Your case
Appearing as a defendant
Who will hear my case?
Judge David Fletcher sits in court most days and is likely to hear your case (if he's not in court on the day you appear, you will be seen by one of his Judicial team).
If you are attending the court for a trial, you will appear before a panel of magistrates.
Both the Judge and the magistrates will take a personal interest in you and can call on the support of a team of staff, based at the centre, to help them.
Can I have legal advice?
If you do not have legal advice you can ask the Duty Solicitor or your own solicitor to help you. Please ask a member of staff at the centre for help with this, when you arrive.
What if I do not turn up at the centre?
You may be arrested and you may have committed a new offence if you do not turn up on time and on the right date.
What will happen to me?
If you admit that you are guilty, Judge David Fletcher will sentence you.
If your plea is not guilty, your case may be heard by a panel of magistrates at the Community Justice Centre. If they find you guilty or you change your plea, the magistrates will sentence you.
If you plead not guilty, it is also possible that your case may be transferred to another court for a trial to take place. If this happens and you either admit you are guilty or are convicted, then you may be required to return to the Community Justice Centre for sentencing by Judge Fletcher.
What type of sentence will I get?
Before the Judge or the magistrates sentence you, they can ask the centre team to help and they will talk with you about yourself and the case.
You can receive a range of sentences including a discharge, a fine, a community penalty or impose a custodial sentence where appropriate and necessary.
A discharge means you are not punished, but must not offend again. If you do so you may be re-sentenced.
A fine will be based on your finances and must be paid on the day, unless you ask the Judge for time to pay.
A community penalty can include lots of different things. It may mean you do unpaid work for the people in the area, such as cleaning graffiti, or it can mean you must get help with alcohol, drug or other problems.
Prison can be used when it is right to do so because of the serious offence you have committed.
What help can I get?
You can get legal advice from the Duty Solicitor.
Centre staff can give you help on a large number of things like drug and alcohol problems
The help that members of the public can get from people at the centre is also available to you. Find out more in the Community Resource team section.