TRIAL IN ABSENCEMy acknowledgements to CRIMELINE for bringing this to my attention.

Every defendant having pleaded not guilty to a summary offence must be warned that if s/he does not appear for his/her trial it is likely to go ahead in absence. However sometimes things are not so straightforward. The case of Killick v West London Magistrates’ Court – a decision not to re-open a conviction proved in the defendant’s absence was wrong and the conviction would be quashed. The reasons given should be noted by all magistrates.