MAGISTRATES RETIRING AGE

For as long as I can remember since joining the bench there have been two underlying causes on their wish list from magistrates individually and as a collective; to increase sentencing powers and to increase retirement age.  As far as the former is concerned there is absolutely no chance of that being granted unless the legal climate experiences a  catastrophic warming.  The question of compulsory retirement at age 70 is more contentious. Firstly the trend for some time as the baby boomers retire is to under resource replacements owing to the gradual but steady increase in District Judges who by their very positioning have been ready, willing and able to forfeit the dubious advantages of steady employment or self employment  in the private sector for a pensioned position in the civil service where they are unlikely, in line with their senior colleagues, to question the actions or directions of the executive paying their wages until they are in a receipt of a juicy pension. There is of course the equality [no discrimination] argument where age related compulsory retirement is illegal in the private sector. Add to that the very reasonable argument that oldies are holding up the progression of younger magistrates and the arguments for and against are likely to continue.  The government certainly is not offering any clues to its thinking judging by the answer below to a recent parliamentary question. So don`t hold your breath.  You`re liable to suffocate before there is a change of policy at the MOJ.

SINGLE JUSTICE PROCEDURE

The Single Justice Procedure is governed by The Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015.  Many magistrates, I believe, are not fully supportive of the process.  The Magistrates Association has yet to make clear its opinion.  As with some decisions made by individual JPs as to where they want to sit the SJP is for volunteers.  But more to the point it is not justice seen to be done in a court the doors of which are open for anyone to witness the daily activities where  c95% of the criminal justice system takes place. It is a clear example of where the Ministry of Justice and its  wunderkind, Her Majesty`s Courts and Tribunal Service, know the price of everything and the value of naught.  It is a system to save money pure and simple.  It is a moot point whether or not justice is done behind these closed doors where SJP takes place.  Here is a recently published report in the Norwich Evening News. 

Our once admired criminal justice system is being salami sliced to an unrecognisable tick box procedure of an assumption of guilt which the defendant must overturn.  It doesn`t just take place at crown courts where the shifty shenanigans of the Crown Prosecution Service often with the collaboration of the police have shown activities which every honest citizen of this country must find to be blots on our social landscape.  Magistrates are coming under enormous pressures both personal and procedural. Ever since Criminal Justice Simple Speedy Summary [CJSSS] became the watchword a decade ago  government removed its gloves and made it clear it would fight dirty to reduce costs.  Indeed the arch proponent of remaining in the EU Kenneth Clarke when he was Lord Chancellor in 2010 was the very first minister after the election to offer a reduced budget for his department in accord with the Treasury demands; 23%.  His current pathetic performance indicates just how much he values our legal system never mind the result of June 23rd 2016.  Supine individuals have followed him like chocolate soldiers in a heatwave within Petty France  to emasculate our justice system. With a prime minister who in her previous incarnation cared nothing for the rights of the individual I fear we have still some way to travel along that insidious path where only the rich and/or the famous have the wherewithal to fight the state when accused of wrong doing.   

MAXINE DE BRUNNER: CHUTZPAH OR ARROGANCE

I had intended to begin by describing the topic today as an individual who had chutzpah:- the classic definition of which is that given by Leo Rosten: "that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan."  But in the case of Maxine de Brunner of whom I last posted last Thursday May 24th that definition just doesn`t do justice to the unashamed arrogance of this woman.  When she was an Assistant Commissioner at the Met that arrogance should have been extirpated if those at the very top of that organisation had any wider concerns of their public role apart from polishing the turds within their fiefdom.  Still I suppose old habits die hard. 

It seems that the aforesaid disgraced police chief who has cost her previous employer over a million pounds in trying to defend the indefensible seeks to persuade business organisations that her opinions and advice are worth paying for in the form of presentations filtered through her speech giving agent Speakers Associates.  On the basis that the old adage; a fool and his money are soon parted, applies to business I can only assume that any company that employs this person deserves to go down the pan sooner rather than later. 

MAXINE DE BRUNNER: A DISGRACE TO THE POLICE

Recently BBC TV has been showing short docudramas from forty years ago; "Law and Order" in which the corruption of the Metropolitan Police, often hinted at but rarely investigated, is depicted in all its rotten reality. That rottenness has never been entirely eliminated owing perhaps to political awareness of what problems and embarrassment the revelations would cause or the fact that the corrosive constituents are still in place; greed, pride and ego. 

