Introduction

The Crown Court is part of the Supreme Court of Judicature and deals with the most serious of criminal offences. This article will detail some important facts regarding the Crown Court, examining its origins and exploring the reasons for its introduction. Next will be a detailed account of the procedures involved within the Crown Court, such as who the judge is and what role the judge has regarding the trial. Others areas considered will be how evidence is presented, and sentencing that may be imposed on a person who has been found guilty of an offence. The Crown Court is not only a mechanism for dealing with offenders. It is also a place that can offer closure to concerned victims when justice is administered. For this reason, it is important to discuss the procedures involved for victims. Finally, the article will explore future proposals for the Crown Court, and the criminal justice system as a whole.

Origins

The Crown Court was created by the 1971 Courts Act which abolished the ineffective system that was in place at the time, which involved numerous local Assize courts throughout the country. This system could not cope with the number of criminal offences. The Assizes were periodic local courts heard before judges of the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court, who traveled across the seven circuits into which England and Wales were divided, assembling juries in the Assize Towns and hearing cases, and, therefore, a more robust system needed to be introduced. Nevertheless, the Court of Assize was created by Henry II in the 12th century, introducing the first trial by jury. Although it bares little resemblance to the jury system today, it was the first time that guilt or innocence of the accused was not decided by divine intervention, as was the case with trial by ordeal.

The system was first piloted in both Liverpool and Manchester in 1956, and was employed nation wide in1972. There are ninety Crown Courts in England and Wales, with the most well known of these being the Old Bailey in London, which sits at the pinnacle of the Crown Court system. The Crown Court provides an environment that enables decisions to be made solely on the evidence provided.

Procedure in the Crown Court

The time it take for a case to be heard at the Crown Court can be between three and six months. It can, however, in certain case, take even longer. It is not unusual for a defendant to meet their barrister on the first day of their trial. This situation has led to some suggesting that justice maybe being sacrificed for judicial expediency.

Any case that is sent from the Magistrates Courts, to the Crown Court, will be presided over by a trial judge. The rank that a trial judge will hold can be determined by the colour of their robes, with more senior judges wearing red robes. The judge will supervise the trial from a raised platform at the front of the court room (known as the bench), and will determine what may, or may not be adduced into evidence. In front of the judge will be his clerk, who will face the usher of the court. The usher is charged for moving evidence around the court and also bringing witness’ into the court.

The procedure for a judge entering a court consists of a statement being made by the clerk ‘all rise’ followed by everyone in the court standing until the judge is seated. This practice entails a showing of respect by people within the court for the judge.

Once the judge is seated, the trail will begin. The prosecution will go first in all cases. This will then allow the judge to assess whether a strong enough case has been presented for the trial to proceed. It is not unusual for the defence not to offer any submissions, as the judge can make the decision that there is no case to answer. If, however, there is a case to answer, then the defence will then offer its submissions to the jury. The advocates for the prosecution must prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that the person charged with the offence, did indeed commit that offence.

Once all submissions have been made by both barristers, the jury will then retire to consider its verdict, which translates to ‘speak the truth’. They will be asked to return either a guilty, or a not guilty verdict. The ramifications for a defendant who enters a not guilty plea, and is then found guilty by a jury, can be severe. This is so as the judge will examine the consequences of the initial plea. For instance:

‘if a person enters a not guilty plea, and is found guilty, regardless of whether or not he is guilty, the judge will take into consideration the cost of the trial to the taxpayer, the fact that no remorse has been shown by the accused, and wasting the courts time. This can lead to an increased prison sentence. Conversely, an innocent person may decide that even though he has not committed the alleged crime that he is accused of, the evidence as it stands implicates him. He may, therefore wish to enter a guilty plea and ask the court to take into consideration the factors that are mentioned above, albeit in a positive manner.’

Although this may sound a little strange, it is a consequence of due process, and is in existence throughout most societies throughout the western world.

