What is a Fixed Floating Trial at Crown Court?

Legally reviewed by: James Bainbridge In: Criminal Defence

Cases awaiting the Crown Court are at their highest ever levels. As a result, the Court are rethinking the ways in which they operate. With some Courts listing trials as late as 2026, fixed floating trials aim to reduce Crown Court backlog.

How Were Trial Dates Historically Determined?

Historically, London courts have only used fixed trial dates if there was a particular reason to do. For example, a fixed trial date may be implemented if the case involves a vulnerable witness.

Additionally, in custody cases where a defendant is also on remand, a fixed trial date is often granted.

However, in most cases a warned list trial date is given instead of a fixed trial date. This means the trial starts on a particular date over the course of a two-week period, and defendants are notified the day before that the trial is going to begin.

Under this older system, there was no guarantee that the case would ever be called into its warned list, if a court had other trials taking priority. Therefore, to reduce backlog and better manage caseloads, the courts are implementing more fixed floating trials.  

What is a Fixed Floating Trial?

A fixed floating trial is a term for a case that is not given a fixed date for trial or would not normally meet the criteria for a fixture to be allocated. Instead, the parties are informed that the trial will be listed on a specific date as a “floater.” A courtroom may not therefore be allocated to the case in the Daily List, but some certainty of date is provided.

The Benefits of a Fixed Floating Trial

• Improved case management: The fixed floating trial allows the court to schedule multiple cases for the same day knowing that some cases will settle and require less time than anticipated. The fixed floating trial allows the court to fill these extra time slots last minute, operating in an efficient manner.
• Reduced delays: If that a case settles earlier than scheduled, the next case can be started earlier, minimising courtroom downtime.
• Efficient use of court resources: Both judges and court staff can be allocated in a more efficient manner. This can help to reduce wasted time and resources.

Why Has My Case Been Listed as a Fixed Floating Trial?

If your case has been listed as a fixed floating trial this may be due to:

• The case being shorter or not as complicated as some of the fixed date cases.  Although each court will have their own Listing Practice applicable, often a fixed date case will include Class 1 and 2 cases, cases involving death, re-trials, cases involving venerable and intimidated witnesses, cases where witnesses have come from overseas, cases involving interpreters etc.
• The case not involving many witnesses, no witnesses and witnesses who are located reasonably locally.
• Cases where counsel or advocated briefed are located reasonably locally.
• The case being preferably bail rather than a custody case.

Considerations for a Fixed Floating Trial

If the courts are considering a fixed floating trial, they should:

• Ensure clear communication protocols for any scheduled changes
• Implement fair policies for prioritising cases within the floating range
• Provide fair notice to all parties involved in the case
• Continue to regular monitor the effectiveness of the fixed floating trial system.

Although the fixed floating trial system is not without fault, it does offer a way to combat the persistent challenges of court scheduling. On the other hand, fixed floating trials do not guarantee the Court will have capacity to deal with the trial, resulting in the case being adjourned until another fixed floating date. In some cases, this can be months or year in the future.

As the courts issue fixed floating trials, we continue to observe their effectiveness at reducing the growing backlog of cases. However, many lawyers are sharing their experiencing that fixed floating trials have not consistently taken place, with many cases being adjourned again.

Seeking Legal Representation

If you are facing criminal proceedings, it’s vital that you seek expert legal representation that understands the law and how to analyse the evidence against you. Cartwright King has a proven track record of defending our client’s both in and out of court. We remain a leading national law firm confirmed by the newly published Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners rankings.

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