The history of an ex senior Met officer Assistant Commissioner Maxine de Brunner is a history of all that is wrong with the Met. I first commented upon her activities  on 10th June 2016  and then a month later and finally on 19th August 2016.  This sad sordid story is now concluded. Chief Inspector  Adrian Denby a decorated and respected officer has been awarded £870K as a result of de Brunner`s sex discriminating actions against him. That it has taken two years to achieve the wronged officer`s vindication is a disgrace.  That the Met is considering an appeal compounds its folly. What is equally disturbing is that the Home Office refuses to divulge under the Freedom of Information Act the numbers of senior police officers convicted of misconduct; such refusal being only an indication of how serious misconduct by senior officers is on the increase and that the confidence of we the public would take a massive hit if the truth were known.  

THE PERCEIVED QUALITY OF LAY MAGISTRATES

There are around 16,000 magistrates in England and Wales and around 300+  District and Deputy District Judges (MC). It has been the practice since time began that the powers that be namely Justices Clerks or their Deputies who run individual courts to allocate to DJs those matters which might be of public significance, supposedly too esoteric for the lay magistrate too understand or involve complicated law.  I have in the past whilst active but to deaf ears protested about this syphoning of cases. The legal profession by and large disagrees with my point of view and to some degree I can understand this.  There is a large minority of Justices of the Peace whose limited intellectual capacity would be exposed if presented with arguments which strained their brain matter.  Nevertheless IMHO justice is seen to be done when a mini jury of three brings in a verdict as opposed to a single professional District Judge. Such might have been the case last week when a police officer who tasered her force`s own race relations advisor was acquitted of  assault by the unlawful  discharging of a taser gun.  It seems that according to the report "Judge Ikram said: “The issue for me is whether the prosecution have persuaded me that she didn’t act in self-defence. The prosecution failed to persuade me and she is found not guilty of assault for that reason.”"  Presumably the court was shown the video evidence.  My point today is that a jury of three lay magistrates might well have come to a different conclusion in this case.  The corollary is if the Appointments Committees up and down the country fail to appoint the best candidates or make up required numbers by reducing their standards the argument for restricting cases such as this to paid civil servants on the bench will continue in a vicious circle until the magistracy in its current form will be precluded from presiding over any public court.  

OUTSOURCING SCANDALS, BREXIT, MAY MUST GO

From the days of Margaret Thatcher outsourcing has become a watchword for successive governments.  The philosophy behind this form of contracting was and is that much of the expenditure was off the current balance sheet, capital expenditure could be reduced with the price paid  being contracts that were not fit for purpose and trade unions would not have power over the outsourcing company`s employees as they (the employees) would be beholden to the company and not direct government) thus reducing union ability to control or influence said workers.  There have been many scandals affecting these companies and many have direct contracts with the MOJ and Home office  eg running prisons, transportation of prisoners to and from court, probation services, providing translation services for police and courts.  One such company is Sodexo. In 2013 the company was intimately involved in the horsemeat scandal.  In 2016 at Its Bronzefield Prison there was the tragic death of a prisoner.  A year ago its Northumberland Prison registered a death in custody.  


There were 354 deaths in prison in 2016, including three homicides. This compares to 257 deaths in 2015 and 8 homicides. In 20161, there were 204 deaths by natural causes, 120 deaths by suicide and three homicides. 27 deaths are currently classified as ‘other’. This includes 18 deaths classified as ‘awaiting further information’ and nine deaths classified as ‘non-natural/other’. There were 120 deaths by suicide in prisons in 2016, the highest annual number since records began in 1978. This figure may rise when the outstanding AFI deaths are re-classified. There were 90 deaths by suicide in 2015 and 89 in 2014. There were three apparent homicides in prison reported in the media in 2016. There were eight apparent homicides in 2015, the highest number of homicides on record since 1978, where there were five homicides. There were three homicides in 2014 and four in 2013.

Last year Sodexo won a large order for the Department of Work and Pensions. However last week the company was fined £304,925 for operating a river cruise boat  without a valid Domestic Safety Management (DSM) certificate. This omission put the lives of passengers at risk.

