Is the outcome of a plea hearing information that is in the public domain?

[chaosagain]

I'm potentially a witness for the prosecution in a case involving an immediate family member.

Recently, there was a plea hearing where he entered a plea of guilty to some offences and not guilty to others (there are around 20 offences involved).

I didn't go, but I understand it was open to the public and potentially to the press (although no press attended).

Apparently, the only information the police can give me is that. They can't tell me which charges he entered which plea for (or even what the exact charges are).

They advised me that the defendant or his legal team would be able to tell me this. Given that I've had no contact with the defendant for a year and don't wish to have any, this isn't an option for me.

I'd like to know. Partly, as it might help me have a good idea of whether I'm likely to be needed as a witness in court later this year and partly because I'd like to know what the most serious offence is/what kind of sentence he's likely to be looking at. None of the offences were against me, so I'm not a direct victim in that sense.

Are the outcomes of plea hearings in a crown court usually in the public domain? This is the military system, so it might be different, but it would be helpful to know what the civilian system is as it's a parallel system to a crown court. And if so, how do you find information about them?

Yes they are available, as long as you know the name of the defendant. Call the listings department of the court and ask them. They might ask you who you are but just give your name and, in theory, they should be able to tell you.

However, IMO they sometimes try not to tell you, citing data protection. It varies massively from court to court. This is bollocks. The outcome of court cases should never be a secret, unless there are valid reporting restrictions etc.

Oh, and our local magistrates court deals with all listings for the crown and surrounding courts so it may be that you have to do a bit of ringing around to find the right person.

Good luck.

Phone the police force that dealt with it and ask to be put through to the witness care unit dealing with the case.

Under the "no witness no justice" scheme, you should have been updated. They can tell you that information. It's just that the person you spoke to clearly had no idea what they were talking about.

If the police are dealing it's not military. Military matters are dealt with by RMP and don't go to civilian courts.