Study guide
4.4 PTPH, Applications to Dismiss & Offering No Evidence
UK Bar — Criminal Litigation, Evidence and Sentencing Exam
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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
4.4 PTPH, Applications to Dismiss & Offering No Evidence
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
The plea and trial preparation hearing is the single pre-trial hearing in most Crown Court cases, at which arraignment takes place and, on a not guilty plea, the trial is timetabled on the PTPH form.
An application to dismiss under Schedule 3 to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 must be made after service of the prosecution evidence and before arraignment, and succeeds where the evidence would not be sufficient for a properly directed jury to convict.
The test on an application to dismiss mirrors the second limb of Galbraith, so the judge takes the prosecution evidence at its highest.
The prosecution may offer no evidence under section 17 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967, and a verdict of not guilty is then recorded without any jury being empanelled.
Leaving a count on the file marked 'not to be proceeded with without the leave of this court or the Court of Appeal' is not an acquittal, and the count can be revived only with leave.
Last updated: August 2026
4.4 PTPH, Applications to Dismiss & Offering No Evidence
Between sending and trial, three things can happen to a Crown Court case: it can be managed towards trial, it can be killed by the defence, or it can be abandoned by the Crown. Each has its own procedure, and the differences between them — especially between a dismissal, an acquittal and a count left on the file — are heavily examined.
1. The plea and trial preparation hearing (PTPH)
Under the Criminal Practice Directions the PTPH is normally the only pre-trial hearing in a Crown Court case, and it is listed roughly 28 days after sending . It has two halves:
The plea half. The defendant is arraigned — the counts are put and pleas taken. If the plea is guilty the court proceeds to sentence, adjourning for reports if necessary. If not guilty, the case moves to the second half.
The trial preparation half. Using the standard PTPH form , the judge and advocates:
- Identify the real issues in the case (the single most important entry on the form);
- Fix the trial date and a realistic time estimate;
Set a timetable for defence statements, bad character and hearsay applications, expert evidence, special measures and any s.78 or s.76 admissibility arguments;
Identify witnesses required to attend and those whose statements can be read under s.9 CJA 1967 , and record agreed facts for a s.10 admission;
Deal with disclosure , ground rules for vulnerable witnesses, and any need for an intermediary.
Further case management hearings are the exception , not the rule. The court's active case management duty under CrimPR Part 3 , and the duty of every participant under r.1.2 to further the overriding objective, mean that failures to comply with the timetable attract sanctions rather than sympathy.
Rulings made at the PTPH are binding pre-trial rulings under s.40 CPIA 1996 — binding until the case is disposed of, variable only in the interests of justice and, on an application, only where there has been a material change of circumstances .
2. Applications to dismiss
Schedule 3, paragraph 2 to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 gives a defendant sent for trial the right to apply to the Crown Court judge to dismiss the offence or offences.
Requirement Detail
Timing After service of the prosecution evidence and before arraignment . Once the defendant has been arraigned, the right is lost
Form Written application, with oral argument if the judge permits; the defence may not adduce oral evidence, and the judge may permit oral evidence only in the interests of justice
Test The charge must be dismissed if the evidence would not be sufficient for the defendant to be properly convicted
Effect The count is dismissed; no further proceedings may be brought on it except by way of a voluntary bill of indictment
The test is the second limb of Galbraith transplanted to the pre-trial stage: the judge assumes the prosecution evidence is taken at its highest , and asks whether a properly directed jury could convict on it. The judge is not weighing which witness to believe; the application succeeds only where the evidence is so tenuous, or so inherently weak, that no reasonable jury could safely convict.
Note the sharp practical consequence of the timing rule: an application to dismiss must be made before arraignment, whereas a submission of no case to answer is made at the close of the prosecution case. A defendant who misses the pre-arraignment window is confined to the Galbraith submission at trial.
3. Offering no evidence
Where the Crown decides not to proceed on a count, its options are:
Offering no evidence — CJA 1967, s.17. The prosecution formally offers no evidence and the court records a verdict of not guilty without any jury being empanelled. That verdict has "the same effect as if the defendant had been tried and acquitted": it is a full acquittal , and any subsequent prosecution for the same offence would be met with a plea of autrefois acquit .
Leaving a count on the file. The count is ordered to lie on the file, marked "not to be proceeded with without the leave of this court or of the Court of Appeal" . This is not an acquittal . The count is simply parked, usually because the defendant has pleaded guilty to other counts which adequately reflect the criminality, and it can be revived — but only with leave, which is rarely given. Defence advocates should be alert to the difference: a client told the count is "dropped" needs to understand that it has not been.
Discontinuance and withdrawal. Before the case reaches the Crown Court the CPS may discontinue under s.23 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985. Discontinuance is not an acquittal either, and proceedings can be reinstituted.
Disposal Acquittal? Can it be revived?
- Offering no evidence (s.17 CJA 1967) Yes — not guilty verdict recorded No (autrefois acquit)
- Left on the file No Only with the leave of the Crown Court or the Court of Appeal
- Dismissal (Sch. 3, para. 2 CDA 1998) Not a verdict, but proceedings end Only by voluntary bill of indictment
- Discontinuance (s.23 POA 1985) No Yes — proceedings may be reinstituted
- Exam traps in this section
An application to dismiss must precede arraignment . After arraignment, the only route is Galbraith at half time.
Dismissal is not an acquittal, but revival requires a voluntary bill .
Offering no evidence under s.17 is an acquittal; leaving a count on the file is not .
PTPH rulings bind under s.40 CPIA 1996 , so a party wanting to reopen one must show a material change of circumstances .