Chester Castle has held prisoners and tried them for centuries, and Chester Crown Court still sits within its walls, hearing serious cases from the whole of Cheshire. The magistrates' court in the city deals with the volume, and a criminal law solicitor in Chester appears in both, often on the same day.
The border matters here more than in any other area of law, not because the law changes but because the courts do. An arrest by North Wales Police for something that happened in Flintshire or Wrexham goes to a Welsh magistrates' court and, if serious, to Mold Crown Court; the same conduct in Cheshire goes to Chester. Firms on this side of the border routinely cover both.
Before any of that comes the police station. Advice there is free to everyone, whatever their income, whether they have been arrested or invited to a voluntary interview, and the custody suites of Cheshire Constabulary are covered by a duty scheme around the clock. Chester's caseload runs from race-day disorder and drink driving on the rural lanes and the A55, through drug supply cases that follow the routes between Liverpool, Manchester and north Wales, to rural crime, firearms certificate matters, fraud and the occasional serious offence that fills the Castle courtroom for weeks. Motoring cases, from speeding on the M53 to exceptional hardship arguments, keep many Cheshire households on the road.
Legal aid is available in the magistrates' court subject to means and in the Crown Court with contributions; not every Chester firm holds a contract, so ask early. Private fees are usually fixed for motoring and quoted per stage for the rest.
Defence firms covering Chester and the border are ranked below, verified ones first. Start with what criminal law involves and the note on free legal help; the general criminal law solicitors page explains how to choose, and the larger court centre across the Mersey has its own page, criminal law solicitors in Liverpool.
