h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Crown Court Trials In England and Wales - A87780153
Author: Elentari - U202814

I haven't written an entry since we moved to the new hootoo and I can't get the Guide ML to show up properly - help!

Please let me know if any of this isn't clear - it makes sense to me, but I sit in trials every week. It may not make sense to others!

Elementari, I think you might be trying to edit in Pliny and the Pliny editor has not been debugged. What you need to do is go into one of the older skins and write your entry there. You can change your skin by clicking on the Preferences button on the front page and choosing which ever old skin you prefer, classic is blue goo, brunel is my favourite or alabaster. Then you'll be able to do entries like you did them before. The Front page only exists in Pliny, but if you want to go the just replace the U or A number with thepost as it's a named page.

When you write in Pliny it adds the GuideML automatically so writing it yourself doubles it. If you want to do the GML in Pliny yourself you have to hit the 'Sourcecode' button.

A very good entry!

I spotted a minor spelling mistakes, the sort that always creep in:
who will asked – needs a 'be'

Something I think should perhaps be mentioned is that in England & Wales, photography and filming is not allowed within the courtroom, which is why artists draw pictures when the trial is reported.

You may also wish to link to:
A49997218 Serving on a Jury in England and Wales
A3403955 Who does what in the English and Welsh Legal System

There is inevitably a degree of overlap between your article and the one on serving on a Jury. As we try to avoid having duplicate articles, I'd perhaps concentrate on including more information not included in the previous article.
Having similar articles is permitted, so I'd perhaps try to focus the article from a viewpoint other than the jury – possibly provide more information from the Prosecution & Defence perspective? For instance, you mention Agreed Facts and interviews while the earlier article does not, so more information on types of evidence would distinguish this from A49997218.

I think that there's room in the Guide for this entry.

<BB<

This seems to me a clear and useful article on Crown Court procedure.

One thing that does occur to me is that you make no mention of the magistrate's court. Isn't it true that cases would normally be referred to the crown court by magistrates?

There are articles on Serving on a Jury - A49997218, and on Who Does What in the English and Welsh Legal System - A3403955 which you would want to link to.

Just two points which could be clearer:

In the sentence beginning 'When witnesses are spoken to be the Police', you need to make it clear that it's the Police who provide the written statement.

In the sentence beginning 'This is then taken to the judge', I think it should continue 'who will ask the jury to return'.

Sorry Bluebottle

I was writing an entry on the structure of the criminal court system in England and Wales, including types of hearings, and the trial section got so large I thought it would be better to make it a seperate entry. I didn't realise the jury entry was so detailed - though I have spotted a couple of mistakes in it, or possibly where procedures differ between courts.

I have never sat on a jury but I work in the criminal justice system so I sit through trials often. I wasn't trying to write it from a jury perspective.

I will have a look at this in the next few days and make appropriate changes.

In the discussion it states that the crown court handles mire serious cases which may include assaults or sex offenses. Surely there's a more straight forward description that can be given. Are they empowered to handle felonies, crimes for which a certain sentence may be given?

"felonies" don't exist in Britain as far as I know - but Magistrate courts can only give a jail sentence of up to 6 months, or a year if trying two or more crimes
Therefore a crown court will try anything that would impose a greater sentence than this if found guilty

This is very informative.

I wonder, do you think you could work in a stronger hook at the beginning? Some way to draw the reader in?

Rather than announce, 'This entry is about Crown Courts', could you use an example, or indicate that this is something you read about, or see on television? 'And this is how it really works...'?

Just a thought.

After much piddling about with Guide ML, I think I've covered all the points mentioned.

I've taken out a lot of the duplication from the Serving on A Jury entry and linked to that.

Please let me know if there are further suggestions.

I think you've covered it well

GB

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

Congratulations to my learned colleague

I'm not learned in a legal sense, but thanks all the same!

PR thread read, M'Lord.

GB