FORGIVE THE GAP

Recovering from a viral infection. Normal service will, I hope, be resumed ASAP

J.P.s OUTSPOKEN BUT A WASTE OF TIME

It has been my opinion for over a decade that the concept of local justice is local in name only and that the function of Justices of the Peace will be but a historical footnote by the middle of the next decade. Magistrates are not well organised as a lobby group.  The Magistrates Association has faded from prominence and influence to be replaced by national bench chairmen in a so called forum under the complete control of the executive.  To add to the situation and to seek more control the MOJ in June advertised for a National Leadership Magistrate.  No announcement has yet been made if that position has been filled. Full details can be found on my post of 14th June. With all that in mind I was impressed to read in the Guardian that Kent magistrates have made their own direct protest at the changes anticipated which are just around the corner. Their arguments are cogent but I fear they are fighting a losing battle.  The MOJ will not make substantive changes in its intentions to further remove from our courts the essentials of a level playing field where the guilty are punished and with an equality of arms the innocent are  set free.

TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE

It`s not often that a news event slots into so many aspects of my life and my hobby as a blogger.  I was retired from the magistracy having reached the biblical three scores years and ten, I have recently had to renew my driving license and in a previous life I was an eyecare professional.  The news event is that police are to be given powers to immediately revoke the driving license of somebody who fails a police initiated roadside "eye test".  A first impression might be that this is a worthwhile new activity for police to be involved in but I question that.  The current requirement to ascertain if an applicant for a driving license can see properly is for him/her to read a number plate on a vehicle at 20M in normal daylight conditions.   Other requirements do not require anything other than a driver`s declaration.  Professional organisations associated with eyecare, its practice and its practitioners have for many decades pleaded with government to insist that license applicants be subjected to a comprehensive eye examination and issued with a certificate of competence on meeting the required standard before a practical driving test is taken.  Currently as far as I am aware that requirement at a minimum is still before government for those like me who must renew their license every three years.  As if police are under employed another task is handed to them.  But they are not the people who should be doing this; there are optometrists on every high street  fully equipped academically, professionally and legally to undertake this work.   By by- passing this route it is another example of this government`s choosing the cheapest easy way out to meet what is perceived a public demand. i.e. it is another public relations gimmick by the worst and arguably most incompetent cabinet minister in my lifetime......Chris Grayling; he who removed books from prisoners, he who imposed court charges which were rescinded as soon as he left office, he who has buggered up all he touches as Transport Minister.  So many commentators more knowledgeable than I have said it: Oh for Her Majesty`s  Opposition that was worthy of the name to offer us an alternative to the current lot who indeed could not have a wild party in a brewery.  

A LAW UNTO THEMSELVES

I have remarked previously that when Justices of the Peace step out of what the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office  considers the appropriate judicial approach a heavier hand is applied than seems to be the case for the rest of the judiciary.  Perhaps it expects more from those who volunteer their services, perhaps they are easier to replace and so individually have less value than their seniors, perhaps being unable to alter their lifestyle by the implicit threat for the most dire offences they are sanctioned more often, perhaps as a corollary professional judges are less likely to lose their position owing to the JCIO being mindful that removal would affect a judge`s income and be likely to hinder future employment prospects.  With those thoughts in mind I read of the case of HH Judge Karen Holt who accessed case files in a matter where her daughter was a witness. It is impossible to believe that had a magistrate done something remotely similar s/he would not have been removed from the magistracy. But one must remember that the JCIO is a law unto itself. 

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Generally speaking most upright law abiding citizens would think that coming to the defence of a woman who was being attacked by a man was a heroic action deserving praise even if in so doing a single punch felled the attacker.  In Jersey apparently the opposite is true; at least in this case. Whilst we know little of the circumstances except the essentials it does seem rather odd but then the Channel Islands are literally a law unto themselves.

LIVE TV WILL ALLOW JUSTICE TO BE SEEN AND HEARD TO BE DONE

For anybody interested in the law and the legal system last week`s ITV programme on the Court of Appeal was possibly the most interesting and entertaining programme on the subject for many a year.  For a very long time I have been an advocate of live streaming of court proceedings with, of course, the caveat that we don`t lose sight of "justice" for all parties by the nature of the editing and directing which would be inevitable.  Indeed a five minute delay when broadcasting live would be essential.  However I sense that there is much opposition to the very idea of "court TV".  Opposing opinion strikes me as very similar to that existing when the live televising of parliament was mooted in 1968.  The question to arise is not if to have TV coverage of courts but which level of court should be the first to be broadcast.  An argument that a dedicated TV channel be devoted to the topic might find favour with current media outlets being amongst the obvious contenders for such a franchise. With the Supreme Court having been the first (Scottish courts excepted) to allow the cameras within its dusty walls and last week`s programme as precedents I would opine that in keeping with the trend, cases at the High Court would follow.  Under the strict direction of senior judiciary justice would be seen to be done by the public which is being served.  On the other hand if magistrates` courts proceedings were televised it might have more appeal and interest in an area where criminal activity at all levels  could be related to by viewers. It might also act as a deterrent and public humiliation for potential offenders just as the stocks did so many years ago. 

