What is the procedure of an English Criminal Trial?
Depends, on quite a lot of things – the seriousness of the offence in particular. I’m going to assume that you are interest in a trial for a serious offence, taking place in the Crown Court, rather than a summary matter in the Magistrates Court. I will also leave out the proceedure by which a case would be committed for trial in the Crown Court. First, it could take a considerable time for a case to reach trial, depending on the complexity of the case. There will have been disclosure of evidence, pretrial hearings determining, in effect, how the case will be tried, what evidence will be admitted and so on. At trial itself there will be various formal proceedures such as the swearing in of the jury and the reading of the charges. In a complicated case the Prosecution will then open its case. The opening speech is likely to do no more than introduce the allegations in the case and the evidence which will be heard. Then the prosecution will then call its witnesses. Sometimes witness state
