Ministry of Justice
RtHon
Damian
Green MP Minister of State for Policing
and Criminal Justice
102 Petty France London.
SW1H 9AJ
E general.queries@justice.gsi.gov.uk www.justice.gov.uk
3 0 AUG 2013
|
When we began to think about the role of magistrates, as part of our wider reforms of the criminal justice system, I was adamant that we should involve magistrates themselves as early as possible in shaping our reforms. I want your thoughts and ideas to be at the heart of our policy.
Last week I launched the work at an event in London which will be the first of a series of engagement events where we will be speaking to magistrates directly to get their ideas about what the role of magistrates should be in the 2151 Century. I asked delegates to consider and discuss three key questions:
1. How do we ensure that magistrates deal with the right cases in court?
2. How can magistrates play a stronger role in the community?
3. How can we ensure that Magistrates are in the driving seat of improving performance of the justice system in their communities?
I was extremely pleased that the event was so well attended by magistrates and to hear their very constructive engagement and discussion.
The rate at which places on these events were taken shows to me that there is a huge appetite among you to engage in this process, and that is why it is
important that we engage in as many different ways as possible, to capture your
views. I want you to have discussions in your local courts about this work, and talk through some of the questions and ideas with your colleagues. You can feed your ideas back through HMCTS.
Also, as part of this process, I have also launched, for the first time, an exciting online tool that will allow you to put forward ideas on how magistrates can become more involved in your communities to make them safer. Crucially the tool will allow you to collaborate and develop these ideas so we can come up with a shared solution. You can access the tool at the following link: http://775.dialogue-app.com/xkvzd0v27c.
The results of the sessions, your discussions, and the ideas we have received online will be fed in to a public consultation later in the year, where you will get a further opportunity to comment.
A copy of the speech is available for you to view at: https://www.gov.uk/governmenUspeeches/the-role-of-magistrates
I look forward to seeing your contributions.
|
Rt Hon Damian
Green MP
|
|
|
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx www.justice.gov.uk |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Confidential |
|
|
|
|
To: All Justices assigned to the Justice Area |
|
|
|
|
|
|
12 May 2014 |
Dear Justice,
Low-value shoplifting cases- changes made by the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014
The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 has made changes to the way that courts deal with low-value shoplifting cases, which come into force on the 13 May 2014 and will apply to offences committed on, or after that day.
In short the change introduces a new category of theft (low value-shoplifting) which is triable only summarily, except where a defendant chooses to be tried by a jury
The attached guidance seeks to provide an outline of the changes.
Members of the legal team have been briefed on the changes.
Yours sincerely,
xxxxxxxxxxx
|
|
|
www.justice.gov.uk |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Confidential |
|
|
|
|
To: All Justices assigned to the Justice Area |
|
|
|
|
|
|
7 May 2014 |
Dear Justice,
There are a number of matters that I would like to draw to
your attention.
Applications Court at
the xxxxxxxxx courthouse from the 6 May 2014
The Judicial Leadership Group has agreed to the
establishment of an
The court will deal with statutory declarations, s.142’s, utilities warrants and search warrants. Its aim is to provide a better service to court users and reduce the time taken to deal with such applications at 10am in the trial courts.
The procedure will be that a legal adviser will attend the
second floor retiring room and ask a magistrate to deal with the applications;
where there are utilities warrant applications the legal adviser will ask more
than one magistrate to consider the applications.
Revised case
management form
A revised case management form has been approved by the Lord Chief Justice and is now in use. It is called a preparation for effective trial form (copy attached), copies have been placed in the courtrooms. I have also outlined a summary of the changes which I have attached. One of the changes allows sufficient space to timetable and record the time directed by the court for evidence in chief and re-examination (complying with the case of Drinkwater).
Sexual Offence
Guideline
The Sentencing Council has issued a definitive guideline on
Sexual Offences, which came into effect on the 6 April 2014 and applies to
offenders aged 18 and above. Hard copies of the guideline have been left in the
second floor retiring room at xxxxxxx and copies are in the courtrooms.
Alternately copies may be downloaded from the
Environmental
offences sentencing guidelines
The definitive guideline on sentencing environmental offences has also been published and comes into force on the 1 July 2014.It is applicable to all offenders aged 18 and older and organisations. I will ask the BST to advise the bench when hard copies are sent to us by the Judicial College(there is also a Definitive Guideline-Environmental Offences on the Judicial College website).I have also attached an outline of the guidance.
Domestic Violence
Protection Notices and Domestic Violence Protection Orders
In November the
Home Secretary announced her intention to roll out nationally Domestic Violence
Protection Orders across
Domestic Violence
Protection Orders(DVPOs’) are a new power introduced by the Crime and Security
Act 2010, and enable the police to put in place protection for a
victim in the
immediate aftermath of a domestic violence incident. Under DVPOs, the person
concerned can be prevented from returning to a residence and from having
contact with the victim for up to 28 days, allowing the victim a level of
breathing space to consider their options, with the help of a support agency.
