Blackstone's Magistrates' Court Handbook 2009

Blackstone's Magistrate's Court Handbook provides an indispensable, complete and practical guide for the busy court advocate, offering extensive coverage of offences, sentencing, procedure and evidential issues. This book also contains detailed coverage of the increasingly complex sentencing regime including the new Magistrates' Court Sentencing Guidelines, and considers the impact of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.

This Handbook covers the key aspects of magistrates' court practice with an emphasis on the areas most likely to arise at short notice, and require an instant response from the advocate. It also concentrates on those offences most likely to be experienced at court by a legal aid lawyer, with sections on public order, drugs, weapons, driving, criminal damage and sexual offences. The Handbook also includes coverage of all major summary and either-way offences and removes the
clutter of excess statutory provisions, concentrating instead on providing an easy-to-digest summary of the law.

Blackstone's Magistrate's Court Handbook is presented in an easy-to-use format, facilitating quick reading and decision-making. The text is broken down with frequent headings and bullet points - which enables quick, at-a-glance reading. There are a number of table and flow-charts, particularly on complex sentencing topics, as well as a clear system of icons to aid comprehension and speedy navigation.

Written by Andrew Keogh, a practising criminal lawyer with extensive experience of Magistrates' courts and the founder and editor of CrimeLine, as well as the author of the CLSA Duty Solicitor's Handbook and a contributing author of Blackstone's Criminal Practice, this title will be indispensable to lawyers practising in the magistrates' courts.