One thing can be predicted with absolute certainty; the angst within the legal fraternity re live TV from courts will be seen in a couple of decades from now as parliamentary broadcasting was amongst politicians years ago.  And that was based, despite the hot air of political windbags, on efforts to preserve secrecy of the goings on in a clublike atmosphere.  Just as parliament exists for the functioning of our democracy and not its players so justice in the form of our courts exists similarly.   Let it be seen and heard to be done. 

LOCAL JUSTICE BY THE FISHER FOLK JPs OF HUMBERSIDE

The MOJ in its confusion about what constitutes local justice insists that that concept still exists when reality indicates the contrary.  National guidelines on sentences and magistrates` licensed to sit at any court in England and Wales..........when I was appointed I was restricted to my local court(s) show that in practice a national system of courts is in operation.  An interesting article in Grimsby Live purports to show that the region`s courts are more "jail happy" than the national average.  Of course this is a big boost for those who repeatedly claim that the lower court should no longer have custodial sentencing powers. Perhaps the good burghers of Humberside have their own sense of priorities in dealing with offenders whilst still being guided by the Sentencing Guidelines but refusing to be constrained by them.   In that event no doubt the Justices Clerk for the region will be told by his/her bosses to sort out those fisher folk and their old ideas of justice and retribution and allow the tenets of the metropolitan nanny state to operate unfettered.  

THE MYOPIA OF THE MAGISTRATES ASSOCIATION

On Wednesday August 22nd I posted on the broadcast earlier this week of the chairman of the Magistrates Association John Bache and his moaning and groaning of the need to recruit new magistrates with special reference to diversity.  Notwithstanding the political correctness and myopic lack of vision behind his utterances he also made what seemed to be a plea associated with that apparent (to him)  lack of diversity of encouraging more ethnic minority candidates to apply even if they have a criminal record.  His myopia is his failing to read the signposted intentions of this government and probably any other removing magistrates from the court process completely and having professional District Judges (MC) chairing proceedings alone although there is a possibility that Justices of the Peace will be allowed to remain as wingers only in cases where custody is a possibility. With one third of courts closed and government determined to  increase the use of video courts the cost of employing the aforesaid professionals if they agree to dispense with the then unrequired legal clerk would be as cheap if not cheaper than the costs of paying JPs` expenses. They would of course be beholden to government and that would give government what it always wants:- more control although with representatives like Bache who bend to every puff of air from Petty France the days of a so called independent magistracy were numbered a long time ago.  

Letters to the Telegraph today and copied below are not necessarily reflective of the general population but do give a sprinkling of opinion on the above. What can be said is that as far as the Ministry of Justice is concerned it goes ahead with whatever scheme is suggested by the weasels in Petty France to placate the Treasury in its constant drive to lower its budget regardless of effects on court users of all kinds.  That is why today our justice system is crumbling except for the oligarchs of eastern Europe when it comes to minimising their divorce payouts to former wives or litigating against former business partners and who willingly spend millions to keep chancellery and divorce lawyers in heightened luxury to protect their often ill gotten gains. 

Letters: Magistrates don't need to be ex-criminals to understand people on trial

23 August 2018 • 12:01am

SIR – According to the 2011 census, 87 per cent of the population were white or white British. That means that 13 per cent were not.
Why, then, is John Bache, Chairman of the Magistrates Association, worried that only 12% of JPs are black and ethnic minority? This seems reasonable to me, bearing in mind that those appointed in the last century would have been proportionately more white.
Until I retired as a magistrate last year, most criminals were male, yet half of the bench were women. It is fair in general terms to argue that magistrates should reflect the society which they serve, but that does not mean that an individual defendant should expect a bench reflecting his or her characteristics, particularly if they are of a criminal tendency.
Michael Staples JP
Seaford, East Sussex

SIR – Mr Bache is trying too hard to be politically correct by seeking to recruit more former offenders as magistrates to “make those accused of crimes feel less alienated by the justice system”. 
It is far more important that the justice system retains the confidence of the victims of crime and the law-abiding majority, as well as criminals, by having magistrates of obvious integrity.
Ronnie Bradford
Vienna, Austria

SIR – Your report includes the phrase “hiring more magistrates”. Magistrates are not hired but appointed, as unpaid volunteers. That needs to be borne in mind in any discussion of the matter.
As to the need for diversity, the principal requirement is awareness of the circumstances of those who appear in court. You need not have financial problems to judge poor people, or be black to judge black people.
Experience like that gained in Citizens’ Advice, seeing people of every kind of background, can provide the necessary qualification.
Katie Watson
Petworth, West Sussex

SIR – Sitting as a deputy stipendiary magistrate, I did not have to be a former thief to know the difference between a mother stealing food for her hungry child and a man stealing watches for profit.
Peter Thompson
Sutton, Surrey

SIR – Mr Bache suggests that recruiting magistrates with criminal records would make those accused of crimes feel less alienated by the justice system. I thought that one aspect of the justice system was just that – to make criminals feel alienated from the norms of civilised society.
David Salter
Kew, Surrey

