On a Saturday night the Bigg Market, Collingwood Street and the Quayside hold more people than some towns, and by Monday morning the magistrates' court in Newcastle has a list to match: assaults outside clubs, drunk and disorderly, criminal damage, drink and drug driving on the way home, and the occasional stag party from elsewhere discovering that Northumbria Police do not share the joke. Criminal defence solicitors in Newcastle know that list well, and most of their work starts earlier, in the custody suite, before any charge is decided.
Anyone arrested, or invited to a voluntary interview, is entitled to free legal advice at the police station regardless of income. The duty solicitor scheme covers the city round the clock, but you can name your own firm. What is said in interview shapes the case: a prepared statement, a no-comment interview or a full account each has consequences, and the choice needs advice.
Serious cases go to Newcastle Crown Court at the Combined Court Centre on the Quayside, which tries matters from across Tyne and Wear and Northumberland: drug supply, serious violence, sexual offences, fraud and the organised crime that follows the A1 and the port. The football club brings banning order applications and match-day offences. The universities bring students facing their first charge, often for drugs or an incident on a night out, where a caution can carry consequences for a career that a solicitor can sometimes head off.
Legal aid is available in the magistrates' court subject to a means test and in the Crown Court with possible contributions. Private fees should be quoted by stage; motoring cases are often fixed-fee.
The criminal defence firms covering Newcastle are listed below, verified ones first and then by distance. Read what criminal law involves, whether you can get legal help for free and the general criminal law solicitors page; Wearside clients whose trial has been sent here should also see criminal law solicitors in Sunderland.
