Magistrates’ Court
Dealing with less serious criminal cases and civil matters, the role of the Magistrates’ Court includes: - determining whether a defendant is guilty or not, and passing the appropriate sentence
- deciding on requests for remand in custody
- deciding on applications for bail
- sending serious cases to the Crown Court
Magistrates Courts do not use a jury but instead three magistrates sitting as a ‘bench’. They decide and pass judgement with help from a trained legal advisor, on whether someone accused of a crime is guilty.
Crown Court
These courts deal with more serious criminal cases, such as murder, rape or robbery. It also handles cases on appeal and those referred to them by Magistrates' Courts.
Trials are heard by a judge and a 12-person jury. Members of the public are selected for jury service.
Criminal trials usually take place in open court - which means that members of the press and public are allowed to hear and see what is happening.
Once all the evidence has been presented, the jury decides if the person is guilty or innocent. The judge then decides the sentence, based on government-issued guidelines.
If you give evidence in court, you could stop innocent people from being convicted and help to make sure guilty people go to prison. As a witness, you're an important part of the justice system - without you, there may be no case.
A hate crime is any criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based upon a person’s disability or perceived disability.
All hate crime is important. No hate crime is too minor to report to the police. The police can only do something to help stop hate crime if people who experience hate crime report it to them.
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Criminal Justice System 
