SUPREME COURT OF
JUDICATURE OF
CROWN COURT PRACTICE DIRECTION
No. 2 of 2009
TARGET TIME FOR CASES IN THE CROWN COURT
1. This direction replaces direction 5/06.
2. The target time for arraignment shall be 6 weeks from the date on which the defendant is committed for trial.
3. For County Court cases the target time to fix the date for trial is 6 weeks from the date of committal.
4. The target time shall be 18 weeks from the date of committal for trial to the start of the trial.
5. The target time shall be 6 weeks from the date of plea or finding of guilt to sentencing[1].
6. In calculating these target times the Halloween recess, the Christmas Vacation, the Easter Vacation and the Long Vacation are to be left out of account.
7. As assigned County Court judge will keep under review the progress of individual Crown Court cases within his Division. In addition, a High Court judge will normally review all High Court Crown cases on a regular basis until the trial judge is allocated. In complicated or lengthy High Court cases the trial judge will be appointed at an early date to manage the case.
8. The target times set out in this Practice Direction will be kept under review.
9. The target times in this Direction already apply and this Direction will, therefore, come into effect immediately. The footnote to the target in paragraph 5 is new and provides that the target time in “mixed plea” cases will be measured from the earliest date on which the court can proceed to sentence the defendant/s.
Lord Chief Justice
2 April 2009
[1] In cases where there are multiple defendants with mixed pleas or a defendant has multiple charges with mixed pleas, measurement is taken from the latest finding of guilt or acquittal, which is the earliest date (“date of readiness”) on which the court can proceed to sentence the defendant.