In the system of courts of England and Wales, the Crown Court deals with serious criminal charges and with less serious charges where the accused has elected trial at the Crown Court instead of trial at a magistrates' court. The Crown Court also hears appeals against conviction and sentence from magistrates.
The Crown Court system was established by the Courts Act 1971, which came into force on 1 January 1972, following the recommendations of a royal commission chaired by Lord Beeching. Previously, criminal cases that were not dealt with by magistrates were heard by assize courts and courts of quarter sessions, in a system that had changed little in the preceding centuries.[1] The Crown Court system is administered by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. England is divided into six regions by HMCTS (London, Midlands, North East, North West, South East and Western), with the whole of Wales forming a seventh region.
In 2007, there were 91 locations in England and Wales at which the Crown Court regularly sat.[2] Crown Court centres are designated in one of three tiers: first-tier centres are visited by High Court judges for criminal and also for civil cases (in the District Registry of the High Court); second-tier centres are visited by High Court judges for criminal work only; and third-tier centres are not normally visited by High Court judges. High Court judges hear 2% of cases at the Crown Court, but 27% of the most serious (Class 1) cases. Circuit judges and recorders sit at all three tiers, hearing 88% and 10% of the cases respectively. When the Crown Court is conducting a trial, the judge sits with a jury of twelve; when hearing appeals against decisions of a magistrates' court, the judge sits with two (or sometimes four) magistrates.[3]
Section 78 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 provides that the Crown Court can conduct business at any location in England and Wales, in accordance with directions given by the Lord Chancellor.[4] This power is sometimes used to enable court sittings to take place away from one of the regular Crown Court venues. For example, in 2007, a sitting of the Crown Court was held at one of the oldest court buildings in England or Wales, the former courthouse in Beaumaris, Anglesey, which was built in 1614 and closed in 1997.[5]
| Court name | Region | Tier[6] | Notes | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amersham | South East | Third | Amersham Law Courts act as a satellite to Aylesbury Crown Court. | ||
| Aylesbury (Aylesbury Crown Court) | South East | Third | March 2018 saw the relocation of the court house into the town's previous magistrates' court. | [7] | |
| Basildon | South East | Third | Shares a building with Basildon County Court; there are seven courtrooms for criminal cases. | [8] [9] | |
| Birmingham (Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts, Birmingham) | Midland | First | Four of the sixteen courts are in a separate building. | [10] | |
| Bolton (Bolton Law Courts) | North West | Third | Shares a building with Bolton County Court | ||
| Bournemouth (Bournemouth Combined Court Centre) | Western | Second | Shares a building with Bournemouth County Court | ||
| Bradford (Bradford Law Courts) | North East | Second | Shares a building with Bradford County Court | ||
| Brighton (Brighton Law Courts) | South East | Third | There are two court rooms dedicated to hosting Crown Court cases within the magistrates' court | ||
| Bristol (Bristol Crown Court) | Western | First | Takes long trials from other courts in the region | [11] | |
| Burnley (Burnley Law Courts) | North West | Third | Shares a building with Burnley County Court | ||
| Caernarfon (Caernarfon Criminal Justice Centre) | Wales | First | A new court building opened on 20 May 2009, the new building contains two Crown Court courtrooms and two magistrates' court courtrooms; the listed building formerly holding the court was put on sale for £120,000 in 2008. | [12] [13] | |
| Cambridge (Cambridge Crown Court) | South East | First | Upgraded to first tier status in 2005 after a new court building opened in 2004 | [14] | |
| Canterbury (Canterbury Law Courts) | South East | Third | Shares a building with Canterbury County Court | ||
| Cardiff (Cardiff Crown Court) | Wales | First | Administers Newport Crown Court | [15] | |