SIR – It is suggested that former criminals should be magistrates, and only gay actors should play gay characters. What next – MPs that have lived and worked in the real world before representing us mere mortals?
David Dorey

DIVERSITY; THE "D" WORD

All those with connections to the concept of justice as a department of state will know that magistrates are rather thin on the ground and on the bench. There were 30K when I was appointed and about 16K now.  The idea of "diversity" within the magistracy has been a running sore throughout the last twenty years.  Having never been on an appointments committee the activities of which are secret I have no first hand knowledge of just how far such committees consider lowering the requirements when faced with a dearth of applicants from ethnic minorities but under an obligation to ensure that their court`s ratio of such individuals meets government`s required levels.  What I do know with absolute certainty is that at my own court there were a  very few black colleagues whom everyone from the Deputy Justice Clerk downwards knew had been appointed because of that aforesaid requirement. 

There has been a perennial complaint that the magistracy is too white, too old and too middle class.  To those criticisms it used to be added; too male. Not any more; over half of JPs are female. Latest statistics show that  more than half of magistrates were female (55%),12% of magistrates declared themselves as BAME.  The system has always allowed capable applicants with historical minor offences in their background to be appointed; eg a previous conviction of dangerous driving or assault.  But the supposed mouthpiece for magistrates, the Magistrates Association, which nowadays is not representative of its members except that they subscribe for its magazine is as usual pushing the diversity issue once more as if its credibility depends upon it.  I suppose it does because it increasingly just echoes government wishes on matters affecting the lower court. The latest to join this club is chairman John Bache. He bemoans the age profile of magistrates. It is a no brainer that only those with sufficient income can offer the required unpaid time to join the bench.  That usually increases with age. It is only by not having to pay magistrates a salary that prevents a wholly professional judiciary taking over completely the magistrates courts` system.  In order to encourage recruitment he is actively seeking candidates with criminal convictions.  He declares this as another way to increase "diversity".  This D word seems to be the watchword for so much rubbish emanating from government departments and those who criticise are immediately targeted as racist.  Quota systems, for this is what diversity is, demean those who constitute the diversity target. Doubt is inevitably placed in their inherent aptitude for the job. Indeed I know that it has made some feel that they almost have had to prove their abilities to their peers.  That is a terrible price to pay.  And of course there is the actual meaning of diversity.  Where does it stop? the categories are almost endless. 

When I applied there was a place on the form to fill in; "which political party did you vote for when you last voted at a general election?"  I returned the form with that question unanswered. It was returned shortly after with a covering letter stating that if I did not answer that question my application would be immediately rejected. I answered the question.  That question has long since disappeared from the application form.  I doubt that questions on race and/or religion will be on the application form  20 years from now. Indeed I doubt that magistrates will be part of the court function in 20 years from now. 

PROPAGANDA OF TV FLY ON THE WALL JUSTICE

The area where most decent law abiding citizens come into contact with police is when driving.  Owing to the discretion allowed the police their attitude in any individual case could leave a life long impression.  Nowhere is this discretion more widely operated than when a minor infringement of road traffic laws has been observed. Breaking lower level speed limits is one such infringement.  On motorways there is no excuse for breaking the 70MPH limit except in very exceptional circumstances eg to avoid a collision. And especially when many  new cars have cruise control or adaptive cruise control which being radar operated brakes automatically when approaching too close to the vehicle in front. But in towns and built up areas concentration on other traffic factors can lead to a momentary breaking of a 20MPH, 30MPH or 40MPH limit.  For police to seriously consider that 1MPH over those limits warrants the issue of a ticket and 3 penalty points is a further signal that the police in this country are setting their own agenda. Increasingly they are losing the goodwill of the public they serve by failing in their primary purpose of preventing breaches of the peace and the investigation of lower levels of real criminal activity. Of course police forces have been decimated by reductions in funding and the personnel required.  We can thank Theresa May for that although she would like us to forget that she was six years home secretary and authorised the cuts in resources.  Nevertheless during my last motorway journey last weekend of 200 miles  I did not observe a single police motorway patrol; a place where they would have been of more use than in many towns. Or perhaps they keep their efforts live for reality TV programmes where many parts of the justice system seem to be popping up with unfailing regularity. Detectives in live action and the CPS now have fly on the wall TV time. I suppose the relatively low costs per hour to the TV companies make such programmes worthwhile and for the forces of law and order such propaganda is an effort to whitewash their inefficiencies and reducing lack of public confidence. 

A JUSTICE SYSTEM EMASCULATED

Every Justice Secretary since I was appointed [and probably prior to that] has issued words of thunder through the weasels in the MOJ press office that something is going to be done about knife crime. Indeed I have posted here more than once on this.  It would not be inaccurate to suggest that such pronouncements are filed in the in box for every new occupant of the top seat at Petty France.I await David Gauke`s efforts. Meantime the latest Guideline has come into force.

It is common knowledge that knife crime this year in London has reached record levels. It is therefore not irrational to conclude that current practices are not having the required effect in protecting the public and victims who are often young black men as are many of the offenders. Any sensible law makers would seek reasons for the situation and offer sensible evidence based solutions. But any observers offering such a common sense approach risk being accused of political correctness if race based initiatives are amongst the mix of those possible solutions. 

