Lincoln Crown Court sits inside the castle walls, a few steps from the vault that holds the city's 1215 Magna Carta, and defendants have crossed the bailey to be tried there since the 1820s. Anyone charged with a serious offence in most of Lincolnshire will end up in that courtroom, usually after months of waiting, and the criminal defence solicitors of Lincoln know its judges and its lists.
Most cases never get that far. Lincolnshire Police's custody suites are spread across a county that takes two hours to cross, and a solicitor or accredited representative may drive a long way at night for an interview that is free to the suspect, whatever their income, and is the most important hour of the case. The magistrates in Lincoln and Boston deal with the bulk of what follows: drink and drug driving on long, straight fen roads, summer assaults in Skegness, shoplifting, domestic abuse and the motoring offences that threaten the licence of someone with no bus to catch.
The county's crime has a rural character. Hare coursing on the fens is a Lincolnshire speciality that the police pursue hard, with vehicle seizures and criminal behaviour orders; thefts of tractors, GPS units and fuel from farms, and prosecutions for labour exploitation in the packhouses, reach the Crown Court; and service personnel from the RAF bases arrested off duty face service consequences on top of the civilian ones. Two prisons, Lincoln and North Sea Camp near Boston, keep solicitors on the road.
The means test for legal aid applies in the magistrates' court and contributions may be sought in the Crown Court; the police station is always free. Fewer Lincolnshire firms hold criminal contracts each year, so ask early, and private clients should get a price per stage.
Criminal defence firms serving Lincoln are listed below, verified firms first. Read what criminal law involves, can I get legal help for free and the general criminal law solicitors page.