This provides the victim with immediate protection. Where appropriate, the
process can be run in tandem with criminal proceedings.
DVPOs’ are civil
matters, the CPS will not be involved and the matter will be dealt with either
by a police officer/member of police staff, or a lawyer instructed by them. Hearsay
evidence will be admissible. In order to make an order the court must be
satisfied on the balance of probabilities. Where there is a breach of an order
the criminal standard will be applicable and if proved the respondent may be
fined up to £50 for every day he/she is in breach, or a sum exceeding £5,000,or
committed to custody for not more than 2 months.
We have been
advised that police forces will have processes in place no later than June
2014.Part of the bench meeting on the 10 June will be devoted to a domestic
violence update, which will cover DVPOs’.
Sentencing for theft offences – consultation launched on
sentencing guidelines
As mentioned in the bench newsletter the Sentencing
Council has launched a 12-week consultation on its proposed guidelines for
judges and magistrates to use when sentencing people for theft offences. To find
out more about the consultation exercise please go to the Sentencing Council
website. The consultation on the draft guideline is open from 3 April 2014 to
26 June 2014.
BTDC Local Training
Programme 2014/2015
The BTDC has agreed, in conjunction with the Bench Chairman and panel chairmen, to produce an annual xxxxxx Local Training Programme (attached) it seeks to incorporate training needs that have been identified by it/brought to its attention.
The BTDC chairman would welcome feedback on the
programme.
Yours sincerely,
xxxxxxxxxxx
|
| |||
DJC
guidance note-1/2014:-Use of I.T in magistrates courts
Guidance
to magistrates on accessing information relevant to court proceedings and the
use of personal technology in magistrates’ courts
In June 2011
and May 2012 the Senior Presiding Judge issued guidance to magistrates on
accessing information relevant
to court proceedings and using internet social networks.
The guidance
provides that:-
·
The
accessibility of information can put at risk the fairness of the judicial
process in the crown and magistrates courts;
·
It
is appropriate to use personal technology(laptops,netbooks,mobile
phones,e-readers and tablet computers) to access public and non-sensitive
material in court ,for example Sentencing Council
publications,protocols,guidance documents and the Judicial College Bench Books;
·
It
is not appropriate for magistrates to conduct internet, or other research into
cases they are to hear, on issues arising within cases, or into people involved
in cases, so for example accessing Google to find out supplementary information
not presented by the parties would be inappropriate. This applies whether a magistrate is
at court, or elsewhere, as to undertake private research could compromise
judicial impartiality;
·
Magistrates
may not make notes of cases on personal technology. Even if everything is typed
and is deleted ,the information is still accessible for some time and presents
a security risk;
·
Magistrates
may make use of laptops,Blackberries,I-phones,or other IT devices to
communicate with others when out of the courtroom when no court related
business is being conducted, or is due to be conducted. Magistrates may use
personal IT devices during the lunch period, during significant breaks in
proceedings, or at the end of the court session;
·
It is not appropriate to use portable devices
to communicate with others when sitting in court (texting/accessing
emails/taking and making calls in court is forbidden), or when conducting any
court business, which includes a pre-court briefing and post-sitting review. Professional
perceptions of the bench in court are so important and magistrates should be
seen to be focusing on the issues before the court;
·
Magistrates
should also take care if using social networking sites and should consider
whether to allow open access to personal information, or their Facebook “wall”.
xxxxxxxxxx
3 April 2014
....................................................................................................................................................
Applications Court at the xxxxxxxxx courthouse from the 6 May 2014
The Judicial Leadership Group has agreed to the establishment of an
The court will deal with statutory declarations, s.142’s, utilities warrants and search warrants. Its aim is to provide a better service to court users and reduce the time taken to deal with such applications at 10am in the trial courts.
Blogging by Judicial
Office Holders
Introduction
This
guidance is issued on behalf of the Senior Presiding Judge and the Senior
President of Tribunals. It applies to all courts and tribunal judicial office
holders in
Definitions
A “blog”
(derived from the term “web log”) is a personal journal published
on the internet. “Blogging”
describes the maintaining of, or adding content to, a blog. Blogs tend to be interactive, allowing
visitors to leave comments. They may also contain links to other blogs and
websites. For the purpose of this guidance blogging includes publishing
material on micro-blogging sites such as Twitter.
Guidance
Judicial office holders should be acutely aware of the
need to conduct themselves, both in and out of court, in such a way as to
maintain public confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary.
Blogging by members of the judiciary is not prohibited.
However, officer holders who blog (or who post comments on other people’s blogs)
must not identify themselves as members of the judiciary. They must also avoid expressing opinions which,
were it to become known that they hold judicial office, could damage public
confidence in their own impartiality or in the judiciary in general.
The above guidance also applies to blogs which
purport to be anonymous. This is because it is impossible for somebody who
blogs anonymously to guarantee that his or her identity cannot be discovered.
Any queries
about this guidance should be directed to Simon Parsons at
No comments:
Post a Comment