This blogger along with most involved in our justice system despairs about what has happened to and within that justice system since 2010.  Police who have been deprived the resources to do what the founder of modern policing stated to be the aim of his "bobbies" although later ascribed  to Richard Mayne at the Metropolitan Police Training School at Hendon and the source of reference to all constables in the Instruction Book. The first passage in that book which they had to learn and recite word-perfect was the “Primary Objects”.This was written in 1829 by said Richard Mayne one of the first two Justices of the Peace (later in 1839 referred to as Commissioners) appointed in charge of the Metropolitan Police Force and published in Police Orders. The Primary Objects: are as follows:

“The primary object of an efficient police is the prevention of crime: the next that of detection and punishment of offenders if crime is committed. To these ends all the efforts of police must be directed. The protection of life and property, the preservation of public tranquillity, and the absence of crime, will alone prove whether those efforts have been successful and whether the objects for which the police were appointed have been attained.”   

 And the end point of criminality is prison where today Birmingham jail has been taken over by the state after the private sector has been shown to be possibly criminally incompetent in its management. Between police and prison, courts and probation service have been similarly emasculated.  I am left feeling that this is akin to the 1997 scenario of a tired and useless John Major government about to be driven out of office and rightly so except that in the wings is a group of antisemitic Marxists licking their lips at the ruin they will bring to the nation to realise their lifelong dreams.  This scenario leads to ever increasing cries for "something to be done" and that inescapably leads to the populists in our midst offering simple get out of jail free cards. And to complete the metaphor, monopoly in all its dire forms results. Another term for that in this context is authoritarianism. 

IS APPEAL TO A HIGHER COURT A LOTTERY OR SUPERIOR JURISPRUDENCE?

The Court of Appeal has yesterday reinstated Dr Bawa-Garba to the medical register. Readers will be knowledgeable of the details. I do not intend to discuss the rights and the wrongs of the final decision or the ramifications for the NHS.  My point is to understand the differences between that court and the Supreme Court from a lay person`s point of view. The major difference is  that the latter is administered under a chief executive and is the highest court in the land. Yesterday`s result I suppose could yet be taken to the Supreme Court.  The brains on those courts are presumably the highest of the applicants who applied. From the lower court some will find their way to that Supreme Court.  Are we to consider that intellectually and legally minded there is a superiority of one over the other?  Or is it that there are two courts sitting consecutively and the verdict of the second supersedes the first? Is a judge in the Court of Appeal verdict which was eventually overturned who differed from his colleagues and in effect brought in the same result as the Supreme Court would do in the future appeal to be considered a more suitable contender for that court than the colleagues whose verdict was overturned?  In a similar argument would it not be prudent for two juries to sit on the most serious cases so that two verdicts of guilty are required for conviction?   In other words with the current system of appeal is it as much a lottery as superior jurisprudence?

JCIO; A MODERN WITCH HUNT

THE JUDICIAL CONDUCT INVESTIGATIONS OFFICE is the star chamber where judicial office holders are held to account.  Its machinations are secret.  Investigations are conducted far from the public eye.  In that respect itself one must suspect the integrity and/or fairness of its deliberations.  Secrecy in government departments is guaranteed to raise questions but I cannot recollect any serious journalistic inquiry or reference to this process little known outside the legal fraternity.

Today it has published its latest findings...........copied below.

The very wording, "remarks........which suggested that she holds prejudices..........." is enough to consider that this accusation was perhaps on less than solid ground.  The fact of the accused`s resignation does not detract from that.  The mental stress of such proceedings would be more than enough to break the resolve of even the strongest personality.  The expense of defending such a charge is enormous. Magistrates have no group defence body. Of course we know nothing of the actual case except the result.  This is not justice.  It could very easily be a modern witch hunt.

MORE BLAH FROM THE MOJ

Criminals with drug, alcohol and mental health problems could avoid jail after ministers branded short prison sentences “ineffective”.
David Gauke, the Justice Secretary, wants “vulnerable” offenders to be given community orders requiring them to undertake treatment instead of going to jail.
But the scheme, being piloted in several regions, risks a backlash from victim groups amid fears that criminals could play the system to avoid prison.
Under the initiative, psychologists present in court assess offenders who could be eligible for a community order. Local panels of justice and health officials will provide information to magistrates and judges so they can determine the appropriate outcome.
The Ministry of Justice said the measures have already resulted in more Community Sentence Treatment Requirements (CSTRs) being issued. Government research has found less re-offending among those who undergo treatment.  In a speech today Mr Gauke will say: “We are all clear that we need to do more to support vulnerable offenders in the community… We need to do more to raise awareness and increase confidence in treatment requirements and I look forward to exploring how these sites progress.”  Since the pilot sites went live in Birmingham, Plymouth, Milton Keynes, Northampton and Sefton on Merseyside, initial figures suggest that more than 400 CSTRs have been issued. 
District Judge Richard Clancy, lead judge at the Complex Case Court in Merseyside, which is part of the Sefton pilot scheme, said: “To have a trial scheme where the court has on-site psychologists capable of testing suitability of a defendant for a mental health treatment requirement, so that such a community order can be made by the judge on the same day without need for adjournment, is a remarkable and innovative move which I fully support.”
Community sentences can include offenders being required to carry out unpaid work as well as attending centres for their addictions or health issues.

