Something is badly out of kilter. At my last morning sitting I entered retiring room as usual to
check arrangements for the day ahead.
Five trial courts were operating
and each with only two J.P.s. There were
no religious holidays that day for Christian, Hindu, Moslem or Jewish
colleagues. There has not been a `flu
epidemic. There was no transport strike.
Local trains were not reported as having
problems with the leaves on the tracks and there were no unusual road hold ups. The bench liaison office just could not
summon enough sitters. Who is to
blame? Candidates are Bench Training and
Development Committee who make recommendations, Appointments Committee, local court manager i.e. the Deputy Justices Clerk, the Justices Clerk with overall authority for many
courts in the area, HMCTS or Ministry of
Justice? I recollect having sat on two trials where my
single colleague and I could not agree a decision on guilt and retrials were
ordered. Admittedly this is such tiny
proportion of my involvement in trials as to be statistically
insignificant. Nevertheless courts should consist of three lay justices;
not two.
This is just another example of the malaise within
the system. Those responsible from the
top ranks of government down to those in the trenches bear a grave
responsibility for constructing the road to ruin for our summary justice system
which they have paved with the supposedly good intentions of reducing the
deficit.
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