business dress. Court dress is almost always worn, although wigs may be removed during exceptional circumstances when directed by the judge - for example, when children are testifying. There are several physical elements to
152-659: The City of London , it is known as the Central Criminal Court or "Old Bailey". The Crown Court is administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service , an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice . England and Wales formerly used a system of courts of assize and quarter sessions for indictment trials at first instance. However, the Beeching Commission in 1969 recommended the replacement of
171-494: The Lord Chancellor's Department , on the east side of Victoria Square, had been occupied by an old cattle market. The new building was intended to complement the style of the former County Education Offices, now part of Stafford College , on the opposite side of Victoria Square. It also needed to retain enough space for the Stafford Borough War Memorial, which had been designed by Joseph Whitehead in
190-471: The Senior Courts Act 1981 , but the essential structure described in the act is still in place. The first part of the act concerns the new Crown Court. It is established as part of the Supreme Court of Judicature , replacing courts of assize and quarter sessions . The appellate jurisdiction of these courts is transferred, and the new court given exclusive jurisdiction in "trial on indictment". It
209-463: The Crown Court frequently shares facilities with the County Court and magistrates' courts. The Crown Court carries out four principal types of activity: The average time from receipt by the Crown Court to completion was 177 days by the start of 2016. The Crown Court can hear appeals against conviction, sentence or both from those convicted in the magistrates' courts. Under this procedure,
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#1732792003337228-414: The Crown Court has the power to confirm, reject or alter any part of a decision. It may impose any sentence within the powers of a magistrate. In 2015 the Crown Court heard 11,348 appeals and the average waiting time was 8.8 weeks in 2015. Defendants may be committed from a magistrates' court where its sentencing powers are inadequate. This could be because: Committals may also arise from breaches of
247-636: The High Court. The judges who normally sit in the Crown Court are High Court judges , circuit judges and recorders . Allocation of cases is conducted according to directions given by the Lord Chief Justice . Higher rights of audience are required to speak in the Crown Court. This means that only barristers , solicitor advocates , and some chartered legal executives can represent clients. Solicitors may choose to attend hearings, but they are not able to speak directly. The court
266-863: The Lord Chancellor. (Since the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 , appointing judges has been reformed and is now done by the Judicial Appointments Commission in England and Wales, and equivalent bodies in Scotland and Northern Ireland.) The fourth part of the Courts Act governs the selection of juries and related rules; it has since been repealed by the Juries Act 1974 . Most of the remainder of
285-644: The assize system, following the model of the 'crown courts' introduced by the Criminal Justice Administration Act 1956 ( 4 & 5 Eliz. 2 . c. 34). in Liverpool and Manchester. As such, the current Crown Court was established on 1 January 1972 by the Courts Act 1971 , establishing a unitary trial court for the whole jurisdiction. With the merger of the various court services into what is now HM Courts and Tribunals Service,
304-616: The attempted murder of three children and four women with a machete at an infant school at Blakenhall, Wolverhampton , Crown Court The Crown Court ( Welsh : Llys y Goron ) is the criminal court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences , some either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts . It is one of three Senior Courts of England and Wales . The Crown Court sits in around 92 locations in England and Wales , divided into Circuits . When sitting in
323-459: The form of a bronze figure of a soldier on a Portland stone pedestal , and which had stood in Victoria Square since 1920. The centre was designed by Associated Architects of Birmingham in the Modernist style , built in red brick with stone drssings at a cost of £10.4 million, and was completed in 1991. The design involved a two-storey section on the left which stretched along Earl Street and
342-605: The right featured three full-height glazed openings separated by brick piers which supported an entablature and modillioned eaves . Internally, the building was laid out to accommodate seven courtrooms. Notable cases have included the trial and conviction of Simon Smith, in July 1996, for the murder of his three children at their homes in Stone and in Stafford, and the trial and conviction of Horrett Campbell, in December 1996, for
361-457: The terms of a Community Order or a suspended custodial sentence. In 2015, the Crown Court dealt with 30,802 cases for sentencing from the magistrates' courts. From Crown Court trials on indictment, appeal lies to the criminal division of the Court of Appeal and thence to the Supreme Court . In all other cases, appeal from the Crown Court lies by way of case stated to a Divisional Court of
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