Victims of Crime

The Crown Court can offer closure to victims of crime. The equitable maxim that’ justice must not only be done, but must also be seen to be done’, is most apparent in criminal proceedings. Punishment of defendants by way of incarceration can offer victims retribution. Although this can never be enough for an individual who has maybe lost a loved one at the hands of another citizen, the fact that the victim has had their justice, can be enough to enable people to rebuild their lives. There is also a victims charter that was introduced in1996, although this has since been reviewed since the death of Stephen Lawrence to take into account of racist crime.

Possibilities for the Future

The Crown Court has, like most other institutions within the Criminal Justice System, been subjected to severe scrutiny. The Review of the Criminal Courts of England and Wales has suggested that a new unified criminal court should be formed, whereby the Crown Court would be renamed as the Crown Division, dealing only with indictable offences and serious either-way offences. There is also more radical proposal to replace the present jury system with a bench of three judges. This later proposal, has, however, been met with rejection in some quarters. A trial by jury is seen by some as underpinning the very foundations of a democratic society, something that maybe sacrificed for judicial expediency. Others, however, have suggested that asking a jury to understand complex rules of criminal law can lead to a miscarriage of justice, on either side.

Conclusion

The purpose of this article is to offer a brief insight into the Crown Court. To understand any system, one must first a certain level of knowledge regarding the origins of that system. What has been shown is that the Crown Court, although it deals with criminal defendants, can offer comfort for victims of crime. It can, however, also be a harrowing experience for anybody, especially those wrongly accused of a crime. What the future will hold for the Crown Court, and indeed all the criminal courts in England and Wales, is uncertain at this moment in time.

The UK insurance sector accounts for roughly 10% of total UK expenditure and is a crucial contributor to the UK economy after the public, banking and manufacturing industries.

Many UK insurance companies use 0845 telephone numbers as the main point of contact for consumers including, Direct Line, AXA and Liverpool Victoria to name a few.

But why do these organisations use 0845 telephone numbers?

There are many reasons; here are 7 of them:

1. They can choose a highly memorable number that’s easy for their potential customers to remember, such as 0845 520 2222.

2. They’re highly likely to get more calls. 0845 numbers are now totally free to phone for 14 million BT residential customers who are on an Anytime/Evening & Weekend call plan.

3. They can control where they want to receive calls (especially out of hours and in an emergency). They can reroute calls to their 0845 number to any UK landline easily via the web/phone.

4. They can get online call statistics on their 0845 numbers. They can see the location of callers, busy periods and the time taken to answer calls and a whole lot more.

5. 0845 numbers are for life. Companies can take them with them if they relocate.

6. They can attract more business outside of their area – with an 0845 number they won’t be judged on their location.

7. It’s possible to record all inbound calls to their 0845 numbers to help meet their legal requirements.

With these reasons in mind it’s clear why 0845 numbers have become the UK’s most popular business phone number in the 13 years that they have been available.

Did you know that there is a vast shortage all over the UK of student accommodation? Every major city has a university, some more than one and where there is a university you will find students and all those students throughout their periods of study, need accommodation.

It is estimated that only fifty percent of all students in the UK have access to high-quality and specifically purpose-built student accommodation. When you look at high dense population areas, it’s expected that this figure declines to even less, somewhere in the region of just twenty percent. This massive shortage means a wonderful investment opportunity is available to any savvy investor.

Doing the maths, it looks like there are almost a hundred thousand students alone in the London area that have a high demand for accommodation and that demand is only ever going to rise! Student property really needs to be conveniently located and by that, we mean close to good areas for socializing and on good public transport links to the university campus. Tick those essential boxes and you will have students knocking down your door in a rush to rent from you.

I appreciate this might sound too good to be true but dense populations spring up in inner city areas that quickly become known as student zones. While this may put off traditional private sales and in some cases cut pricing of private sales of property, for the specific student property expert, this is a perfect situation where you will be able to maximise your return on investment in very quick time. Some good examples of UK locations include Brighton, Plymouth, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburg, Exeter and needless to say London.

