Arrested in Norfolk, you will probably not be taken to a police station in the ordinary sense. The county's custody is handled at police investigation centres, mostly outside Norwich, and a defence solicitor's first contact with a new client is often a call from one of them in the small hours. Advice there is free to everyone, whatever their income, and it is when the case is most easily shaped: whether to answer questions, whether a caution is a sensible outcome, and what should not be said about a night on Prince of Wales Road.
Norwich Crown Court on Bishopgate tries the serious cases from most of the county, with King's Lynn taking some from the west, and Norwich Magistrates' Court deals with everything else: drink and drug driving on the A47 and A11, assaults and public order in the city centre, shoplifting, domestic abuse allegations and the football-related orders that follow trouble at Carrow Road. Norfolk's size gives the list a rural character too. Hare coursing and other wildlife offences, firearms held on certificate, agricultural vehicle prosecutions, marine offences on the coast and the drug supply lines that reach Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn from London all come before the Norwich courts; HMP Norwich, HMP Wayland and HMP Bure are all within the county.
In the magistrates' court legal aid depends on a means test; in the Crown Court it is granted more widely, sometimes with contributions. The duty rota covers all of Norfolk, though fewer firms hold a criminal contract than once did, so ask for a particular solicitor early. Private clients should ask for a fixed fee for a motoring case and a staged estimate for anything more.
The criminal defence firms serving Norwich are listed below, verified firms first. Read what criminal law involves, the general criminal law solicitors page and whether you can get legal help for free, and use the Norfolk search for firms nearer King's Lynn or Great Yarmouth.