In the mind of this capitalist supporting blogger outsourcing in general, not forgetting the scandals involving hospitals and care homes, has reached its sell by date. This and previous government by not restraining raw capitalism which has been allowed to run riot, the Carillion collapse of last month being just the latest example, is bedding in the possibility of Marxists entering numbers 10 and 11 Downing Street. With the current occupants there tearing each others eyes out over Brexit they have lost sight (pun intended) of the basis on which this country has provided our still just about coping standard of living.  MAY MUST GO before it`s too late. 

LATEST COURT SALES INFORMATION

Latest numbers on court closures are below.

RESPECT!

I have long voiced my disdain whilst active and now retired of various displacement orders. Drinking banning orders are such an example; don`t drink in my patch........drink in somebody else`s.  They are often civil orders which lead to criminal charges if breached. They are generally a disgrace to our society and legislature. In Norwich a beggar was under the damacles sword of a community protection order when he was brought to court for breach. The CPS requested that a criminal behaviour order be imposed.  The bench refused that request.  My hat is doffed to their action or rather lack of.   May the magistracy as an organisation of individuals think very clearly before meekly complying with such requests from a CPS which just doesn`t know what to do in these circumstances and a Ministry of Justice which just doesn`t care.

FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY HORSE`S MOUTH

A couple of recent statements and information from the House of Commons.

The first copied below is part of a speech from Alex Chalk, Conservative MP for Cheltenham on the Grenfell Inquiry.  His words should be noted by those who criticise magistrates for not having the intellectual ability to understand complex cases.

"From my experience, just an appeal from a magistrates court in a relatively modest case will involve a judge and two lay assessors. That is why it is critical that the other members of the panel, which includes Mr Justice Moore-Bick, have decision-making power. They cannot simply be there to be thought of as making up the numbers; they must bring their weight of experience from the community and shared understanding. By the way, over many centuries lay people have shown themselves well able to analyse complex issues and do justice. To those people who might suggest we have simply a single judge, it is no answer to say, “Oh, it’s too complicated, too difficult, too technical.” Lay people are capable of understanding—of course they are—as long as matters are properly presented, and I am sure they will be."

An interesting parliamentary answer yesterday on the cost of pre-sentence reports is copied below..

Rory Stewart The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice

Information is available on the direct staff costs of preparing a pre-sentence report, based on the average time in which it is expected that reports will be completed. These costs include the time spent by the officer in court to deliver the report.
The average assumed cost of each type of report is shown in the following table:

Report type	Assumed average cost per report (£)
Standard-Delivery Report	270
Short-Format Report	110
Oral Report	60

Information is also available on the annual volume of pre-sentence reports delivered in courts across England and Wales in 2015-16 and 2016-17. Full-year figures for 2017-18 are not yet available. The following table shows annual volumes of pre-sentence reports ordered by the courts for 2015-16 and 2016-17, together with estimated total costs. These estimates are based on the average cost figures given above and the planning assumption that 60 per cent of all reports should be delivered as oral reports, 30 per cent as short-format reports and 10 per cent as standard-delivery reports.

Data Period	Total number of pre-sentence reports (000s)	Assumed Costs (£m)
1 Apr 2015 – 31 Mar 2016	160.4	20.9
1 Apr 2016 – 31 Mar 2017	136.7	16.1

IS AN ENGINE CUT OUT A GET OUT FOR MOBILE PHONE USE WHILST DRIVING?

It has been illegal for a motorist to use a mobile phone while driving since 2003. This includes handling the device, sending a text or following a map, even when the car is waiting at a set of traffic lights, as the engine is still running. In 2017 stricter phone driving laws came into force in a bid to deter people from breaking the rules.

A few years ago owing to an EU determination to reduce pollution many cars were being offered as standard equipment an engine cut out when the car was stationary.  I wonder if any legal eagles have attempted to use this factor in an attempt to have a client acquitted of the charge of using a mobile phone when driving. 

CITIZENSHIP POST BREXIT

Currently there is no requirement for a jury member to be a British citizen. Surprisingly there is a similar lack of citizenship needed for an aspiring M.P.  Anyone wishing to stand as an M.P. must be over 18 years of age, and be a British citizen or citizen of a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland.  In the light of current events perhaps the time has come to alter the rules of both organisations. 