If accommodation is purpose-built for students then the quality of student is higher, this means the rental returns are higher and you can also attract overseas students, many of which will not have the budget limitations facing local students. Think of purpose built student accommodation mimicking smaller halls of residence. For this you need ideally a larger property that can be split into studio style rental apartments numbering four or five. If you can get such a property close to or next to the University campus then this will strengthen the purpose built approach and really boarder your student market appeal.

Students are reliable, they rent for set periods of time, and you get plenty of notice of the tenancy ending and can literally replace those tenants with the next student intake. All you need to do is make sure you are ahead of the student calendar and make use of current tenant’s recommendations, word of mouth advertising or post notices within University campus areas or on the host of student accommodation websites. It is unlikely you will ever be short of a hungry demographic.

The UK has always attracted a broad spectrum of investors, but due to the increase of students looking to rent temporary accommodation, there has also been an increase in student property investors. They are essentially buy-to-let investors with a keen focus on the student market.

The UK also offers property investors a strong and consistent annual yield. The property value in the UK can grow much over the years. This mainly due to the active market, high demand and limited amount of land to develop property on.

David Cameron has recently decided to increase the influx of overseas students from India, which means that we will not be seeing a decrease in the demand for student property anytime soon. If you are a property investor I suggest that this is a market worth looking into.

So you fancy starting a collection but you're not sure what to collect? How About. . . ?

Every home will contain at least one example or more – in the kitchen, the bathroom, the fire surrounding. How long have they been in existence and what should we look out for when buying an Old Tile.

When trying to identify an old tile, the most difficult aspect is where it was made and when.

The most famous tiles are referred to as delft. But why?

The term delft is derived from the dutch town of Delft. The Netherlands began to produce tin-glazed earthenware in the late 15 century. Potteries were established in many parts of the Netherlands, Amsterdam, Haarlem and Rotterdam, but by the late 17 century Delft had the most important center of production and nearly 30 companies were working in the area.

The original delft tile designs came about when Chinese porcelain stopped being imported in the mid 17 century and the popular Chinese wares were reproduced in blue and white. Initially made in blue and white, later in the century the Delft potters introduced a wider variety of colors, yellow, purple, blue, red, green and black.

Flemish and Dutch potters arrived and settled in London in 1570, but it was not until the 18 century that the delftware tile industry became established in Britain. The main centers were London, Bristol and Liverpool. The tiles usually depicted flowers, ships, landscapes and many scenes of biblical subjects.

So now we know that we're looking for either Duitch delft or English delft, but it's quite dificult with these early examples to determine the place of origin.

A few tips:

Dutch delft often has a gritty texture, thick glaze and 'peppering' on the surface caused by air bubbles exploding during firing.

Dutch tiles are painted in a very assured manner with great skill and expertise.

The tin glaze of Dutch tiles is usually whiter because it contains more tin oxides making it viable to craze.

British delftware is typically less finely potted and the glaze is often tinged with blue or pink. Colors tend to be more mute due to the absorbency of the tin glaze used. The glaze is much glossier and smoother than Dutch glaze and it does not craze easily.

So to sum up:

Gritty, thich white glaze, very well painted, crazed ……. Dutch.

Smooth, glazed tinged blue or pink, muted colors, little craving …. English.

Now all you have to do is get out there and start looking, but beware – lots of reproductions so take time to do a bit more studying by way of delftware tiles.

Also remember, plates, flower bricks, jugs, posset pots, handwarmers, puzzle jugs, char dishes, vases, bowls and beautifully glazed drug jars for use by apothocaries were produced in delftware, but that's another story.

Manchester United are arguably the best club in the world, but this multi million pound club started as Newton Heath L&YR F.C. in 1878, as the works team for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Health.

They played on a small, dilapidated field on North Road, near the future site of the Manchester Piccadilly railway station for fifteen years, and then in 1983 they moved to play on Bank Street in a nearby town called Clayton. In 1902 this ground was closed as Manchester United were nearly kicked out of the football league due to debts of two thousand and five hundred pounds, but thankfully just before the club could be shut down they received a large investment from J.H.Davies, the managing director of Manchester breweries.

