§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Attorney-General what guidance is given to magistrates as to whether magistrates courts or Crown courts are the appropriate courts for dealing with domestic burglary.
§ The Attorney-GeneralSubject to the relevant legal provisions, the decision whether an either-way offence should be tried summarily or committed to the Crown Court is one for the discretion of the court. However, the Lord Chief Justice has set up a working party under the chairmanship of Lord Justice Farquharson to consider what guidelines might properly be given to magistrates on the committal of either-way cases, including domestic burglary, to the Crown court.