Can I get legal aid for my criminal case?
If you are arrested or are appearing in court, one of the first things you will probably ask yourself is ‘can I get legal aid?’. Fortunately, legal aid is still available for many criminal cases. Whether you are eligible will depend upon what level of assistance you need and what your financial circumstances are.
At the police station
If you are arrested or are being interviewed under caution, all advice and assistance in the police station can be funded by legal aid regardless of your income.
Other investigations
Many other agencies, such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), interview people before starting court proceedings. In many cases legal aid is available, depending upon your financial circumstances.
If you are not financially eligible then you can pay privately to be represented. Contact us or call us on 020 7388 1658 and speak to one of our expert solicitors to discuss our rates.
At the Magistrates’ Court
Representation in the Magistrates’ Court is now subject to 2 tests:
- The ‘merits test’ considers the seriousness of your case and whether it is in the ‘interests of justice’ for you to be legally represented. This can include the nature of the offence, whether you have previous convictions and whether there is a risk of custody (prison); and
- The ‘means test’ considers your financial circumstances and those of your partner. You will need to provide details of your income and your outgoings. Allowances are made for any children you have, childcare fees, your rent or mortgage, council tax and so on.
If your case passes the ‘merits test’ above you will automatically qualify for legal aid if:
- You are under 18; or
- Your total adjusted income (i.e. yours + your partner’s income, less certain allowances) per year is £12,475 before tax or less; or
- You receive specific state benefits, including:
– Income Support
– Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA)
– Universal Credit
– Guaranteed State Pension Credit
– Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA
If your adjusted income is less than £22,325 each year you may also be eligible. However, a full financial test will be carried out to take into account household outgoings.
If your adjusted income is above £22,325 each year then you will not be eligible for legal aid in the Magistrates’ Court.
In the event that you are not eligible for legal aid, you may want to take advantage of our competitive private rates. Contact us or call us on 020 7388 1658 to discuss privately funding your case. We can often offer fixed fees, giving you certainty about the costs involved.
If you are successful at trial and are found not guilty, you can apply for at least some of your costs to be paid from central funds.
At the Crown Court
Representation in the Crown Court is now also subject to the ‘merits’ and ‘means’ tests.
If your case is going to be heard in the Crown Court, then you automatically pass the ‘merits’ test.
In the Crown Court if you exceed the lower financial eligibility threshold then you can still receive legal aid. However, you will be asked to pay contributions towards this funding. The amount of these contributions will depend upon your disposable income. You will be required to provide evidence of your income to the Legal Aid Agency, who will decide what level of contribution you will make. If you are found not guilty, your contributions will be refunded to you.
If you have over £37,500 adjusted income, you will not be eligible for legal aid.
Alternatively, many clients feel that when facing one of the most serious challenges of their life, they would prefer to privately fund their case in order to ensure the highest possible level of service available. Contact us or call us on 020 7388 1658 to discuss your eligibility or private funding arrangements.
Court of Appeal
If you are appealing against your conviction or sentence from the Crown Court, your legal aid will cover the initial stages of the process. It covers the preparation of the grounds and advice on appeal. If you are given permission to appeal, your legal aid will be extended to cover your advocate’s appearance at Court.
Extradition
Legal aid in extradition cases in the Magistrates Court is also subject to the ‘means’ test. If you have an extradition case, you automatically pass the ‘merits’ test. For an appeal to the High Court, there is no means or merits test. Everyone is eligible for legal aid, whatever your circumstances. You can read more about legal aid in extradition cases here.
If you need specialist advice in relation to any criminal investigation or prosecution, from the initial investigation through to court proceedings, please get in touch. Call John Howey on 020 7388 1658 or email jhowey@jfhlaw.co.uk. Let us help.
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Interview under caution; Do I need a Solicitor?
An interview under caution at the police station is also known as a ‘Caution + 3’ interview, or a voluntary interview. You will usually be contacted by a police officer who will ask you to come to the police station at a certain time because they want to talk to you about an offence, usually a fairly minor one or something that happened a while ago. Sometimes they will tell you they just ‘want a quick chat’.
Interview under caution; your rights;
Anybody who attends the police station for an interview under caution is entitled to free and independent legal advice. We will attend the police station with you at an agreed time. You won’t have to wait for a solicitor.
