How will they decide a court date?
At a special hearing known as a pre-trial review in the magistrates’ court and a plea and directions hearing in the Crown Court, the prosecutor and the defence lawyer will tell the court how long they think the trial will take and how many witnesses will have to come to court to give evidence. If the case is long and complicated, it may not be possible to list it for trial at that hearing, because more work has to be done. If this is the case it will be listed for trial at another court hearing after everyone has done the work and is ready. The court will then fix a date for the trial. The Court will do its best to find a date that is convenient for all the witnesses (for instance, courts will try to avoid fixing trials when you are on holiday).This may not be always possible especially if it will result in a long delay until the trial date.
