united-kingdom court human-rights arrest protest
How to accomplish a court hearing after arrest without being stuck in prison cell for more than 4 years like Assange?
<p><strong>TLDR / UPDATE / SUMMARY:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Police: I'm arresting you.</li>
<li>Me: You are breaking the law, what I do is minor.</li>
<li>Police: No, I'm arresting you, what you do is more than minor.</li>
<li>Arrested.</li>
</ul>
<p>Now the question is: how quickly can I land in court to dispute the arrest?</p>
<p>Me discussing with the police: it is on the level &quot;he said&quot; / &quot;she said&quot; but they have monopoly on using force and it is only them who can arrest me (I cannot arrest them).</p>
<hr />
<p>I have never been arrested, I do not know how long it takes to land in court after the arrest.</p>
<p>I would like to know how to professionally challenge authority and their interpretation of &quot;anything more than minor&quot;</p>
<p>Since &quot;anything more than minor&quot; is not strictly defined, due to Climate Emergency, the threshold has been moved, therefore burden of proof is now on law enforcement. How long before we can cross-examine each other in the court of law? Sitting in a cell while waiting for a trial - <strong>MEH</strong>. Going to a court to have a debate with law enforcement - <strong>HELL YEAH</strong>.</p>
<p>The reason why I can be inclined to do it:</p>
<ul>
<li>Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (protest illegal)</li>
<li>Public Order Act 2023 (intention of protest illegal)</li>
<li>Secondary legislation through a back door (&quot;anything more than minor&quot;)</li>
<li>Judge Silas Reid putting people to jail for telling the truth</li>
<li>More people arrested for sitting on a pavement and holding a sign</li>
</ul>
<p>Please allow me to quote: <a href="https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2023/9-june/news/uk/retired-priest-among-protesters-referred-to-attorney-general" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2023/9-june/news/uk/retired-priest-among-protesters-referred-to-attorney-general</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>“When you take the stand, you take an oath to speak the ‘whole truth’. Our motivation is a crucial part of why we are there. I’m not a hoodlum sitting in the road for the fun of it. By not being allowed to speak about our motivation for taking action, we are being asked to break that oath by the judge.”</p>
</blockquote>
<hr />
<p>Some reading on &quot;more than minor&quot;:</p>
<p>Policing Insight: <a href="https://policinginsight.com/features/opinion/the-end-of-protest-service-values-and-public-trust-are-more-important-than-assessing-more-than-minor-hinderance/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://policinginsight.com/features/opinion/the-end-of-protest-service-values-and-public-trust-are-more-important-than-assessing-more-than-minor-hinderance/</a></p>
<p>openDemocracy: <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/police-powers-ban-protest-laws-suella-braverman/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/police-powers-ban-protest-laws-suella-braverman/</a></p>
<p>EDIT / UPDATE:</p>
<p>More resources, just search this phrase, use the quotes for more precise results:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot;more than minor&quot; protest</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That's why was repeating &quot;more than minor&quot;</p>
<p>Legal challenge by Liberty: <a href="https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/issue/liberty-launches-legal-action-against-home-secretary-for-overriding-parliament-on-protest-powers/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/issue/liberty-launches-legal-action-against-home-secretary-for-overriding-parliament-on-protest-powers/</a></p>
<p>The Justice Gap: <a href="https://www.thejusticegap.com/liberty-launches-legal-action-against-home-secretary-for-breaching-constitutional-principles/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.thejusticegap.com/liberty-launches-legal-action-against-home-secretary-for-breaching-constitutional-principles/</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Home Secretary has now altered the law, constituting anything causing “minor disruption” to being “serious disruption” and worthy of police action. According to a cross party parliamentary committee, this is the first time the government has turned to secondary legislation to make changes to a law already rejected in primary legislation by parliament.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Amnesty International: <a href="https://www.amnesty.org.uk/files/2023-06/Amnesty%20International%20UK%20-%20%20Briefing%20on%20Revised%20Protest%20Regulations.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.amnesty.org.uk/files/2023-06/Amnesty%20International%20UK%20-%20%20Briefing%20on%20Revised%20Protest%20Regulations.pdf</a></p>
<hr />
<p>You can definitely dig deeper into protesting / intention of protest, but in the meantime please advise how to quickly and efficiently land in court after a potential arrest?</p>

