Blackstone's Magistrates' Court Handbook 2011

Book excerpt: Blackstone's Magistrates' Court Handbook provides an indispensable, complete, and practical guide for the busy court advocate, offering extensive coverage of offenses, sentencing, procedure, and evidential issues. Covering all the key aspects of magistrates' court practice, the book places strong emphasis on the areas most likely to arise at short notice requiring an instant response from the advocate, as well as on those offenses most frequently experienced at court by a legal aid lawyer, such as public order, drugs, weapons, driving, criminal damage, and sexual offenses. Blackstone's Magistrates' Court Handbook is presented in an easy-to-use format, facilitating quick reading and instant decision-making. The text is broken down with frequent headings and bullet points, and there are a number of tables and flow-charts, particularly on complex sentencing topics, as well as a clear system of icons to aid comprehension and speedy navigation.