HINDSIGHT AND FORESIGHT

Recent public awareness has prompted more articles and social media comments on the appalling delays facing defendants awaiting trial or even in some cases hearings at magistrates courts.  Perhaps I`ve got the cart before the horse and it is the media which has prompted that awareness.  With some cases being adjourned for 12 months or more our lower court system resembles that of a third world nation.  With that in mind I have copied below some tiny proportion of the interesting matters which came my way in the last year or two of my magisterial career......those were the days......................

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

I am pleased to be writing to all 23,500 magistrates in the country about a new piece of work I have launched which I hope will strengthen and widen your role.

 

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

 .................................................................................................................................................................... 

			xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 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 Applications Court each day of the week at xxxxxxx from the 6 May from 9.30am until 10am in court number 1.

 

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 Judicial College website:-www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk.

 

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 England and Wales from 8 March 2014.

 

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

....................................................................................................................................................

 

The letter and comments from one of literally dozens of Secretaries and Ministers at the Ministry of Justice 2010-2024 could probably have been sent any year of that Tory/Coalition rule. The wordsmiths at Petty France have first class expertise in cut and paste. The document from 7th May is of a more serious nature. I have copied below a relevant extract from above.

Applications Court at the xxxxxxxxx courthouse from the 6 May 2014

 

The Judicial Leadership Group has agreed to the establishment of an Applications Court each day of the week at xxxxxxx from the 6 May from 9.30am until 10am in court number 1.

 

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.

Note the time to be allocated to the Applications Court; 30 minutes and the various applications to be considered in that time frame. Some readers might recollect the scandal of utility companies` harsh and perhaps illegal treatment of customers who had become in debt to their energy supplier.  The scandal was a direct result of applicants` requirement for sincere judicial involvement being sacrificed for time limited allocations.  To those who want to fully appreciate the iniquities of this policy please type "utilities" in the search box.

It`s an interesting speculation that having established the principle of a single magistrate presiding at the applications court that a single magistrate could preside at low level cases many being those where strict liability applies.  And so the idea of the Single Justice Procedure was likely to have been born; an idea now in its tenth year of operation and which has proved to be as contrary to the concept of justice as the utilities fiasco.  

Domestic Violence Protection Notices I would argue look better in print than in the future practice we have seen over the last decade or so.  

 

The DJC guidance note-1/2014:-Use of I.T. in magistrates courts [above] has much to commend it and is the basis for the updates since 2014. However there is a simple or apparently simple aspect or anomaly which could also be applied to juries:- namely if a magistrate or juror expert in his/her own field eg medical, anthropological, geographical etc etc is 100% certain of lies or misinformation spoken or presented by a witness or defendant is s/he not obliged to inform his/her colleagues?  Indeed I followed my own advice on one occasion and told my two colleagues that a defendant's statement was totally untrue based on the fact that my colleagues knew the area and depth of my expertise.  If that information had been gained by investigating a  3rd party source it would have been clearly in breach of the guidance but personal exchanges.........??

There are visions for the future or foresight and there is hindsight. A wise person or organisation uses the latter better to inform the former. 

 
 ADDENDUM  24TH JUNE 2025

 

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 England and Wales, and is effective immediately.

 

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.

Judicial office holders who maintain blogs must adhere to this guidance and should remove any existing content which conflicts with it forthwith. Failure to do so could ultimately result in disciplinary action. It is also recommended that all judicial office holders familiarise themselves with the new IT and Information Security Guidance which will be available shortly. 

 

Any queries about this guidance should be directed to Simon Parsons at Judicial Office - Tel: 0207 073 4811 Email: simon.parsons@judiciary.gsi.gov.uk   

 

ADDENDUM 25TH JUNE 2025

In the light of proposals for a new tier of courts between magistrates and crown courts this document from 2013  might of interest.