| Carlisle (Carlisle Courts of Justice) | North West | First | Shares a building with Carlisle County Court | ||
| London | Second | Known as the "Old Bailey", after the street on which the court is located | |||
| Chelmsford (Chelmsford Crown Court) | South East | First | |||
| Chester (Chester Crown Court) | North West | First | Administers the crown courts at Knutsford and Warrington | [16] | |
| Coventry (Coventry Combined Court Centre) | Midland | Third | Shares a building with Coventry County Court | ||
| Croydon (Croydon Law Courts) | London | Third | Shares a building with Croydon County Court | ||
| Derby (Derby Combined Court Centre) | Midland | Third | Shares a building with Derby County Court | ||
| Doncaster | North East | Third | Designated as a suitable venue for terrorism-related trials, following improvements to the building in 2007 | [17] | |
| Dorchester (County Hall, Dorchester) | Western | Second | The court has one courtroom; the court offices are in Weymouth | [18] | |
| Durham (Durham Crown Court) | North East | Third | The court has two courtrooms | [19] | |
| Exeter (Exeter Law Courts) | Western | First | Shares a building with Exeter County Court | ||
| Gloucester (Gloucester Crown Court) | Western | Second | The court is in a nineteenth-century building described by the local senior judge as "not fit for the 21st century in any shape or form". | [20] | |
| Grimsby (Grimsby Combined Court Centre) | North East | Third | Shares a building with Great Grimsby County Court | ||
| Guildford (Guildford Crown Court) | South East | Third | The court also uses a courtroom at Guildford Magistrates' Court for two weeks each month. | [21] | |
| Harrow (Harrow Crown Court) | London | Third | |||
| Hereford (Hereford Crown Court) | Midland | Third | A satellite of Worcester Crown Court | ||
| Hove (Hove Trial Centre) | South East | Third | [22] | ||
| Inner London (Inner London Crown Court) | London | Third | |||
| Ipswich (Ipswich Crown Court) | South East | Second | |||
| Isleworth (Isleworth Crown Court) | London | Third | |||
| King's Lynn (King's Lynn Crown Court) | South East | Third | |||
| Kingston upon Hull (Kingston upon Hull Combined Court Centre) | North East | Third | Shares a building with Kingston upon Hull County Court | ||
| Kingston upon Thames (Kingston upon Thames Crown Court) | London | Third | The court has been designated to hear terrorism trials as a backup if Woolwich Crown Court is unable to hear a particular trial. | [23] | |
| Lancaster (Lancaster Crown Court) | North West | Third | A satellite of Preston Crown Court, which sits at Lancaster Castle | [24] | |
| Leeds (Leeds Combined Court Centre) | North East | First | Shares a building with Leeds County Court | ||
| Leicester (Leicester Law Courts) | Midland | Second | Shares a building with Leicester County Court | ||
| Lewes (Lewes Crown Court) | South East | First | Shares a building with Lewes County Court; the court has ten courtrooms, split between Lewes, Hove and Brighton. | [25] | |
| Lincoln (Lincoln Crown Court) | Midland | First | The court is based in Lincoln Castle | ||
| Liverpool (Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts, Liverpool) | North West | First | Shares a building with Liverpool Youth Court | ||
| Luton (Luton Crown Court) | South East | Second | The number of defendants pleading guilty is lower than the national average, with the senior local judge commenting that this is thought to be because of the historically high level of jury acquittals in Bedfordshire. | [26] | |
| Maidstone (Maidstone Law Courts) | South East | Second | Shares a building with Maidstone County Court | ||
| Manchester (Manchester Crown Court (Crown Square)) | North West | First | [27] | ||
| Manchester (Minshull Street Crown Court) | North West | Third | There are ten courtrooms in the main building, with a further two at Stockport Magistrates' Court. | [28] | |
| Merthyr Tydfil (Merthyr Tydfil Law Courts) | Wales | Second | Shares a building with Merthyr Tydfil County Court and Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates' Court | ||
| Mold (Mold Law Courts) | Wales | First | Shares a building with Mold County Court; extension plans have been put forward | [29] | |
| Newcastle upon Tyne (Newcastle Law Courts) | North East | First | Shares a building with Newcastle upon Tyne County Court | ||