THE CASE TO BRING BACK THE WORKHOUSE

Six months ago I posted on the benefits of the workhouse if the Victorian model were updated for the 21st century. The situation over the weekend at a special sitting of Nottingham Magistrates Court was just another example of what courts nationwide see every day; it is a disgrace to the society we live in which we are told by politicians of various hues is the 5th largest economy in the world.  During my lifetime since the end of WW2 this country that stood alone for a year against Hitler has been unable to harness the strengths of its people to do in peacetime what they did in war.  That is not the fault of the people but of those of Left and Right who since then have mismanaged the economy.  There is currently a BBC programme on what was the world`s most innovative aircraft manufacturer.  I recollect as a young child my father taking me to see the then largest passenger plane in the world; the Bristol Brabazon. It never was more than a prototype because its piston engine power was about to be superseded by jet propeller power.  Then the same company produced the Bristol Britannia a jet prop airliner in which I have flown which was rendered obsolete by the incoming Boeing 707 also in which I have been a passenger. The tale continues right up to Concorde  which was much too small via the Comet in which I also flew. The car industry suffered similar decline as did myriad other industries where poor management and myopic reasoning prevailed.  And so it is with social measures to limit the headlong plunge to penury and misery of a persistent small percentage of the population. Surely it doesn`t take a would be Marxist power to the people follower of Castro and all things anti historic to wake us up to the mismanagement of current social thinking. Bending over backwards to avoid giving offence to every Tom, Dick, Harry, Tommasina or Harriet leads to a broken spine.  Taking penniless addicted or non addicted individuals through a courts system which has been emasculated serves no purpose except to highlight the complete disassociation of those in charge and the population being served. Our social care system in all its aliases is broken. So once again I ask why there should not be re-established a nationwide series of workhouses where the dregs of the law breaking miscreants currently brought through the courts can be legally held in secure accommodation until such time as their release would be to their benefit and society`s as a whole? 

RAPE "NOT PROVEN" BUT ONLY IN SCOTLAND

When it comes to society, justice and the law Scottish thinking is often practically and philosophically some distance ahead of the other parts of the UK.  The alcohol tax introduced this week is an example which is highly unlikely not to be followed south of the border in due course.  On the subject of trials the Scots verdict, unique in the English speaking world, has many merits as does the requirement of two witnesses, even if police officers,  to corroborate evidence.  However when the subject is rape controversy is never far away in Scotland as elsewhere. Conviction rates are bandied about like jelly beans depending upon which side of the argument one is supporting.  The recent problems disclosed or rather not disclosed in recent high profile rape trials in England have brought the topic to a wide audience.

In March in Scotland there were angry protests at new guidance that could force rape victims to give evidence against their will. Earlier this week Scotland`s chief judge suggested that rape "victims" need not appear in court. These two apparently diametrically opposite viewpoints can be read and compared in reports here and here. 

There is no doubt that this debate will become more heated in all parts of the country.  When not just a normal act between two people but one could say an essential part of human life can become a criminal act there is bound to be rancorous debate.  When the likelihood of an impartial witness being available to corroborate or deny an account by the accuser or the accused is constrained a court must use all it has at its disposal to reach the truth; an exercise of extreme difficulty.  All of which leads me round in a complete circle from my statement above; namely the verdict of "not proven" in a rape trial must in real terms be a summation in the minds of many jurors but finding actual expression only in Scotland. 

MP`s SELF PROMOTION

Since the introduction of Sentencing Guidelines over a decade ago the process of sentencing has been reduced to a tick box exercise. Different Acts of Parliament and various degrees of seriousness, harm and culpability are to be considered. In the matter of assault these vary from common assault to causing actual bodily harm. As an example of the former with regard to the protection of those in the police force a separate charge was instituted under the Police Act 1996, s.89.  Now it is hardly a revelation that many individual M.P.s attempt to attach their names to initiate legislation sometimes  of great significance eg the Abortion Act by David Steel in 1967. But it is equally the case that some arguably useless pieces of legislation have slipped through the occasionally sharp eyed spectacles of the parliamentary draftsman. Such an instance is typified IMHO by Laura Smith Labour MP  elected  in the snap 2017 general election. As a newcomer to the House of Commons she is trying to fly her debutante`s flag from the legislative flagpole by expressing  her support for a new law that would offer more protection for police, firefighters and NHS workers in Crewe and Nantwich from sexual assault.  Note that all she apparently has done is to send a press release on the topic. She has not spoken in parliament on any subject allied to this press announcement. Public servants, such as she seeks to protect, have all the protection needed by their very occupation offering aggravation to the sentencer and thus increased culpability. Perhaps shouting loudly in the local press is an acceptable way for a new female Corbynista MP  to retain the support of her public.