Arrested by Staffordshire Police on a Saturday night in Hanley? The first thing to know is that advice from a solicitor at the police station is free, whatever you earn, and that asking for it does not make you look guilty. What is said in the interview room shapes the whole case, from whether a caution is offered to what the prosecution can rely on at trial, and criminal law solicitors in Stoke-on-Trent, or the accredited representatives they send, attend the custody suite around the clock.
Magistrates' cases from the city, including most motoring matters, are heard at the North Staffordshire Justice Centre in Newcastle-under-Lyme; anything serious goes to the Crown Court at the Combined Court Centre in Hanley, where Stoke-on-Trent firms instruct barristers or appear through their own higher-court advocates.
The caseload reflects the city. Drug cases are a large part of it, including supply, cultivation and the possession offences linked to the synthetic drugs that have troubled the Potteries for years. Public order and assault charges follow the pubs and the football, with the Stoke City and Port Vale derby a fixture in the court diary as well as the sporting one. Domestic abuse allegations, burglary, benefit fraud, driving while disqualified and drink or drug driving on the A500 and A50 make up most of the rest.
Most defendants qualify for legal aid, subject to a means test in the magistrates' court, and duty solicitors cover the custody suite and both courts. Privately paying clients should ask for a fixed fee for a motoring matter and a written estimate for each stage of anything larger.
Criminal defence firms covering Stoke-on-Trent are listed below with verified practices first. The guide to what criminal law involves explains the stages of a case, the general criminal law solicitors page describes the service, and can I get legal help for free sets out legal aid; firms in the south of the county are on the Staffordshire search.
