Courts in England and Wales

Not too far from where you live will be a magistrates’ court. Do you know where your nearest magistrates’ court is? Find out more about it – how many court rooms does it have? How old is the building? What cases are heard there? See if your local paper writes about cases in the magistrates’ court.

Click here for an example of a magistrates’ court.

Nearly always when people have been arrested and accused of breaking the law they will appear first in a magistrates’ court. If they are accused of doing something very very wrong, like murder or rape, their case will be heard in a Crown Court or the Central Criminal Court in front of a judge and a jury.

Magistrates deal with almost all criminal cases – over 95%.

Magistrates’ courts are usually held Monday to Friday during the day with a court on Saturday morning to deal with anyone who gets into trouble the night before.

The Courts

Magistrates' Courts

Youth Courts

Family Courts

Court Structure

Usually three magistrates sit together to hear the cases. They are referred to as the ‘bench’.