You are free to leave at any time, although if you leave before the interview there is the danger that you could be arrested. If you attend the police station as a volunteer you should not be arrested, unless the officer can show that one of the grounds for arrest exists. You probably won’t be searched and you won’t have your DNA and fingerprints taken. You will not have to go into a cell.
Why should I have a solicitor?
Well why wouldn’t you? For a start, it’s free. To everybody, no matter how much or how little they earn. That should probably be a good enough reason in itself, but many people still choose not to have a solicitor.
Before you are interviewed, the police officer will give your solicitor ‘disclosure’. They will tell us what you have been arrested for, and give us a summary of the evidence. We will then speak to you in private before you are interviewed. Your lawyer will tell you what you are going to be questioned about and what evidence the police have. We will advise you on the law and if you should be answering the questions or not.
Even if you are not under arrest, what you say or don’t say in your interview is still important. If you end up in court many months later, the Judge and jury, or magistrates, will know what you said or didn’t say in your interview and will pay close attention to it. If you do the right thing in your interview, you might not even get to court. You might be given a caution or your case might be dealt with in another way that means you don’t have to go to court. You might not even be charged. It can make a big difference to the outcome of your case, so you should still have a solicitor.
It doesn’t make you look guilty;
If you were ill you would go to a doctor. If your car breaks down you go to a garage. You get help from someone who knows what they are doing and is there to help you. The same applies to someone attending an interview under caution.
Just because you feel you haven’t done anything wrong, doesn’t mean you don’t need a solicitor;
In fact, it makes you need one even more. If you say or do the wrong thing, you might end up getting charged with something you didn’t do.
If you are in being interviewed in the police station, there is no such thing as ‘not very serious’;
A conviction for even a ‘minor’ offence can have a significant impact on your life. It might stop you getting a job, or it might stop you travelling to places like America, and that is before you have to pay a fine, have a curfew or do unpaid work, or even go to prison. Calling us to come and represent you is not ‘bothering us’. It is what solicitors are there for.
What happens after the interview?
Following your interview under caution, you will be free to leave. Sometimes the officer will be able to tell you straight away what is going to happen. Usually, the Police or the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will have to consider the case and then decide how to proceed. Should they decide there is sufficient evidence against you and that you should go to Court, then you will get a summons in the post. The summons will detail the charge against you and will give you the date to attend Court.
If you have any questions or you want us to assist you in arranging a voluntary interview, please contact us on 0207 388 1658 or email lawyers@jfhlaw.co.uk, and ask to speak to one of our experienced criminal lawyers.
John Howey, senior solicitor
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Shaken Baby Syndrome
The death of a child is always a deeply traumatic act and one that shakes any society to its core. For some parents, it represents not only a deeply personal and tragic loss but the beginning of a nightmare.
The reality in most murder and manslaughter cases is that the perpetrator is known, and close to the victim. Investigators will, therefore, look closely at the parents when a child dies, an approach which for a grieving parent can only add to the pain that they are suffering.
Experts will be brought on board very quickly to establish a cause of death, and in some cases, this will be stated to be from injuries caused by excessive shaking, often of such force that it is described as being the equivalent of a car-crash.
An allegation of shaking is often based on the presence of three things (the ‘triad’):
- Swelling of the brain
- Retinal bleeding, and
- Blood in the dura (an area between the brain and skull)
The presence of these injuries, as proof of violent shaking, can be found mainly in medical literature emanating from the United States as early as the 1940s.
The research findings went largely unchallenged until 2001 when Dr Jennian Geddes published a paper that offered up alternative explanations for the medical results. In later years other experts would revisit this area of medicine, and they too argue that other factors may be in play.
Experts who have challenged the conventional interpretation of the ‘triad’ have often paid a hefty price.
Dr Waney Squier, a well-known expert in this area, who has acted in a great many cases, was struck off by the General Medical Council (Medical Practitioners’ Tribunal) following a prolonged campaign to discredit her.
However, the GMC finding was reversed by the High Court in November 2016 (Squier v General Medical Council [2016] EWHC 2739 (Admin)).
The science in this area is still in a state of flux, and from a criminal law perspective that is a critical issue as cases must be proved to a standard so that the jury can be sure of the defendant’s guilt.
How can we assist?
