Defendants’ costs orders: the principles, by Alec Samuels
The defendant was acquitted. He was ineligible for legal aid. His costs were considerable. He applies for a defendant’s costs order (DCO) from central funds (not the Crown Prosecution Service or the police). The matter lies within the discretion of the judge. We live in an age of austerity. If costs are awarded they are capped at legal aid rates. Factors the judge may take into account include the importance of the charge, whether the defendant brought suspicion on himself, whether he misled the prosecution into thinking that the case against him was stronger than it really was, or whether he withheld relevant information. Would an order be appropriate, reasonable and just? The Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, as amended, ss 16 and 16A, as amended by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO), s 62 and sch 7. R (Henderson) v Secretary of State for Justice [2015] EWHC 130 (Admin), [2015] 1 Cr App R 29, paras [9]–[16]. The Criminal Procedure Rules.