The above is copied from The Telegraph.  Over the last two decades governments of both colours have been responsible for closing dozens of mental hospitals and refuges.  Indeed the building closest to my house about three miles away founded in 1851 as an asylum  and later was a NHS  psychiatric hospital was closed in 1993 as were so many others similar. It is now a very desirable address where Premier League players are known to have flats. Judges and magistrates have been aware for many years that the provision for the 70% of offenders who have addiction problems; drugs and/or alcohol is very thin on the ground.  The numbers of professionals available to treat such offenders is nowhere near enough to offer a prompt effective route to abstinence.  The only sensible way forward is to remove the court journey to that of a medical pathway for such offenders. That means that drug taking [not dealing] must be de-criminalised.  Secure facilities must be constructed where appropriate offenders are forcibly incarcerated.  In previous posts I have termed these places as "workhouses for the 21st century" where they are released when it is considered they are clean and no longer a threat to a peaceful society. Some may comment that this  is draconian.  I don`t disagree but where we are now and where this Justice Secretary wants to go are just not possible even with all the press releases and their blah blah blah.  

GOOD GOVERNANCE NOT

A great debate is taking place in the USA over the separation of powers; a theme throughout the constitution which is the basis of that country`s democracy and a matter of concern with the current POTUS tending to disparage Congress and Justice Dept.  We have no written constitution as many puffed up parliamentary representatives are not tired of explaining.  This is all very well except that there is no defined path for true democrats to follow when the system seems to be near breaking point.  Those same representatives make it up as they go along; hence the debacle of the Brexit Shambles. Nearer to home and as a topic for a blog which usually focuses on matters legal, paedophilia and its perpetrators are rarely out of the headlines. We have come a very long way in the last twenty years in recognising this heinous lifestyle whether initiated by genetic or environmental disorders as a scourge in our society.  As in all criminal matters the police must investigate, the CPS must charge, the court must deliver verdict and the judge must sentence.  If the chain is broken anywhere along its length justice will not be done or seen to be done. Last year Simon Bailey, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for child protection, said that paedophiles who view indecent images should not be charged and taken to court unless they pose a physical threat to children.  He added that low level offenders should simply be placed on the sex offenders register and given counselling and rehabilitation instead. A few days ago the Solicitor General indicated that he would make provision for appealing against sentences for paedophiles which are considered too lenient. 

This complete incongruity between police and courts is more of a tragedy than a farce. But it certainly does the profile of what constitutes good governance no favours.   

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NO END IN SIGHT FOR ADDICTS AND THE DESTRUCTIVE JUSTICE SYSTEM

"Sentencing Collins to eight weeks in custody, bench chairman Graham Commons said that he felt there was a gap in the criminal system to deal with people like him.
He told him: “We don’t normally get customers as cooperative as you, so thank you for being cooperative.

“All I can say is when you’re in custody please try and get the help that you’re asking for.”

The above is copied from the Huddersfield Daily Examiner.  The sentiments of the bench chairman are exactly in line with my thoughts formed many years ago on drug addiction. I have commented similarly many times here but rarely has the current situation been more clearly expressed and reported within a magistrates court. Only by the combined efforts of a courageous Home Secretary, a Justice Secretary who actually has balls and a Health Secretary with no leadership ambitions defying his civil servants and perhaps his boss will anything like the correction action be taken. Needless to tell, the current destructive process for addicts going through the justice system will continue indefinitely.  

A LINCOLNSHIRE DRIVER//NOT A LINCOLNSHIRE POACHER

More than a decade ago national sentencing guidelines were introduced to avoid or minimise sentencing by postcode.  This innovation in hindsight can be marked as the beginning of the end of what had euphemistically been termed "local justice". We have come a long way since then.  Magistrates are now accorded the privilege? of being qualified to sit in any local justice area in England and Wales when previously they were limited to their "home" court.  Whether one agrees or not this is the situation.  

A lawyer addressing magistrates in Boston Magistrates Court pleaded for his drink driving client to have a reduced ban cf similar miscreant in London who could avail himself of the myriad transport choices in that city cf rural Lincolnshire. I must admit that that is the first time I have heard of mitigation along these lines.  Imagine if courts could act retrospectively if the mood chose them.  There could be special reasons based on the supposed historic inbreeding in East Anglia, they could designate fines in bushels utilising the high number of those employed in farming,  two thirds in the county voted to Leave EU so learning French could be a part of community service.  

I suppose the lawyer in question was just trying to do best by his client.  I wonder what his approach would have been faced with mitigating a Lincolnshire poacher? 

A STAR CHAMBER FOR TODAY//THE JCIO

Last week yet another magistrate was castigated by the star chamber AKA the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office.  The statement is copied below.

Last week a serving magistrate in Wales had what appears to be self serving portrait of himself and his recreational interests published in Barry and District News. 

Perhaps somebody can explain why this person should not be appearing before the JCIO?

