What should you say in a police interview at Trafalgar House? Usually less than you think, and never without a solicitor. Anyone arrested or asked to attend a voluntary interview in Bradford can have a solicitor at the police station free of charge, whatever their income, and a good criminal defence solicitor will obtain disclosure from the officers, advise on whether to answer questions, give a written statement or make no comment, and sit in on the interview itself.
Cases then go to Bradford and Keighley Magistrates' Court on The Tyrls, where most are dealt with, and the serious ones are sent to Bradford Crown Court at the Combined Court Centre on Exchange Square. The district's caseload is broad: drug supply and county lines, violence and public order, domestic abuse, burglary and vehicle crime, fraud and money laundering, and a heavy run of motoring cases from the M606, the M62 and the city's ring road, from drink and drug driving to totting-up bans for the private hire drivers whose licence is their living. Appeals against council taxi licensing decisions are heard by the magistrates too, and they are a recognised line of work for local firms. In the Crown Court the solicitor instructs a barrister and builds the defence case over many months.
Legal aid is available for most criminal cases in Bradford: means-tested in the magistrates' court, and in the Crown Court with contributions for higher earners that are refunded on acquittal. Private clients, including most motoring defendants, should ask for a fixed fee for each stage, and many Bradford firms quote one.
Criminal defence solicitors in Bradford and Keighley are listed under this guide, verified firms first. Read what criminal law involves, free legal help and the general criminal law solicitors page.
