In criminal cases, there are currently a number of schemes to provide legal assistance to defendants at the State's expense. The system is currently being reformed, and we are only providing a brief outline of the situation.

In general

If you are on a low income, you can obtain general legal advice under the Legal Advice and Assistance scheme. This does not cover assistance at the police station or at court, and only covers a limited amount of work by the solicitor. It will enable you to have a free initial consultation at which the solicitor can advise you about the seriousness of the charges against you and help you fill in a full Legal Aid application. The solicitor could also, for example, write to the Crown Prosecution Service to suggest that the evidence against you is so weak that the charges should be dropped.

At the police station

Everyone has the right to free legal advice at the police station.

At Court

At the first hearing, everyone can be represented free of charge by the Duty Solicitor, who will be a local solicitor on a rota to provide this service. In most cases, any solicitor who is on the Duty Solicitor scheme can also come to court under the scheme to deal with anyone who specifically wants them, whether or not it is that solicitor's turn under the rota.

A Legal Aid certificate will always be needed for any case which will continue past the first hearing and where the defendant does not pay a solicitor privately. At present, to get legal aid, a defendant must satisfy the court that it is in the interests of justice that they they have legal representation, and that they cannot afford to pay for this themselves.

There are a number of reasons which may justify the grant of legal aid in the interests of justice. The most common is that the defendant risks a prison sentence. A solicitor will be able to advise as to which reason, if any, might apply in your case.

To show that you cannot afford to pay for legal representation privately, you will need to enclose wage slips, benefits books, rent books, records of mortgage payments and proof of any other income and outgoings with your application for legal aid. Unfortunately, spending on food, heating etc. cannot be taken into account. However, it will help speed up progress if you bring as many financial documents as possible to your first appointment with your solicitor, if you may be applying for legal aid.

Legal Aid can be granted either with or without a contribution. If there is a contribution payable, you will have to pay a weekly sum throughout the life of the case. If there is no contribution, your legal representation will be free. Back to our homepage