A warned list is a group of trials that the Crown Court has told everyone to be ready for during a particular period, usually one or two weeks, without giving any of them a fixed start date. Cases in the warned list are called on when a courtroom becomes free, often at short notice. The alternative is a fixed trial, which has a definite date.
Why courts use warned lists
Trials collapse or finish early all the time: defendants change their plea, witnesses do not attend, cases are adjourned. A warned list gives the court a supply of trials that can start as soon as a courtroom is available, so judges and courtrooms are not left idle. It is efficient for the court, but it means uncertainty for everyone in the case.
How much notice you get
When a warned-list case is called on, the court's listing office tells the solicitors and the Crown Prosecution Service, usually the working day before, sometimes the same morning. Your solicitor should then contact you. Witnesses are told by the Witness Care Unit or the police officer in the case. Typical notice is one working day; it can be less.
What you must do if your case is in a warned list
- Stay contactable for the whole warned period. Make sure your solicitor has a phone number that you answer, and check it every afternoon.
- Do not book holidays, travel or anything you cannot cancel during the warned period. If you have an unavoidable commitment, tell your solicitor as early as possible so the court can be asked to avoid those days.
- Keep your paperwork and clothes for court ready so you can attend the next morning.
- Witnesses should do the same. If you are a witness and are not available on certain days, tell the Witness Care Unit at once.
What the daily list shows
A case in the warned list does not appear on the court's daily list until it has been called on. Once it is, it appears as a trial with a courtroom, judge and time, usually "10:00" or "not before 10:30". Some courts also publish the warned list itself, with a note such as "warned list: week commencing" and the cases that may be reached.
Floating trials and backers
Two related terms you may see:
- A floating trial, or floater, is a trial without its own courtroom that will go into the first courtroom to become free that day. Everyone must attend from the start of the day and may wait.
- A backer, or back-up trial, is listed behind another trial in the same courtroom in case the first one does not go ahead.
What if it is not reached?
If the warned period ends and your trial has not been called on, the case goes back to the listing office and will be put into a later warned list or given a fixed date. Your bail continues on the same conditions. Your solicitor will tell you the new arrangement.
Can I ask for a fixed date instead?
Your advocate can ask the judge to fix the trial rather than warn it, for example where there are many witnesses, a vulnerable witness, an interpreter, or a defendant who travels a long way. Courts try to fix cases with these features. It is worth raising at the PTPH.
This is general information for England and Wales, not legal advice. Speak to a solicitor about your own case.