• About us
   
• About legal aid
   
• Community Legal Service (CLS)
   
• Criminal Defence Service (CDS)
   

Information & resources

Introduction to the Criminal Defence Service (CDS)
Contracting
Wider Criminal Justice System
Regional Duty Solicitor Committees
Duty Solicitor Rotas

Introduction to the Criminal Defence Service (CDS)

The purpose of the CDS is to ensure that people suspected or accused of a crime have access to advice, assistance and representation, as the interests of justice require.The Lord Chancellor has set objectives for the Commission regarding the CDS, which are as follows:

• To ensure that eligible individuals have access to appropriate CDS services – including at police stations and in magistrates' courts.
• To ensure that services provided are of appropriate quality, and that the quality of services improves over time.
• To ensure effective control over CDS expenditure and progressively improve the value for money of the services it provides and purchases.

The importance of criminal defence services is also reflected in statutory and human rights requirements, which provide that:

• People arrested and held in custody have a right to consult a solicitor privately at any time.
• Defendants have a right to defend themselves in person, or through legal assistance of their own choosing, or, if they have not sufficient means to pay for legal assistance, to be given it free when the interests of justice so require.

The other objectives of the CDS within the legal framework established for it are to:

• Help ensure that suspects and defendants receive a fair hearing at each stage in the criminal justice process, and in particular that they can state their case on an equal footing with the prosecution.
• Protect the interests of the suspect or defendant, for example by making the prosecution prove its case or advising the defendant to enter an early guilty plea if that is appropriate.
• Maintain the suspect’s or defendant’s confidence in the system and facilitate his or her effective participation in the process.

Duty solicitors are available at police stations and magistrates’ courts and offer free legal advice.

Contracting

Since 02 April 2001, private practice solicitors’ offices must hold a General Criminal Contract to carry out criminal defence work funded by the Commission. Firms are audited against the Contract to ensure they continue to meet quality assurance standards.

Since May 2001, the Commission has also directly employed a number of criminal defence lawyers, known as public defenders. The Public Defender Service is able to provide the same services as lawyers in private practice. There are currently 8 Public Defenders offices.

Wider Criminal Justice System

The priority for the LSC is the effective operation of the CDS as an integral part of the Criminal Justice System.

The Department of Constitutional Affairs, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Home Office share responsibility for increasing the value for money from the Criminal Justice System and improving the delivery of justice by increasing the number of offences brought to justice.

The Criminal Defence Service facilitates this by:

Providing legal advice and representation to people under investigation or charged with criminal offences.
Facilitating the fair, efficient and effective operation of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) and influencing positive improvements in it.
Helping people to address the causes of their offending behaviour and reducing re-offending through effective links with other CJS initiatives and the Community Legal Service.
The LSC is involved in the Local Criminal Justice Boards in Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire as the first steps in establishing the CDS as an integral part of the Criminal Justice System.

Regional Duty Solicitor Committees

There are two Regional Duty Solicitor Committees in the North West region, one covering Cheshire and Greater Manchester and one covering Cumbria and Lancashire.

The role of the committees is to ensure the effective operation of the Local Duty Solicitor Schemes. The membership of the Committees is composed of:

• Local Duty Solicitors
• Magistrates
• Magistrates Clerks
• Police· Probation Service
• Crown Prosecution Service
• Lay members

Duty Solicitor Rotas

Please click on the link below for the appropriate rota. These are updated in sequence at the beginning of each month. For information about Duty Solicitor rotas contact Chris Jeacock (0161 244 5137)(NWA) or Carrie Costin (0161 244 5130)(NWB)

Rotas are organised alphabetically. Presently only the October - December rotas appear.

Last updated: 02 January 2007