The court considered whether the Crown Court had any jurisdiction to re-open issues of fact decided by the magistrates. A Newton hearing had not been held. The defendant challenged the right of the Crown Court itself to conduct such a hearing.
Held: Glidewell LJ said: ‘In our view, if the magistrates do hear evidence in order to decide the facts, and thereafter under section 38 commit the accused to the Crown Court for sentence, the magistrates should ensure that the Crown Court is informed of the facts they have so found. The Crown Court should then normally proceed to sentence upon the version of the facts found by the magistrates and should not allow the dispute as to the facts to be reopened. But if, on the other hand, the accused does not raise an issue as to the facts until he reaches the Crown Court, while, as we have said, the court has a discretion to remit the issue to the magistrates, we think that the discretion should normally be exercised by the Crown Court following the course advised by Watkins LJ, that is, by determining the issue itself, after hearing any necessary evidence before proceeding to sentence.’
Judges:
Glidewell LJ
Citations:
[1988] 152 JP 567
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Gillan v The Director of Public Prosecutions Admn 15-Feb-2007
Before committing the defendant for sentence, the magistrates court had itself decided on disputed facts behind the plea. After being committed to the Crown Court, the defendant asked that court to conduct a further hearing to determine the facts. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Practice
Updated: 20 May 2022; Ref: scu.253208