4.3 Arraignment, Pleas & Change of Plea

UK Bar — Criminal Litigation, Evidence and Sentencing Exam

Track your progress as you read

Finished sections get a check mark.

1 Chapter 1: Introduction & BSB Assessment Overview

1.1 BSB Centralised Assessment Structure & Regulations 1.2 Overriding Objective & Court Structure 1.3 Classification of Offences, Court Jurisdiction & Funding

2 Chapter 2: Commencing Proceedings, Charges & Allocation

2.1 Commencing Proceedings & Police Station Procedure 2.2 First Hearing & Classification of Offences 2.3 Allocation and Mode of Trial 2.4 Sending for Trial & Committal for Sentence 2.5 Youth Court & Special Allocation Rules 2.6 Sentencing Powers of the Youth Court

3 Chapter 3: Bail, Remand & Case Management

3.1 Right to Bail & Statutory Exceptions 3.2 Bail Conditions, Breach & Appeals 3.3 Remands, Adjournments & Custody Time Limits 3.4 Case Management & Pre-Trial Hearings 3.5 Prosecution & Defence Disclosure

4 Chapter 4: Indictments & Preparation for Trial in the Crown Court

4.1 The Indictment: Form, Content, Time Limits & Specimen Counts 4.2 Joinder, Severance, Amendment & Voluntary Bills 4.3 Arraignment, Pleas & Change of Plea 4.4 PTPH, Applications to Dismiss & Offering No Evidence

5 Chapter 5: Criminal Evidence — General Principles & PACE Exclusions

5.1 Preliminary Evidential Matters: Relevance, Admissibility & Tribunals 5.2 Burden and Standard of Proof & Presumptions 5.3 Confession Evidence & Mandatory Exclusion 5.4 Discretionary Exclusion of Unfair Evidence 5.5 Inferences from Silence

6 Chapter 6: Special Evidentiary Rules — Hearsay, Character & Identification

6.1 Hearsay Evidence & The Four Gateways 6.2 Hearsay Safeguards, Multiple Hearsay & Procedure 6.3 Defendant Bad Character Evidence 6.4 Non-Defendant Bad Character & Co-Defendant Character 6.5 Good Character, Proof of Convictions & Bad Character Procedure 6.6 Visual Identification & Turnbull Guidelines

7 Chapter 7: Witnesses, Privilege & Opinion Evidence

7.1 Witness Competence, Compellability & Special Measures 7.2 Oaths, Affirmations & Compelling Witness Attendance 7.3 Examination in Chief: Leading Questions, Memory Refreshing & Hostile Witnesses 7.4 Cross-Examination, Previous Inconsistent Statements & Re-Examination 7.5 Opinion Evidence & Expert Witnesses 7.6 Privilege, Public Interest Immunity & Immunity

8 Chapter 8: Trial Procedure in the Magistrates' Court & Crown Court

8.1 Magistrates' Court Trial Procedure 8.2 Summary Trial: Pre-Trial Rulings, Absence & Abuse of Process 8.3 Crown Court Trial Procedure 8.4 Jury Trial: Absence, Unrepresented Defendants & Abuse of Process 8.5 Speeches, Summing Up & Verdicts

9 Chapter 9: Sentencing Framework & Guidelines

9.1 Sentencing Framework, Principles & Procedure 9.2 Seriousness, Guilty Plea Reduction, Aggravation & Mitigation 9.3 Sentencing Procedure: Newton Hearings, Reports & Goodyear Indications 9.4 Custodial Sentences, Suspension & Release 9.5 Mandatory & Minimum Custodial Sentences 9.6 Community Orders, Fines & Discharges 9.7 Ancillary Orders, Costs & Dangerous Offenders

10 Chapter 10: Appeals & Post-Trial Remedies

10.1 Appeals from the Magistrates' Court (Crown Court & High Court Case Stated) 10.2 Rectifying Mistakes, Case Stated & Judicial Review 10.3 Crown Court Appeals (Court of Appeal Criminal Division & Supreme Court) 10.4 CACD Procedure: Rectification, Leave, Renewal, Loss of Time & Fresh Evidence 10.5 Prosecution Appeals, Attorney General's References & the CCRC

4.3 Arraignment, Pleas & Change of Plea

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

Arraignment under CrimPR rule 3.32 requires each count to be put to the defendant, who must plead personally; counsel cannot enter a plea on the defendant's behalf.

A plea of guilty is itself a conviction, so no evidence is called and the court proceeds to sentence; a plea of not guilty puts every element of the offence in issue.

