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<p>There are a number of different ways costs of cases can be estimated, depending
on how indirect costs are apportioned, resulting in a range of cost estimates for
these cases. The latest period for which data is available is 2012/13 (up-rated to
2013/14 prices).</p><p>a) The cost of an either way guilty plea entered at the Magistrates
Court is estimated to be between £210 and £270 (to the nearest £10).</p><p>b) A guilty
plea entered on the day of a trial at the Crown court would result in a cracked trial.
The cost of a cracked trial in the Crown court is estimated to be between £1,200 and
£2,000 (to the nearest £100).</p><p>These figures do not include legal aid costs.</p><p>Sentencing
Council Guidelines to the judiciary encourage early guilty pleas by setting out a
scale of ‘credit' for a guilty plea to be applied that varies from a reduction of
one third in any sentence for an early plea, to 10% for a guilty plea entered at the
point of trial.</p><p> </p>
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