MAGISTRATES ASSOCIATION AND FUNNY PROBATION MONEY

The current (for how much longer) Justice Secretary today outlines the future vision he has for probation. The underlying theme of his statement is that one of his predecessors, the notorious Chris Grayling, f***** up the whole process of privatisation of much of what we term the probation service.  What is not widely known is that during this upheaval the Magistrates Association accepted money from some of the newly created probation companies.  Not now being a member of said association I have no knowledge of the financial machinations within that organisation. However at that time I posted on the story.  It can be read here. 

LATEST CONVICTION RATES

B.A. ABSOLVED OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR 12 DRUNKS HARASSMENT OF PASSENGER

I doubt there are many reading this who have not felt harassment, alarm or distress at the behaviour of fellow travellers when a passenger on an international flight. If even one fellow passenger behaves in such a manner there is just no escape.  Many reports have been filed of pilots diverting to the nearest airport in order that such passengers can be removed from the plane and taken into custody by local law enforcement.  Of course such a diversion will inevitably prove costly for the airline and would be considered only when the captain followed certain protocols.  I have no knowledge of these but a revealing report in the Express a couple of months ago goes a long way to explain procedures to be followed.  It was therefore a surprise for me when I read today of a passenger`s failed attempt to obtain compensation from British Airways for a truly unhappy and alarming flight to Las Vegas when he was harassed by twelve football fans during said flight. It would appear that the flight crew did not follow the protocols in such a situation.  The pilot had many opportunities to divert  from Gander in Ireland, Halifax Nova Scotia and many airports in continental USA.  I hope the claimant who obviously had the means to go to law appeals this appalling decision made by Judge Paul Brooks at Central London County Court.  

FLIES, WHISKY, SQUIRRELS & J.P.s` FREEDOM OF SPEECH

               A couple of days ago I was sitting comfortably at my desk top typing away merrily at a speed which allowed me every so often to take my evening dose of muscle relaxant without spilling a drop until unnoticed by me a fly had decided it could no longer resist the smell of pure malt and decided to commit hari kari in a manner that even Rob Roy or Braveheart would have appreciated. Spooning away the now inebriated six legged intruder I took another sip safe in the knowledge that no bacteria could survive the 47% proof alcohol and continued putting the string of words within my cortex into a meaningful order before fingers once again tapped keys. A few minutes later and would you believe the thousand eyed identical cousin of the winged invader had also decided to see if immersion in a fine Scotch malt was worth dying for. So for all makers of fly traps I have a tip……bait them with your favourite tipple from the glens.The imbibing was an absolute necessity after coming upon two stories which for me became very personal indeed. 

Beatrix Potter in 1903 little realised that a charming story of a red squirrel would in its own sweet way lead to the conviction of a man at Burton Magistrates` Court under the Animal Welfare Act of 2006; another of these pieces of useless legislation that passed without a whimper through the bowels of a rotten parliament to be excreted unsuspectingly in the path of many right minded citizens going about their everyday duties of doing the best for themselves, their families and utilising the little piece of England that most would know as their garden. The original Squirrel Nutkin was Sciurus vulgaris a red squirrel. A native of this island it lives in coniferous woodland and survives on a diet of nuts and seeds. Around the time of the publication of Squirrel Nutkin the story goes that a pair of grey squirrels Sciurus carolinensis was introduced to Britain and has led to a current population of about two and a half million. Unlike the red which is endangered and is now confined to very few areas in Northern England and Scotland the grey is a wonderful example of Darwinism at its best. It is widespread everywhere and is as much a pest to suburban environments as its cousin the rat. Until 2006 like many wild creatures its welfare was covered by the Wild Mammals [Protection]Act 1986 which protects all wild mammals from cruelty. At its core the Animal Welfare Act of 2006 has in its first line the following:-(1) In this Act, except subsections (4) and (5), “animal” means a vertebrate other than man.

Bit of a catch all is that clause. Break a mouse`s back with a trap and one is caught. 

Magistrates must apply the law which in my interpretation means that if that law is broken the offender is guilty…no doubts, no ifs, no buts……s/he is guilty but if a bench takes a view that the charge need not have been brought or is relying on the letter rather than the spirit of the law there are disposals which can indicate this; an absolute or conditional discharge can be applied and the costs requested can be discounted to zero if thought appropriate. In 2010 Burton Magistrates in my opinion took a somewhat perverse view when Raymond Elliot admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a grey squirrel by trapping and drowning it. He was given a six month conditional discharge but ordered to pay £1,547 prosecution costs. Grey squirrels are pests. I have had them ruin plants in my garden, steal food left out for birds, eat birds` eggs, invade my loft causing a nasty mess and via a chimney come into my house causing havoc. I have used traps and a high powered air gun to rid myself of them and I continue doing so. This law is itself a trap. It is an example of all that was on the surface touchy feely about Blair and New Labour but red in tooth and claw underneath. So if this legislation is used to bully any reader here for exterminating a mammal which is called vermin by any other name think thoroughly before pleading guilty because an Act which has as its first line quoted above makes us all guilty.And to the second matter this week in which I had a personal connection being a bench chairman at the time; the fellow Justice of the Peace who was forced to apologise by senior judges for saying in court to an immigrant that “he had abused our hospitality” was only saying what many of my colleagues and I have said in various contexts in a variety of formats to those from abroad who have appeared consistently before us for usually common offences of no insurance, shoplifting, affray etc etc. We are supposed to be local people with local knowledge dispensing local justice but that is no longer the case. But we certainly are not mouthpieces for high level individuals who usually describe shovels as long handled implements with a metal bit at the end for digging the earth. The details of the incident were not  disclosed whether to protect the J.P. or to protect the grand members of the higher judiciary who with their high handedness once again were seen to be reverting to form of being above rather than part of society.