A defendant may plead guilty to a lesser offence under section 6(1)(b) of the Criminal Law Act 1967, but the plea is only effective if the prosecution accepts it and the court approves.

A change of plea from not guilty to guilty may be made at any time before verdict, but a change from guilty to not guilty requires the leave of the judge and may only be made before sentence.

An ambiguous plea must be resolved by the court, and if it cannot be clarified a plea of not guilty must be entered.

Last updated: August 2026

4.3 Arraignment, Pleas & Change of Plea

Arraignment is the moment the indictment is put to the defendant and the plea is taken. Everything downstream — the burden of proof, the calling of evidence, credit for plea, the jurisdiction to sentence — flows from it.

1. The mechanics

CrimPR r.3.32 governs arraignment. The Crown Court officer or the court:

• Reads each count aloud, or places it before the defendant;
• Asks whether the defendant pleads guilty or not guilty to it;

Records the plea to each count separately.

Two rules are absolute:

The defendant must plead personally. Counsel cannot plead for the client. A plea entered by counsel is a nullity, and a conviction founded on it will be quashed. The rationale is that only the defendant can admit the offence.

Each count is put separately. A defendant may plead guilty to some counts and not guilty to others ( mixed pleas ), and the court then determines whether the not guilty counts proceed to trial and, if so, whether sentence on the admitted counts should await the verdicts (it normally should, so the judge sentences with the full picture).

2. The pleas available

• Plea Effect
• Not guilty Puts every element in issue; the prosecution must prove the whole case
• Guilty Is itself a conviction ; no evidence is called and the court moves to sentence

Guilty to a lesser offence (Criminal Law Act 1967, s.6(1)(b) ) Effective only if the prosecution accepts it and the court approves ; otherwise the trial proceeds on the count as charged

Autrefois acquit / autrefois convict Special pleas in bar: the defendant has already been acquitted or convicted of the same offence, or of an offence of which they could have been convicted on the earlier indictment

Not guilty by reason of insanity Leads to the special verdict and the disposals under the Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964

Pardon A rare special plea in bar

Standing mute. If the defendant says nothing, a jury must determine whether they are mute of malice or mute by visitation of God . If mute of malice, a plea of not guilty is entered.

Effect of a guilty plea. Because the plea is the conviction, the judge sentences on the prosecution's version of the facts unless a basis of plea is agreed or a Newton hearing resolves the dispute. A defendant who pleads guilty but then asserts facts amounting to a defence has entered an equivocal plea, which the court must resolve.

3. Fitness to plead

Where the defendant's mental condition is in issue, the court determines fitness to plead under s.4 of the Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964 . The question is decided by the judge (since 2004; formerly a jury) on the written or oral evidence of two or more registered medical practitioners, at least one of whom is duly approved.

If the defendant is found fit , the trial proceeds and arraignment takes place in the ordinary way.

If unfit , there is no trial of guilt. Instead a jury conducts a trial of the facts under s.4A , deciding only whether the defendant did the act or made the omission charged. If satisfied, the disposals are a hospital order , a supervision order or an absolute discharge — not a conviction and not a sentence.

4. Change of plea

The rules are deliberately asymmetric, because the two directions of travel carry very different risks.

Not guilty → guilty

Permitted at any time before the jury returns its verdict . The defendant asks for the count to be put again, and pleads guilty. Credit for plea is calculated by reference to the stage reached, so a change on the day of trial attracts only about one tenth. If the jury has already been sworn, the judge discharges them from returning a verdict on that count.

Guilty → not guilty

Only with the leave of the judge , and only before sentence is passed . Once sentence has been passed the Crown Court is functus and the remedy lies in the Court of Appeal. The discretion is exercised sparingly and requires a proper explanation — for example that the defendant did not understand the charge, was subjected to improper pressure, or has a defence they did not appreciate was available. That the defendant has simply changed their mind is not enough.

Equivocal and ambiguous pleas

An ambiguous plea is one where the words used do not clearly amount to guilty or not guilty ("guilty, but I never touched him"). The court must seek to clarify it; if clarification is impossible, a plea of not guilty must be entered. An equivocal plea entered in the magistrates' court is a recognised ground on which the Crown Court, hearing an appeal, may remit the case for a not guilty plea to be entered notwithstanding s.108(1)(a) MCA 1980.

Exam traps in this section

The defendant must plead personally ; a plea by counsel is a nullity.

A plea of guilty to a lesser offence needs both prosecution acceptance and court approval .

Guilty → not guilty needs leave and must precede sentence. Not guilty → guilty needs neither.

A finding of unfitness leads to a trial of the facts on the act or omission only — never a conviction.