Manchester United’s first major signing was of Charlie Roberts of Grimsby Town for £750 in April 1904, they believe that this signing helped Manchester United to third in the very next season. In the 1905-1906 season Manchester United were finally promoted to the First Division, where two years later they emerged as champions for the very first time.

On the 19th of February Manchester United played their first game in the still standing Old Trafford stadium, their first game was looking an ease, beating Liverpool 3-0 at half time only to lose 4-3, they went on that season to win no silver wear, and in the next ten years the club started declining in the ranks until 1922 when they were relegated back down to Division Two.

Three seasons before world war two, Manchester United were promoted, then relegated, then promoted once again, providing them with a spot in division one once the war was finally over.

In the season of 1956-57, Manchester United became the first season to compete in the European Cup, and it was in this competition that Manchester United recorded their biggest win to date, beating a Belgium team 10-0 before being knocked out in the semi finals by Real Madrid.

Tragedy struck the next season as a plane crash killed 8 of Manchester United’s players on a trip to the Germany for a European match. Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Liam Whelan where the players killed that day, these players will never be forgotten.

In the early 70’s Manchester United changed the badge to the badge we know off today. Soon after that, in 1986, the introduction of Sir Alex Ferguson was happening as he took over the manager’s position.

Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t have much success at Manchester united until the year of 1998 where his team secured the best season in the history of English Football, completing the treble of the Premier League, the FA cup and the Champions League.

Manchester United seemed ordinary until the season of 2006-07 when they won the Premier League, scraping past Chelsea. This gave Manchester United and their young guns of Rooney and Ronaldo confidence to rule the scenes in the next season as Manchester United completed the double, winning the Premier League and the European Cup.

This particular airport caters for customers who are flying from Ireland to other airports within the United Kingdom such as, Liverpool, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Manchester, as well as to European destinations including Lourdes, Nantes, Luxembourg and Paris. Flights from Dublin to Chicago, Toronto and Orlando among other international destinations are available. There are two different terminals in the airport, but the essential facilities and services can be found in both terminals. Such facilities include check in, foreign currency exchange, Internet and printing stations, prayer room and baby changing facilities. Each of these things makes travelling that much more enjoyable and stress free.

Duty Free Shops

Furthermore, in each terminal there are a number of Duty free shops for purchases to be made. In the wide range of shops, customers can buy skin care products, make up, jewellery, fragrances, technology items and plenty of alcohol to choose from.

Foreign Currency Exchange

When it comes to foreign currency exchange and banking facilities, passengers are ruined for decision. Amid weekday available time, a Bank of Ireland branch is operational inside of Terminal 1, or for out of hours exchanges, there are money gadgets both previously, then after the fact security. There are additionally numerous branches of ICE Bureau de Change spread all through both terminals so trading money is a breeze.

Internet Access

Any traveler requiring internet access can benefit by free Wi-Fi in both terminals, and anybody requiring printing offices can make utilization of one of the numerous Surfbox web stands which can be found in a few zones both prior and then afterward security.

Bars and restaurants

There are a number of different bars and restaurants in each terminal of Dublin airport so that nobody can leave Ireland disappointed. In terminal 1, travellers will find Alcock and Brown which is a bar and café, McDonald’s, Upper crust which sells freshly made baguettes, Jump which is a nutritional juice bar and The Garden Terrace which offers fine dining experiences. In Terminal 2,:there is a Burger King, Harvest Market where people can order an Irish breakfast, as well as the Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Coffee Express.

Dublin Airport Parking

For the airport, there are several car parks for travellers to choose from at their convenience. There is the surface car park for terminal 2, which is a few minutes walk, the short term car park for terminal 1, and for both terminals, there is the Express Red long term car park with a 24 hour shuttle bus and also the Holiday Blue long term car park, suitable for holiday makers or long stays.

