POLITICS AND THE INTERESTS OF JUSTICE

Perhaps the single most reasonable criticism of our courts is that to many observers the sentence doesn`t fit the crime.  Very few matters, especially at magistrates courts, are reported in a degree of depth that allows knowledgeable and fair criticism. That in itself is IMHO a valid enough reason why media outlets and government should explore the benefits to each of live TV or on line screening of the day to day happenings at magistrates courts initially and crown courts in due course.  This post inter alia consists of extracts from recent newspaper reports which indicate sentencing which some readers might find disturbing (to paraphrase some of the ridiculous woke pronouncements heard every day prior to the showing of some TV programmes)  insofar as the apparent variation or inconsistency shown by the benches in question. Thousands of similar cases are heard every year.     

 The following case was heard at Reading Magistrates’ Court Friday, May 21

JORDAN HINDS, 27, of Holberton Road, Reading, admitted possession of cannabis in Reading on October 9, 2019. He was also convicted of two counts of driving under the influence of cocaine and one count of driving under the influence of cannabis on the same date. He was banned from driving for 12 months, fined £530, ordered to pay court costs of £620 and told to pay a £53 victim surcharge.

 A ROUND-UP of recent cases heard at Newport Magistrates’ Court.

MATTHEW WILLIAMS, 27, of George Lansbury Drive, Newport, was jailed for six weeks and banned from driving for three years and 21 days after he admitted drug driving in an Audi S3 with cocaine derivative benzoylecgonine and cannabis derivative delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in his blood on Ringland Way on December 27, 2020. He was ordered to pay a £122 surcharge.  

16th August The Mail Barrow in Furness South Cumbria Magistrates Court

Barrow drug driver disqualified for 12 months

MAN from Barrow has been disqualified from driving for 12 months.Liam Clawson, of James Watt Terrace, Barrow, was found to be over the legal limit for benzoylecgonine whilst driving on Island Road on February 10. Clawson, 33, admitted the offence at South Cumbria Magistrates' Court last Tuesday, where he was also fined £150. 

DRUG driver has been banned from driving for 15 months by magistrates.Mr Kamen Alty, of Maple Avenue, Ulverston, was found to be over the legal limit for cannabis whilst driving an Audi A3 along Quebec Street on May 28. He admitted the offence at South Cumbria Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, August 10, and was also fined £300.

The following are the latest results contributed by HM Courts Service, for cases sentenced by West Sussex Magistrates’ Court sitting at Worthing and Crawley from July 30 to August 6, 2021.

Alan Young, 66, of Ham Close, Worthing, was fined £186 after admitting drug-driving (118ug/l benzoylecgonine) in Clifton Road, Worthing, on January 1, 2021. He was also fined £186 and must pay £115 costs after admitting drug-driving (106ug/l benzoylecgonine) in Tarring Road, Worthing, on February 23, 2021. He was disqualified from driving for 24 months.

Andrew Brown, 44, of Ruskin Road, Worthing, was given a community order and must carry out 80 hours’ unpaid work after admitting drug-driving (5.5ug/l Delta-9-THC) in Penfold Road, Worthing, on January 16, 2021. He must pay £85 costs, £95 victim surcharge, and was disqualified from driving for 36 months.

Robert Walters, 19, of Monterey Gardens, Bognor Regis, was given a community order and must carry out 60 hours’ unpaid work after admitting two charges of drug-driving (85ug/l benozylecgonine, 5.6ug/l Delta-9-THC) in Crookthorn Lane, Climping, on January 1, 2021. He must pay £85 costs, £95 victim surcharge, and was disqualified from driving for 12 months. 

Aaron Pelling, 35, of Angola Road, Worthing, was fined £80 and must pay £34 victim surcharge after admitting drug-driving (300ug/l benzoylecgonine) in Findon Road, Worthing, on November 13, 2020. He was disqualified from driving for 12 months. 

For those convicted of drug driving in the magistrates court the penalties are:-

a minimum 1 year driving ban

an unlimited fine

up to 6 months in prison

Many high street solicitors make a handsome living for defending those accused of drug driving. A single and well reasoned example can be accessed here. 

The Sentencing Council`s latest guidance on drug driving is copied below:-

Driving or attempting to drive

Triable only summarily

Maximum: Unlimited fine and/or 6 months

Must endorse and disqualify for at least 12 months   Must disqualify for at least 2 years if offender has had two or more disqualifications for periods of 56 days or more in preceding 3 years – refer to disqualification guidance. Magistrates: consult your legal adviser for further guidance

Must disqualify for at least 3 years if offender has been convicted of a relevant offence in preceding 10 years – consult your legal adviser for further guidance

I would assume (hope?) that on the bench all magistrates (and of course DJs) would have that guidance before them. However since the concept of local justice by local magistrates has been effectively discarded it is even more important that the national guidelines and guidance is applied fairly across the board.  Raw annual statistics poured over by broadsheet newspapers and academics is no substitute for bringing home to the public the results of what is happening in the courts.  Indeed the secrecy of the Single Justice Procedure makes this increasingly necessary.  When the public loses interest in the law government smiles.  I have previously here argued for what is simply called Court TV.  It has long been available in USA and there is a TV channel of that title available on Sky.  Partial televising of a criminal court process has been undertaken in Scotland and the Supreme Court is available on line.  But make  no mistake; this government is withholding itself from scrutiny in many aspects.  It is being disingenuous on the supposed construction of new hospitals, on the numbers of "new" police officers; in the latter case attempting to replace the same number removed from the service since the Tories took over from Labour in 2010. Open justice being seen to be done is a pillar of any democracy. There is however apparently little interest from those supposedly looking after our liberties in seeking this objective.  Perhaps it`s because most of those people and groups are of a leftist persuasion and IMHO there is little doubt that the capitalist media would have to be the partner to government and that would not sit squarely with their politics. So once more I assume that the politics of the situation outweigh the interests of justice.