Where will the case be heard? For anyone arrested in Brighton & Hove, the answer depends on the charge. Most cases stay with the magistrates in the city centre, from drunk and disorderly on West Street to drug possession at a festival and drink-driving on the A27. Serious cases are sent for trial to the Crown Court at Hove, at the western end of the city, or to Lewes, and the city's defence firms appear at both every week. A solicitor who knows the listing habits of each court is worth having when a trial date, bail or a plea is being argued.
The first decision is made in the custody suite. Anyone held there by Sussex Police, or invited to a voluntary interview, is entitled to free legal advice regardless of income, and taking it changes what happens next: whether the case goes nowhere, ends in a caution or a community resolution, or carries on to charge. Duty solicitors cover the suite around the clock, but a named firm can be asked for.
The city's caseload has its own shape. Night-time economy offences, public order at demonstrations and football matches, drug supply around the station and the seafront, hate crime, sexual offences and domestic abuse make up much of it, together with the motoring work that keeps commuters driving: speeding on the A23, totting-up and exceptional hardship. Student clients, sometimes facing university disciplinary proceedings as well as a charge, are common.
Legal aid is means-tested in the magistrates' court and more widely available in the Crown Court; several Brighton & Hove firms hold contracts. Private clients should ask for a fixed fee for motoring cases and a staged estimate for anything else.
The defence firms serving Brighton & Hove are listed below, verified firms first. Read what criminal law involves, the general criminal law solicitors guide and whether you can get legal help for free; nearer the Solent, see criminal law solicitors in Portsmouth.