Peter Jones’ 2001 Bentley Arnage

The Dragon Jones is well known for being incredibly picky when choosing investments on the hit TV series (Dragons Den) and so it stands to reason that the car he is selling is incredibly luxurious and exclusive. With Lamb’s wool rug flooring and Electric Memory Heated seats it offers the perfect ride after a long day of listening to ambitious inventors.

Steven Gerrard’s Audi A3 2.0 TDi 170 S Line S Tronic

The Liverpool FC star has listed many of his past cars on Auto Trader with the A3 being the latest in a long list of footballers cars on the website. Gerrard’s A3 has black leather seats, an upgraded BOSE sound system and little over 50,000 miles on the clock

Joe Calzaghe’s Audi RS4 Quattro

Middleweight and Light-Heavyweight boxing champ Joe has recently sold his supercharged Audi on Auto Trader almost as quickly as the boxer had owned it with only 28,000 miles on the clock. A much sportier model of Audi compared to the previous celebrity with its 4.2l V8 engine and an impressive 414 brake horsepower.

Jenson Button’s Bugatti Veyron

Current F1 champion Jenson was possibly too used to driving his F1 car that any other car he was driving off the race circuit was just too slow for him. At least this is what we’d expect when we heard Jenson had bought the Bugatti Veyron, one of the fastest road cars in the world, he can’t have spent much time in the Veyron though as it only has 1,500 miles on the clock and has recently been serviced by Bugatti

From Please Please Me to Abbey Road, the Beatles certainly left a mark on the generation that they presided over. In fact, it can be argued that the English rock band that formed in Liverpool in 1960 has influenced every aspect of popular culture, from music, to slang, to fashion and beyond. In the 1960’s, as the Beatles were quickly rising to fame, the fashion world was also being rapidly conquered by the up-and-coming, modern, minimalist style (known as Mod). While the band was first and foremostly known for their musical success, they soon took on the role of style icons for entire generations of young men, first in Great Britain, and then throughout the world.

Many know that fashion design is an integral part of achieving success as a popular culture act. The Beatles’ management team quickly realized this, and worked to set the band’s look apart from many other popular trends of their age. Men’s fashion in the late fifties was all about greasy, slicked back hair, leather jackets and jeans. John, Paul, George and Ringo, the four young men that made up the Beatle’s took England by storm with their un-slicked, shaggy hairdos, Chelsea boots and smart, matching suit ensembles. The look was simple, but incredibly effective. The hairdo became affectionately known as the “mop-top”, and young men all over the world went about adorning themselves with the Beatle’s super cool new style.

The original boy band to end all boy bands went on to expand on their style throughout the sixties and seventies. They went from plain, straight-legged suits to turtlenecks, bright, collarless Mod suits. They even managed to popularize loud patterns like paisley. As they grew older and the times changed, their style reflected their growing world experience and the psychedelic mood of the seventies. And as the Beatles grew into individuals, the world grew with them, mimicking their every move.

The Beatle’s influence on styles is timeless, just like their music. Just as you flick around your radio dial and almost certainly come across a Beatle’s tune playing, you could walk around the campus of any fashion school and spot some John Lennon-inspired, round eyeglasses, or a mop-top hairdo or two…

Sunglasses or sunshades, as some like to call them, started out as a means of protection from the sun but has evolved into an indispensable fashion accessory to many. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes from iconic Teashades of the 60’s to more modern icons like the newer Ray Ban RB2132 Wayfarers.

Unknown to many, protective eye-ware were in existence since prehistoric times. Inuits used to fashion sunlight exposure-reducing snow goggles out of flattened walrus ivory. I do not think the Inuits had any idea that those goggles would later morph into shutter shades thousands of years later.

Teashades
Teashades are eyeglasses which are made up of medium-sized, perfectly round lenses, supported by pads on the bridge of the nose and a thin wire frame. Interestingly enough, the term Teashades were once used to describe glasses worn to hide the effects of recreational drug use such as bloodshot eyes.

