The K-Zone: mode of trial

The determination whether an alleged criminal should be tried summarily or with a jury has always been subject to debate. At present, minor offences are triable only summarily, major one (murder, rape, etc) only with a jury, and there is a whole raft of `either way' offences that can be dealt with either way. For the present system for determining mode of trial, see: CriminalTrialProcedure. Note that at the time of writing (November 2002) the Government had recently issued a white paper (`Justice for All') that would modify many of the procedural aspects of criminal trials.

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