Committal procedure

If however the charge is that the defendant stole a packet of biscuits worth only a very small amount, it would probably be heard by a magistrate.

When one is charged with an offence of the third type, a preliminary hearing is first held by a magistrate to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant committing the defendant for trial.

In some jurisdictions, the prosecuting authority may directly present a defendant for trial regardless of the result of the committal proceedings by filing an ex officio indictment.

In many jurisdictions the right of a defendant to cross-examine witnesses during the committal is reliant on the defence establishing that it is in the interests of justice or to illuminate some relevant point.

Instead, the defendant charged with the offence may make an application to the Crown Court to have the case dismissed for lack of evidence.

The idea behind this reform was to get cases to trial more quickly and reduce the number of pre-trial hearings.