Part 2: Courts, tribunals and coroners Chapter 1: Criminal procedure Section 10: Sending cases to Crown Court for trial
Section 10 will amend section 51 (sending of adult defendants to Crown Court for trial) and section 51A (sending of children or young persons to Crown Court for trial) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 ("CDA 1998") to enable indictable offences to be sent to the Crown Court without a first hearing in the magistrates’ court. This is both in respect of offences that are only triable on indictment and those that are triable either-way, but which have been allocated for trial in the Crown Court.
	Amendments to section 51 of the CDA 1998 are set out in subsections (2) to (5), and amendments to section 51A of the CDA 1998 are set out in subsections (7) to (11). The application of sections 51 and 51A of the CDA 1998 turn on the age of the defendant when the court considers sending a case to the Crown Court.
	Sections 51, new subsection (2A) (adults), and 51A, new subsection (3A) (children), will provide for sending at a hearing if the defendant is present before the court when it is determined that the case is to be sent. However, if the defendant is not present when it is determined that the case is to be sent, the magistrates’ court must serve certain documents on the person being sent to the Crown Court for trial (sections 51, new subsection (2B), and 51A, new subsection (3B)). This includes documents which state the charge against the defendant, explain that the court is required to send the defendant to the Crown Court for trial for the offence, and any other information as required by the CrimPRs.
	As soon as practicable after the relevant documents have been served on the defendant, the magistrates’ court must send the defendant to the Crown Court for trial (sections 51, new subsection (2C), and 51A, new subsection (3C)). This can be done outside of a court hearing.
	The CrimPRs can make provisions about the circumstances in which a defendant is not to be served the documents giving the defendant notification of being sent to the Crown Court for trial, and how a defendant is to be sent to the Crown Court for trial in such circumstances (sections 51, new subsection (2E), and 51A, new subsection (3E)).
	The circumstances when related cases or co-defendants are also to be sent to the Crown Court along with the main offence will be dealt with by the CrimPRs under sections 51, new subsections (3A) and (3B), and 51A, new subsections (4A) and (4B). The CrimPRs will replace the existing provisions in sections 51(3) to (12) and 51A(4) to (10). They may include provision for related summary-only offences to be sent to the Crown Court (see new subsection (3B)(a)(iii) and (4B)(a)(iii)). However, in the event that, for whatever reason, the indictment subsequently changes so that only the summary offence(s) remains, there is a new general power to remit such cases from the Crown Court to the magistrates’ court (see Section 11).
	The circumstances where indictable offences can be sent straight to the Crown Court without a first hearing will apply to cases where defendants have been charged by postal charge and requisition or charged and bailed by the police. Consequently, Section 10 also inserts new subsection (2A) into section 52 of the CDA 1998 to provide that where the court sends a person for trial under section 51 or 51A other than in open court, it must do so on bail (see new subsection (2A)(a)) and that bail must be unconditional (if the defendant is not already on bail, or is on unconditional bail), or if the defendant is already on bail subject to conditions, subject to the same conditions (see new subsection (2A)(b)). However, this is a discretionary power, and magistrates’ courts will only deem a case suitable to be sent under this power where it is appropriate to issue bail on the papers.