| Newport (Isle of Wight) (Newport Law Courts) | Western | Third | Shares a building with Newport (Isle of Wight) County Court and the Isle of Wight Magistrates' Court | ||
| Newport (South Wales) (Newport Crown Court) | Wales | Second | The three courtrooms are administered from Cardiff Crown Court | ||
| Northampton (Northampton Crown Court) | Midland | Second | Shares a building with Northampton County Court | ||
| Norwich (Norwich Law Courts) | South East | First | Shares a building with Norwich County Court | ||
| Nottingham (Nottingham Crown Court) | Midland | First | Shares a building with Nottingham County Court | ||
| Oxford (Oxford Combined Court Centre) | South East | First | Shares a building with Oxford County Court | ||
| Peterborough (Peterborough Combined Court Centre) | South East | Third | Shares a building with Peterborough County Court | ||
| Plymouth (Plymouth Law Courts) | Western | Second | Shares a building with Plymouth County Court | ||
| Portsmouth (Portsmouth Courts of Justice) | Western | Third | Shares a building with Portsmouth County Court | ||
| Preston (Preston Crown Court) | North West | First | Shares a building with Preston County Court; administers the satellite crown courts at Barrow-in-Furness and Lancaster | ||
| Reading (Reading Crown Court) | South East | Second | The court has six courtrooms, but pressure of work means that some cases are moved to Oxford Crown Court for hearing. | [30] | |
| Salisbury (Salisbury Law Courts) | Western | Third | Shares a building with Salisbury County Court | ||
| Sheffield (Sheffield Law Courts) | North East | First | Shares a building with Sheffield County Court | ||
| Shrewsbury (Shrewsbury Justice Centre) | Midland | Second | The court has three courtrooms, now hosted in the town's former magistrates’ court, which has been completely refurbished since its closure in 2016.[31] | [32] | |
| Snaresbrook (Snaresbrook Crown Court) | London | Third | Snaresbrook is the largest crown court centre in England. | [33] [34] | |
| Southampton (Southampton Courts of Justice) | Western | Third | Shares a building with Southampton County Court | ||
| Southend (Southend Court House) | South East | Third | Shares a building with Southend Magistrates' Court | ||
| Southwark (Southwark Crown Court) | London | Third | The court is the designated crown court in London for all fraud or money laundering cases estimated to last 6 weeks or more. | [35] | |
| St Albans (St Albans Crown Court) | South East | Second | The court has four courtrooms and has had to hold additional hearings at Cheshunt Magistrates' Court and Watford County Court because of pressures of work. | [36] | |
| Stafford (Stafford Combined Court Centre) | Midland | First | Shares a building with Stafford County Court | ||
| Stoke-on-Trent (Stoke-on-Trent Combined Court Centre) | Midland | Third | Shares a building with Stoke-on-Trent County Court | ||
| Swansea (Swansea Crown Court) | Wales | First | Also administers the crown courts at Carmarthen and Haverfordwest | [37] | |
| Swindon (Swindon Law Courts) | Western | Third | Shares a building with Swindon County Court | ||
| Taunton (Taunton Crown Court) | Western | Third | Shares a building with Taunton County Court | ||
| Teesside (Teesside Combined Court Centre) | North East | First | Shares a building with Middlesbrough County Court | ||
| Truro (Truro Crown Court) | Western | First | Shares a building with Truro County Court | ||
| Warrington | North West | Second | Administered from Chester Crown Court | ||
| Warwick (Warwickshire Justice Centre) | Midland | First | Shares a building with Warwick County Court | ||
| Winchester (Winchester Law Courts) | Western | First | Shares a building with Winchester County Court | ||
| Wolverhampton (Wolverhampton Combined Court Centre) | Midland | Third | Shares a building with Wolverhampton County Court | ||
| Wood Green (Wood Green Crown Court) | London | Third | |||
| Woolwich (Woolwich Crown Court) | London | Third | |||
| Worcester (Worcester Crown Court) | Midland | Second | Shares a building with Worcester County Court; administers a satellite crown court at Hereford | [38] | |
| York (York Crown Court) | North East | Second | A two-court centre, taking work from a large part of North Yorkshire | [39] |