Two prisons stand within the Wakefield district: HMP Wakefield, the high-security prison on the edge of the city centre, and HMP New Hall, the women's prison at Flockton. Add the headquarters of West Yorkshire Police and the result is a city with more of the criminal justice system in it than its size suggests, and a bar of criminal solicitors used to prison law as well as defence work: adjudications, parole hearings, recalls and licence conditions all come through the same offices.
Defence work begins at the police station. Anyone arrested or invited to a voluntary interview in Wakefield is entitled to free legal advice there, whatever their income, and a solicitor will get the police disclosure, advise on whether to answer questions and attend the interview. Most cases are then dealt with by the magistrates' court serving the district, and the serious ones, from drug supply and serious violence to fraud and sexual offences, are sent to the Crown Court in Leeds, where a Wakefield solicitor will instruct a barrister and prepare the defence over the months before trial.
The local caseload reflects the district: motoring offences from the M1, M62 and A1(M), including drink and drug driving and the totting-up bans that end a haulage driver's career; violence and public order in the five towns and on Westgate on a Saturday night; domestic abuse; burglary and vehicle theft; benefit and business fraud; and offences committed inside the prisons.
Legal aid covers most criminal cases in Wakefield, means-tested in the magistrates' court and with possible contributions in the Crown Court. Motoring and private clients should ask for a fixed fee for each stage, which most local firms will quote.
Criminal defence solicitors in Wakefield and the surrounding towns are listed beneath this guide, verified firms first. See what criminal law involves, free legal help and the general criminal law solicitors page.