<p><a href="/questions/tagged/canada" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;canada&#39;" aria-label="show questions tagged &#39;canada&#39;" rel="tag" aria-labelledby="tag-canada-tooltip-container">canada</a></p>
<p>There is a presumptive ceiling on the allowable time between charge and trial: 18 months for offences to be tried in provincial court, and 30 months for cases to be tried in the superior court (<em>R. v Jordan</em>, 2016 SCC 27).</p>
<p>Delays that are longer are presumptive infringements of an accused's right to a trial within a reasonable time protected by s. 11(b) of the <em>Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms</em>.</p>
<p>If the delay (excluding delay attributable to the defence) exceeds the presumptive ceilings, and if the Crown cannot establish the presence of exceptional circumstances, the court will stay (terminate) the proceedings.</p>

<p><a href="/questions/tagged/united-kingdom" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;united-kingdom&#39;" aria-label="show questions tagged &#39;united-kingdom&#39;" rel="tag" aria-labelledby="tag-united-kingdom-tooltip-container">united-kingdom</a></p>
<p>The right to a speedy trial is guaranteed in <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/schedule/1/part/I/chapter/5" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Article 6 of the Human Rights Act</a> (bolding mine).</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In the determination of his civil rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing <strong>within a reasonable time</strong> by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That said, I can't find any indication that there is a legal time requirement, so it will depend on the case, and you more or less need to make a legal appeal on your case to get things sped up if you feel the government is dragging their feet.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.stuartmillersolicitors.co.uk/how-long-after-being-charged-take-court/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Average times</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>According to government statistics, it took an average of 357 days for a case to get all the way to the Crown Court, and an average of 178 days in court to get to an outcome. The data can be further broken down by charging stage:</p>
<ul>
<li>Time between the offence being committed and being charged: 323 days</li>
<li>Time between being charged and the first hearing: 34 days</li>
<li>Time between the first hearing and completion at the magistrates’: 9 days</li>
<li>Time between the sending of the case to Crown Court to the start of trial: 119 days</li>
<li>Time between the start of the trial and the completion of the trial: 50 days</li>
</ul>
<p>Remember, however, that these figures are only averages. The more serious and complex the offence, the longer it takes for each stage to be completed.</p>
</blockquote>

<h2>Don’t flee to the Ecuadorian embassy</h2>
<p>Mr Assange is in gaol because his <a href="https://www.gov.uk/charged-crime/bail" rel="nofollow noreferrer">bail</a> was revoked because he decided to become a fugitive. If he had waited for his extra hearing, he could have lived in the <a href="https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/bail#:%7E:text=dealt%20with%20effectively.-,The%20Right%20to%20Bail,the%20exceptions%20to%20bail%20apply." rel="nofollow noreferrer">community</a> while this happened.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Under section 4 Bail Act 1976, on each occasion that a person is brought before a court accused of an offence, or remanded after conviction for enquiries or a report, he must be granted bail without condition, if none of the exceptions to bail apply.</p>
<p>Conditions of bail may only be imposed where necessary to ensure that the exceptions to bail are addressed. Only where conditions are not sufficient to address the exceptions to bail should a remand in custody be sought.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As someone with no previous conviction charged with illegal protesting, you should be able to wait for your day in court from the comfort of your own home.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Going to a court to have a debate with law enforcement - HELL YEAH.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That's not how court works.  Your premise seems to be incorrect and it seems there is a very large knowledge gap on how courtrooms work.  There is not a thing where you get to gleefully cross-examine anyone in the fashion you hope.  Cross-examination doesn't even mean that.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, television doesn't give you much of an education. The sad fact is, actual court proceedings are deadly dull - too dull to make drama out of. That crowning moment of verbal glory is unlikely to <em>ever</em> happen, and even if it does, blink and you'll miss it.</p>
<p>And if you think you're going to represent <em>yourself</em> as an amateur barrister, you will only be frustrated, and your moment of glory will never come.</p>
<p>If you're doing some sort of organized protest that is organized by someone other than asshats, there'll be a legal team that will have every angle worked out, and will be doing the arguing to maximum effect.</p>
<p>If you want to be one of those persons, then get onto a pre-law track in school and become a lawyer yourself.</p>
