First presentation of indictment
A defendant in a criminal case which is coming before the Royal Court for the first time is presented before the Inferior Number (one Judge and two Jurats) of the Court on a Friday morning.

In most cases the defendant will have appeared before the Magistrate’s Court and have been remanded to the Royal Court as the case is too serious to be dealt with by the Magistrate.

Indictment
An indictment is a document signed by Her Majesty’s Attorney General which sets out the statement and the particulars of the offence(s) with which the accused is charged.

Calling the case
The Greffier (Court Clerk) calls the case. The Crown Advocate and defence counsel say “garde” to signify their presence in Court. The defendant is brought into the dock (if the accused has been remanded in custody) or sits behind his or her advocate (if not in custody).

Reading the indictment
The Greffier reads the indictment.

Taking pleas
The defendant, through his or her advocate, enters a plea (guilty or not guilty) to each of the counts on the indictment.

Remand for sentencing where guilty pleas entered
If a guilty plea is entered the Crown Advocate will move that the accused be remanded (in custody or on other terms) to a particular date and time to be sentenced by the Inferior or the Superior Number as appropriate.

The Inferior Number of the Court can impose a custodial sentence of up to four years and the Superior Number (one Judge and at least five Jurats) has the power to impose custodial sentences in excess of four years, in both cases subject to any statutory maximum.

If the Crown Advocate has moved for a custodial remand and the defence seek bail or other remand terms the Court hears submissions from defence and the Crown Advocate and determines the appropriate remand terms.

The Court will order any reports e.g. Social Enquiry, psychological reports, etc deemed neccessary.

Remand for trial
If a not guilty plea is entered, the Crown Advocate will move that the defendant be remanded (in custody or otherwise) to a fixed date to be tried before a Criminal Assize or the Inferior Number of the Court depending on the nature of the offence(s) charged.

Jury Trial
Customary law offences (eg. murder, manslaughter, rape, grave and criminal/indecent/common assault, fraud and theft) are tried before the Bailiff and a Jury.

Trial before the Inferior Number
The criminal cases most commonly tried by the Inferior Number are contraventions of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law 1978 and Customs and Excise (Jersey) Law 1999 which can attract lengthy prison sentences of up to 14 years. Inferior Number trials can involve infractions of regulatory legislation – such as breaches of e.g. Health and Safety, Fire Precautions and Planning legislation.

If the indictment contains both customary law offences and contraventions the Criminal Assize trial will take place before the Inferior Number trial. The trial of customary law offences will take place at the Criminal Assize and the case in relation to contraventions will be adjourned to a sitting of the Inferior Number.

Pre-trial review
The Crown Advocate will also ask the Court to fix a date for a Pre-trial Review and Directions hearing – a hearing designed to ensure that cases are dealt with efficiently and, for example, that any matters of law or issues as to admissibility of evidence are dealt with prior to trial.