Ineffective trial
A trial that can’t go ahead on the planned day and has to be listed again.
An ineffective trial is one that does not happen on the scheduled date, so a new date is needed. The cause can lie with the prosecution, the defence or the court: for example a witness or defendant not attending, a lawyer not being available, or no court time.
Court Day UK shows the ineffective trial rate for each court as ineffective trials ÷ (effective + cracked + ineffective) trials. A high rate is not always the court’s fault.
Official sources
This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. The official sources above are the authority.
See also
Find court · Courts · How a case moves from charge to sentence · All explainers