Teashades became famous in the 60’s thanks to one of the members from a very famous four-piece band from Liverpool. The term Teashades is rarely used now. In fact, they are more often known as Ozzy glasses.

Teashades can also be seen in blockbuster movies such as The Matrix where the character Seraph could be seen donning a pair. The main protagonist in the movie Natural Born Killers also sports a pair.

Oversized
Think oversized eye-wear and a certain flamboyant piano-playing celebrity would immediately come to mind. That celebrity has been synonymous with this style since the 80’s. Oversized glasses are also sometimes referred to as the Jackie O’s.

The style made a comeback in the early 21st century as many female celebs were seen wearing them. However, it could be argued that they were doing so to elude paparazzi as opposed to wearing them for fashionable purposes. However, the look did catch on.

Shutter Shades
Shutter Shades were a fad in the 80’s after they were seen in music videos by popular bands of that era. In recent times, R&B artists can be seen with a custom designed pairs.

The popularity of shutter shades was boosted even further during the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals as fans painted their country’s flags on the ‘shutters’.

Ray Ban Aviators
The Ray Ban Aviator sunglasses are one of the most recognizable eye-wear designs around. They were originally designed to protect the eyes of air-force pilots during flights. The design has been around since 1936 and like all good designs, they still enjoy quite a good following.

The ‘Gloved One’ could never be seen without a pair of Aviators. And they were also favorites of two other members of the British invasion band from Liverpool. They were also prominently featured in hit movies like Cobra and Top Gun.

Ray Ban Wayfarers
The Ray Ban Wayfarer sunglasses design first debut in 1952. Just like the Aviators, the Wayfarer style sunglasses are considered by many as the best-selling sunglasses in history. They were so popular that other brands started mimicking the design. So much so that it was thought that the star actress wore a pair in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s but those were not Ray Ban Wayfarer sunglasses.

The Wayfarers went through redesign and the result was the Wayfarer RB2132. The new Ray Ban 2132 sports a smaller less angular frame, and changed from acetate to a lighter injected plastic.

The changed proved successful as the style regained its popularity as the RB2132 could be see on celebrities and is ever-present in popular culture.

Indian cinema is going global. Strange things are happening that have never happened before. Indian cinema never had heroines entering the screen from England and the USA, but that is happening now and the latest girl to make an entry in the world of Tamil and Hindi cinema is Amy Jackson. Here is a pure white blooded English girl, wearing Indian dresses and making it good in the world of Indian cinema.

Amy Louise Jackson was born in 1990 in the Isle of Man in England. Her father was working with the BBC. She won the 'Teen Princess' award in 2008 and came in the lime light. Immediately she rented a modeling contract for $ 20,000 that took her to the USA. She narrowly missed getting the Miss England award after being crowned Miss Liverpool.

In 2009, some Indian film producers saw her on a model website and invited her for a screen test. She passed the test and got the role of British Governor's daughter in the Tamil film Madrasapattinam (1947: A Love Story), opposition actor Arya. The film was released in 2010 and was a commercial success. This prompted the producers to cast hr in Mumbai Hindi film. She has now debuted in the Hindi film Ek Deewana tha opposite Prateik, son of actress Smita Patil and Raj Babbar. In this film she plays a Malyali Christian and is a remake of a Tamil film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa. The film appears to be a commercial success. Credit must go to producer Gautham Menon who cast her in this role.

Amy Jackson is perhaps one of the first British girls to make it good in Hindi cinema after a success in Tamil films. She is also well educated and attended Edwards College. She has 2 Tamil films on the sets.

Amy Jackson in the Mumbai film carries herself with aplomb and looks fetching in the sari. She has some lovely love scenes with Prateik in the film, which are an aesthetic delight.The scenes are beautifully shot and all credit to both stars.

The globalization of Hindi cinema is complete with the coming of a British girl in Indian Cinema. This is certainly a challenge to Indian girls to make it good in Hollywood. A beginning is made by Malika Sherawat and Friedo Pinto. These two girls have tried hard, but bad luck has dodged them and they have not been a success. But a beginning is made.