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LEGS CROSSED IN YORK

Urinating in public is not an action that I would think takes place to cause a disturbance or offence.  It takes place usually  because there are no public facilities available.  During normal office hours most town centres will have public toilets open. Whether or not these toilets are kept in a state of cleanliness or whether or not there is a charge is a matter for the local council and its tax payers.  As an example in the City of York  no public toilets are open after 8pm and indeed most close at 5.00pm or 6.00pm.  However in an obviously coordinated  report eight counts of urinating in public so far this year after a crack down by City of York Council and North Yorkshire Police have been publicised.  But in only one instance has the time of the offence been listed. In the circumstances I don`t think that was an oversight. Indeed it is quite possible that listing the stated time of that particular offence as "after midnight" was the oversight.  The underlying problem is that York as with many cities, does not provide safe clean toilet facilities when they are most needed and that is 24 hours a day seven days a week.  It is a matter of shame for those brought to court and for those who dispense council tax. Chester is another city with a similar problem.  With an ageing population still wishing to enjoy evenings out and having to cope with subtle and not so subtle changes in their physiological processes local councils must take this matter more seriously.  Synchronised media reports like the one indicated earlier are a cheap way for jobsworth people and organisations to make a lot of noise. But when police and the legal system are involved in this charade it sickens me. It might not be the BBC and Sir Cliff Richard but the only difference is the scale. 

SEAGULLS , CRIME STATISTICS AND DEMOCRACY

Everyone is aware that the agencies, words and figures and associated numbers which constitute crime statistics are according to what Humpty Dumpty said, "Meaning what I want them to mean".  This was never so apposite as currently. After six years under the control of an incompetent Home Secretary who is now revealed in all her disgrace undisguised as an incompetent Prime Minister those who rule us cannot escape the fact that disastrously falling police numbers have been a major contributor to rising crime; particularly crime that involves violence and murder. This post and this blogger do not need to reel off details which are well known to readers but sometimes the Alice in Wonderland world in which the aforesaid agencies which contribute to what we laughingly term our criminal justice system is not confined to the imagination of Lewis Carrol.  Today The Times in adjoining pages publishes the story of how the police in Somerset have asked the public for reports on a man who is suspected of bashing a seagull against a wall after it stole his chips and follows that with the revelation that 90% of crimes result in nobody being charged. 

We are a laughing stock at so many levels in society. Authority in many departments from MPs waiving pairing rules in a critical vote then denying it was deliberate to the Director of Public Prosecutions failing in her duties that JUSTICE must be done to ALL and yet allowed to continue in office until her contract ends instead of being relieved of her duties adds yet another notch to those who think there is an easy answer to this country`s problems.  This is how democracy breaks down; not by smashing windows and marching through the streets but by those in power failing to keep the standards which society demands or should demand to retain respect of the governed. 

AN EVERYDAY STORY AT COURT

Sometimes events enmeshed within the legal system give rise to thoughts of "How can this happen? Is nobody prepared to tell it how it is?" It is no wonder that Franz Kafka who gave his name to the description of such events {Kafkaesque}  is most well known for his novel "The Trial" published posthumously in 1925. 

Convicted sex offenders must re register with police annually and give notice of address change within three days. This offender failed to do so and was summonsed to appear at Kirklees Magistrates Court. He turned up drunk and was refused admission to the building. As a result he was bailed to appear to appear at a subsequent time. Much valued court time was wasted, the case is still unanswered and the registration etc has still not been completed. Surely it would have been sensible to admit him with security escort, place him in the cells for contempt of court if he had not sobered up for the bench and keep him either in the cells or at a police station for appearance the following day.  Perhaps my cynicism of current practice is showing........it`s only three years since I retired.........but truly there has been something lost in the justice system if a drunk sex offender can be allowed to continue to go on his way in these circumstances? 

COURT CLOSURES ARE A PRELUDE TO ANARCHY

Within the legal fraternity in its widest definition there used to be a belief in the concept of "local justice".  In the centuries that magistrates` courts have been in existence "local" has been extended from parish, to district, to borough, to county, to region. Now the terms under which magistrates undertake their duties specify that their remit is "national".  When the Ministry of Justice initiated its closure programme for courts in 2010 faint objections were made on the grounds of accessibility. These objections are now at their height when the predictions of "justice denied" owing to travel times and costs made by parliamentarians and court workers have proved accurate. It was widely reported that the MOJ insisted that even for court appearances in rural areas eg Cumbria and Northumbria, Devon and Cornwall, North Wales and East Anglia  no witnesses would be be required to travel on public transport for longer than one hour.  That commitment has always been denied by the MOJ.

