Nobody has been tried at Lancaster Castle since 2012. The courtrooms are a tourist attraction now, and the serious criminal cases from Lancaster, Morecambe, Heysham and the Lune Valley are sent to Preston Crown Court instead. The magistrates' court in the city still handles the start of every case and the end of most, and criminal law solicitors in Lancaster divide their time between that court, the police station and the motorway to Preston.
Police station advice comes first, and it is free to everyone, arrested or attending voluntarily, whatever their income. The custody suite may be some distance away, and the Lancaster duty scheme sends a solicitor or accredited representative out at any hour. What is decided in that interview room, including whether to answer questions at all, shapes everything that follows.
The district's cases have a particular mix. The M6 produces a steady flow of speeding, drink and drug driving, dangerous driving and totting-up disqualifications, often for people whose work depends on a licence. Student nights in the city and summer evenings on Morecambe's seafront bring assaults, disorder and drug possession; rural crime on the fells includes sheep theft, poaching, quad bike theft and firearms certificate disputes; the port at Heysham sees customs and immigration offences; and domestic abuse, fraud and sexual offence allegations form the serious end of the list. The bay's cockle beds have been tightly regulated since the 2004 tragedy.
Legal aid still covers most Crown Court cases, with contributions based on income, and magistrates' court cases subject to a means test; Lancaster firms with contracts still exist, though fewer than before. Motoring cases are often fixed-fee privately.
Lancaster's defence firms follow, verified ones first. What criminal law involves describes a case from arrest to sentence, legal aid is explained in can you get legal help for free, and the general criminal law solicitors page sets out typical fees; for the Crown Court itself see criminal law solicitors in Preston.
