All criminal cases fall into one of three categories: summary, triable-either-way and indictable. Summary offences and the majority of either-way offences are dealt with in the Magistrates’ Court. Indictable offences must be transferred to the Crown Court (see pp. 16–17).
Either-way offences are heard in the Magistrates’ Court unless either the defendant elects trial in the Crown Court or the magistrates decline jurisdiction. The volume of either-way cases transferred to the Crown Court has given rise to concern. The 2015 Review of Efficiency in Criminal Proceedings (the ‘Leveson Review’) found that a significant number of cases are being sent ‘unnecessarily’ to the Crown Court.
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