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The Criminal Defence Specialists....
LEGAL AID: HOW DOES IT WORK?
At the Police Station:
Anyone arrested and detained at a police station is entitled to Free representation. Therefore regardless of your income you can obtain the services of a Lawyer Free of Charge whilst you are arrested and detained at a Police Station.
At the Magistrates Court:
In the Magistrates court applications for legal aid are considered on two grounds, Means Testing and The Interests of Justice.
Means Testing: If you earn in excess of £21,000 per year you will not be eligible for legal aid in the Magistrates Court. If you earn below this figure you will need to provide the court with details of your earnings along with proof of your income and outgoings in order that the court can assess your ability to pay your own legal fees. If you are on a very low income or receive certain benefits then you will automatically pass the means test and the matter will simply be considered on the interests of justice test.
Interest of Justice Test: If you are eligible under the means test the court will
go on to consider whether it is in the interests of justice that you are represented.
When looking at this the court will consider among other things, the type of allegation
that you face, whether you are pleading guilty or not guilty, whether you may have
difficulty understanding the proceedings for any reason and the likely sentence should
you be convicted. Generally where someone faces an allegation that may lead to a
prison sentence the interests of justice test will be met however there are numerous
other ways that the court can be persuaded that it is in the interests of justice
to grant legal aid. For example where a case has an unusual or difficult issue or
there are expert witnesses to cross-
At the Crown Court:
In the Crown Court there is effectively no means testing and the only test applied is whether it is in the interests of justice that you are represented. You will however be asked to provide a means form whilst your case is at the crown court. The purpose of this is in order that the Judge who ultimately deals with your case can consider whether you should be ordered to pay a contribution towards the costs of your representation at the conclusion of the case.
It is generally accepted that it is in the interests of justice that those appearing in the Crown Court should be legally represented as cases that are committed to the crown court are generally more serious and thus more likely to carry a prison sentence should the defendant be convicted. The interests of justice test applied in the Crown Court is exactly the same as that in the Magistrates Court.
If you are unsure whether you might be eligible for Legal Aid and are due to appear in a court within a 40 mile radius of our offices (see below) you should give us a call and we will advise you over the phone whether we feel that your case might meet the tests outlined above FREE OF CHARGE.
COURTS FALLING WITHIN A 40 MILE RADIUS OF OUR OFFICES:
MAGISTRATES COURTS:
Aldershot : Alton : Guildford : Woking : Basingstoke : Reading : Kingston : Slough : Staines
CROWN COURTS
Winchester : Guildford : Reading : Kingston
Note: If we feel that it is likely that you will be granted legal aid there may be a small fee for meeting with you and preparing the legal aid application depending on your financial circumstances. You will not however be charged for our initial telephone advice.