The Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act, 1961, provides that the Circuit Court has the jurisdiction to try all indictable offences, with the exception of those contained in the Offences Against The State Act, 1939, which include murder, treason and piracy.

Persons accused of these offences anywhere in the State are tried in the Central Criminal Court or the Special Criminal Court, which are located in Dublin.

The offences tried in the Circuit Criminal Courts are exclusively indictable offences. The only exception to this are some summary offences that are not minor offences and do not come within the jurisdiction of the District Court.

Files in all of the cases heard by the Circuit and Central Criminal Courts are sent forward by the District Court and listed for arraignment.

The majority of cases in the Special Criminal Court go straight to that court without appearing in the District Court.

At the beginning of every day, the list of cases for trial will be read down in court. Where the accused pleads not guilty, a date is fixed for the trial.

On the date of trial, a jury is sworn in and the case proceeds to a conclusion.

Where an accused person pleads guilty, sentence is imposed after consideration of a number of reports, for example, victim impact, psychiatric, probation.

All persons standing trial in the Circuit Court do so before a judge and jury.

If they are referred by the District Court for sentence, or plead guilty in the Circuit Court, the sentencing is carried out by a judge sitting alone.

As the Circuit Court is a court of first instance, the accused must plead afresh, regardless of previous proceedings. The trial proceeds on the basis of the indictment, which is a technical document specifying the name of the accused, the court of trial, the offences which the accused is charged and particulars of the offence.

The court sits on circuit and hears matters that arise either in that district or where an accused lives or is detained.

The Director of Public Prosecutions can direct any trial due to be heard before the Circuit Court be transferred to the Central Criminal Court.