Criminal Proceedings

All criminal cases in England and Wales begin in the Magistrates Court. Indictable-only offences such as; murder, manslaughter and aiding suicide, must be sent for trial at the Crown Court.
Offences such as; assault occasioning actual bodily harm and wounding or inflicting GBH are either-way offences and can be tried summarily at the Magistrates Court or sent for trial at the Crown Court. This decision is down to the evidence and the seriousness of the offence. If a case does get sent to the Crown Court, a jury trial will take place.
To prevent potential jurors from being influenced by reporters, there are restrictions as to what can be reported. The following aspects are what can be reported about an active case; name and age, address and occupation, charge(s), date and place of court hearing, bail and legal aid conditions and the names of counsel.

This is the main proceedings we need to know for the law exam in December.

In the Guardian today there was the story of Anton Du Beke from Strictly Come Dancing, who is said to have made a racist remark about his dance partner. He stated she looked like a 'paki' because she was wearing fake tan. I understand completely that the term 'paki' is racist and should not be used but I do think the whole political correctness thing in this country has gone too far. He was at risk of losing his job for something he meant as merely a joke. My question is, would it have been worth it just for the sake of being politically correct. He was not intending to be rude, he was joking with someone who he had been bantering with previously.