Sheffield Magistrates' Court on Castle Street takes the overnight remands first, and by mid-morning the list tells the story of the city: a fight outside a West Street bar, a drink-driver stopped on the Parkway, a shoplifter from the Moor, a domestic incident in Parson Cross, a student caught with cannabis in Broomhall. Most will be finished there. The gravest, from serious violence and drug supply to fraud and sexual offences, are sent across the city centre to the Crown Court at the Combined Court Centre on West Bar.
Before any of that comes the police station. Everyone interviewed by South Yorkshire Police, under arrest or voluntarily, is entitled to free legal advice at the station regardless of their means, and a criminal law solicitor in Sheffield will use that interview to learn what the evidence is and to decide whether a client should answer, read a prepared statement or say nothing. Cases are often decided by that choice.
The caseload has local features. Match days at Bramall Lane and Hillsborough bring public order charges and banning order applications. The M1, the Parkway and the city's cameras keep motoring solicitors busy with totting-up bans and exceptional hardship arguments. Firearms, knife and drug supply cases reflect a long-running problem with organised groups, and the universities produce first-time offenders who need to understand how a conviction, or even a caution, will affect a career.
Legal aid covers most criminal cases, means-tested in the magistrates' court and with contributions in the Crown Court; the duty solicitor scheme covers the custody suite around the clock. Private clients should ask for a fixed fee for each stage.
The criminal defence firms serving Sheffield are listed below, verified firms first. Read what criminal law involves, whether you can get legal help for free and the general criminal law solicitors guide; for cases heard at Doncaster see criminal law solicitors in Doncaster.