The highest quality criminal defence work requires not only an understanding of the law, which should be a given but of other related areas, such as medicine. By quickly identifying the pertinent issues we can pull together a top team of advocates and experts with an intimate knowledge of this complex area.
At the same time, we do not lose sight of the fact that people facing these allegations are still in a state of profound shock and grief.
For a confidential and private consultation, please contact John Howey on 020 7388 1658 or jhowey@jfhlaw.co.uk
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Should I have a solicitor in the police station?
Why should I have a solicitor at the police station?
Why wouldn’t you? For a start, it’s free. To everybody, no matter how much or how little they earn. That should probably be a good enough reason in itself, but many people still choose not to have a solicitor.
What happens in the police station goes a long way to deciding the outcome of the case
If you end up in court many months later, the Judge and jury, or magistrates, will know what you said or didn’t say in your interview and will pay close attention to it. If you do the right thing in your interview, you might not even get to court. You might be given a caution or your case might be dealt with in another way that means you don’t have to go to court. You might not even be charged.
It doesn’t make you look guilty
If you were ill you would go to a doctor. If your car breaks down you go to a garage. You get help from someone who knows that they are doing and is there to help you.
You won’t have to wait hours for a solicitor; at least not for one of our solicitors
When you are arrested there is usually a lot of work for the police to do before you are interviewed. It is that work that takes time, not waiting for a solicitor. If you say you want a solicitor as soon as you get to the police station, we will be contacted by the police and can arrange to attend when the police are ready to deal with you. If you are attending by appointment (often called an interview by appointment or caution +3), we will meet you there.
Just because you feel you haven’t done anything wrong, doesn’t mean you don’t need a solicitor
In fact, it makes you need one even more because if you say or do the wrong thing, you might end up getting charged with something you didn’t do.
If you are in a cell in the police station, there is no such thing as ‘not very serious’
Calling us to come and represent you is not ‘bothering us’. It is what solicitors are there for.
You can call us during office hours on 020 7388 1658 or 24 hours a day on 07939958767. Or email lawyers@jfhlaw.co.uk
John Howey, Senior Solicitor
Read MoreInterview under caution; What does it mean? Should I go? Do I need a Solicitor?
A police interview under caution at is also known as a ‘Caution plus 3’ interview, or a voluntary interview. You will usually be contacted by a police officer who will ask you to come to the police station at a certain time because they want to talk to you about an offence, usually a fairly minor one or something that happened a while ago. Sometimes they will tell you they just ‘want a quick chat’. Even if you are not under arrest, what you say or don’t say in your interview is still important. It can make a big difference to the outcome of your case, so you should still have a solicitor.
Interview under caution; your rights
We will make arrangements for you to attend the police station at an appointed time. Everyone is entitled to free and independent legal advice, so we will attend the police station with you. You still have the right not to answer any questions. However, what you say in your interview can be used at Court, if your case gets that far.
You are free to leave at any time, although if you leave before the interview there is the danger that you could be arrested. If you attend the police station as a volunteer you should not be arrested, unless the officer can show that one of the grounds for arrest exists. You probably won’t be searched and you won’t have your DNA and fingerprints taken. You will not have to go into a cell.
Before the interview
Before you are interviewed, the police officer will give your solicitor ‘disclosure’. They will tell us what you have been arrested for, and give us a summary of the evidence. We will then speak to you in private before you are interviewed. Your lawyer will tell you what you are going to be questioned about and what evidence the police have. We will advise you on the law and if you should be answering the questions or not.
During the interview
Even if you are not under arrest, what you say or don’t say in your police interview is still important. If you end up in court many months later, the Judge and jury, or magistrates, will know what you said or didn’t say in your interview and will pay close attention to it. If you do the right thing in your interview, you might not even get to court. You might be given a caution or your case might be dealt with in another way that means you don’t have to go to court. You might not even be charged. It can make a big difference to the outcome of your case, so you should still have a solicitor.
After the interview
Following your police interview, you will be free to leave. The Police or the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will then decide how to proceed. Should they decide that there is sufficient evidence against you and that you should go to Court, then you will be sent a summons in the post. The summons will detail the charge against you and will give you the date to attend Court.
If you have any questions or you want us to assist you in arranging a voluntary interview, please contact us on 0207 388 1658 or email lawyers@jfhlaw.co.uk, and ask to speak to one of our experienced criminal lawyers.
John Howey, senior solicitor
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