On March 3rd 2018 The Times published the following:-

Reforms to the justice system, including court closures and a move to virtual hearings, will have a damaging impact on access to justice, MPs have warned. In a letter to Lucy Frazer, the junior justice minister, they say the elderly, mothers of young children and those without internet access will be disadvantaged by Ministry of Justice plans. The justice select committee says that proposals flout the principle that 90 per cent of people should be able to reach courts by public transport in one hour. The plans have no “convincing policy justification” and “appear to favour value for money over the principle of access to justice”. They also criticise the “increasing reliance on virtual and online justice”, pursued in the absence of evaluation of pilot projects. A ministry spokesman said: “This government is investing over £1 billion to reform and modernise the justice system, making it more convenient and providing better value for the taxpayer.”

In 2015 the House of Common Justice Select Committee published its findings after questioning many witnesses when investigating the magistracy including those which related to travel times to courts   The situation today has worsened.  Even in 2016 the MOJ denied it had set maximum travel times to court on public transport. But the truth will out.  The situation in Cambridge this year has become a topic of further debate about the terminological inexatitude of the weasels in Petty France.  Similar noises of the real state of affairs in rural areas with court closures can be heard in Suffolk. 

Like so much else emanating from this government there has come about a total non belief in the veracity of senior ministers when describing policy and its ramifications, the statements from the very pinnacle of power re Brexit being just the most obvious but the odious tendency to lie when a cover up is failing will have the most serious consequences for a population beguiled into believing that simplistic populist measures are in its best interests. That way lies anarchy and that is the way we seem to be heading. 

MISSED OPPORTUNITY

Recently the big chief of the Magistrates Association was interviewed by The Times for its law pages.  Even a man from Mars would have thought that that would be a perfect opportunity for this representative of 15,000 JPs to have made plain the ramifications for justice of the Ministry of Justice`s cost cutting and incompetence over the last few years especially when the prisons and the courts are still reeling from the policies of a certain Chris Grayling; perhaps the most incompetent cabinet minister of the last decade although there are others vying for that honour. How more wrong could our alien have been. Apart from slight gentlemanly veiled criticism of the effect on travelling times to court for some and innocuous comments on recruitment an opportunity to say it like it is was neglected.  I have no doubt that this was no oversight. The virtual removal of legal aid at magistrates` courts, the never ending problems of interpretation services, the emasculation of probation services not forgetting the financial tie up the M.A. has with some providers, the apparent intention to phase in video courts in a wholesale manner, the risk to justice of the rubber stamping single justice procedure and the apparent acceptance of the normality of two person benches........all these problems emanating from the bowels of Petty France were obvious by their absence in the interview.  So it`s same as usual. A chairman of the Magistrates Association given a public platform considers his future gong more important than risking being honest about the problems facing a society`s courts system. Once again an opportunity to tell the real truth about justice today is missed. 

COURT CLOSURES UPDATE

Latest information on court closures:-

SALAMI SLICING OUR FREEDOM//LIBERTY REDUCTION ORDERS

Changes have been made to our justice system in the last two decades which would have raised cries of horror from parliamentarians of the 19th and 20th centuries who were as concerned with liberties for the populace as they were with party politics. During my time on the bench ASBOs became the easy way to control behaviour which some described as arbitrary; a seemingly innocuous civil order which opened the door to five years custody if broken. This was followed by Drink Banning Orders in 2010. All they do is displace the problem drinker from one area to another. If ever legislation is seen to be like moving the chairs on the deck of the Titanic DBOs are a prime example.  CRASBOs, Criminal Anti Social Behaviour Orders followed; another attempt by the Home Office under Teresa May to limit the options of those who might have behaved not in accordance with some unstated standards. Since my retirement Community Protection Notices have been a favoured method of exerting control over those deemed to have caused some sort of offence to others whether or not such behaviour could be proved to be dangerous to society as a whole or to individuals.  The senior legal profession has as usual remained silent on the introduction of these liberty reduction orders.

I don`t often agree with much that is written in the Guardian but this piece from Saturday`s edition is a must for those seeking greater understanding of what is happening to justice and individual liberty under our very noses which seem unable to smell the poison emanating from the MOJ and a supine parliament which is in intellectual decline as never before allowing another slice of our freedom to be taken from us. 

AN IGNORANT BARONESS

House of Lords 3rd July 2018

Read below the enlightening remarks of an unelected law maker. Booted upstairs she spouts this rubbish.  If she believes it she ought to know the Sentencing Guidelines. If she`s looking for publicity by being outspoken she should resign.  One more reason to abolish the House of Lords.

Baroness Corston Labour

My Lords, I, too, welcome the fact that the Government have abandoned their prison building programme in favour of women’s community centres. That is certainly better than anything that happened under the coalition. However, I point out to the Minister that in 2017 one-quarter of the women sentenced to prison were serving sentences of less than one month, and 217 women were sentenced to less than two weeks. What action are the Government going to take to stop magistrates imposing these ludicrous sentences?