Senior Presiding Judge’s Magistrates’ Liaison Group, January 2013

Judges sitting with Magistrates

1. There are, occasionally, advantages to a DJ (MC) sitting with Magistrates in a bench of three.

2. Without being unduly proscriptive, such occasions include the following:

(i) The improvement of Magistrates’ case management skills;

(ii) Fostering a culture of collegiality;

(iii) Dealing with the situation which has arisen where a DJ (MC’s) list has collapsed, so avoiding all three Magistrates (perhaps already at Court) being deprived of sittings.

3. With regard to 2(iii) above, sitting as a Bench of three can do much to obviate the frustration the disappointed Magistrates might otherwise feel and should serve to improve relations between the DJ (MC) and the local Magistracy.

4. It is not to be anticipated that there will be many sittings of a Bench of three. Such sittings require local agreement of those concerned (the DJ, magistrates and Justices’ Clerk).

5. The following principles apply to sittings of a Bench of three:

 The District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) chairs the bench.

 Joint decision making applies; even if the DJ (MC) is in the minority, the majority view prevails.

JUST ANOTHER DAY

 

IS KEIR STARMER MOSES OR PHARAOH?

I suppose it all began with Watergate. The burglary ordered by President Nixon was bad enough but it was the subsequent cover up which brought him down and led to his ignominious resignation.  In this country, however, cover ups have become institutionalised.  An independent review of maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals  is currently ongoing via the Ockenden Review. It is not unlikely that officials of the Trust will be charged with corporate manslaughter. Humberside Police has also opened an investigation into avoidable patient deaths following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedures at Castle Hill Hospital near Hull. A police investigation is underway into at least 105 cases of alleged medical negligence by two surgery teams at the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. These are just the tip of a Watergate inspired iceberg slowly but surely being uncovered the length and breadth of this country.  Powerful individuals appointed by various committees have used their authority to secure their organisation`s reputation and/or income against valid accusations, sometimes criminal, of impropriety or worse by naming, shaming and discrediting those within who have tried to bring into the public domain the offending and the offenders.  The current Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police on assuming his job told the world to expect many police scandals to emerge in his first year in the job.  We have not been disappointed.

The latest can of worms to be offered for public display was the publication yesterday of a report by Baroness Casey that found inter alia that many officials at the highest level of authority in various categories covered up the fact that there was a preponderance of Muslims involved in what has become known as the grooming scandal.  I recollect all too clearly comments to journalists by such figures when confronted by the numbers of Muslims involved countering the information by claiming many more white men were in paedophile gangs conveniently omitting the obvious that whites were within a far far larger cohort.  All too often on live T.V. the reporter would let such remarks go unchallenged.  Those who comment on Muslim lawlessness and social mores have even been threatened with police action  (This blog last week June 10th) the same police who deliberately and with intent refused to record the ethnicity of those charged. Since 2020 the CPS has published the ethnicity of serious offenders.

https://www.cps.gov.uk/foi/2024/ethnic-breakdown-prosecutions-hate-crime-rape-and-child-abuse-cases#:~:text=For%20Protected%20Characteristics%2C%20data%20on,been%20included%20in%20these%20tables.

This blog is not a news service.  Having been retired from the magistracy for a decade it is no longer a weekly comment on magistrates courts.  This "freedom" allows opinion on matters which might be of concern to those who are interested in the law as it affects the general public to be expressed without the restrictions imposed whilst a member of that junior branch of the judiciary.  

Shakespeare`s Marcellus in Act I, scene iv Hamlet was right then about Denmark and it is becoming increasingly obvious that it allows it to be said that there is something rotten in the state of England.  That rot extends to the House of Commons where too many "Hon" MPs are concerned primarily with their own re-election above all else and a small minority the advancement of Islamist ideology. To say they would sell their souls to the devil doesn`t go nearly far enough in understanding how the rot is embedded.  "The lady`s not for turning" is a phrase that will live forever in the annuls of parliamentary rebuttals.  It`s no wonder the Russians called Margaret Thatcher the "iron lady". 

From the tenant of 10 Downing Street downwards unlike his illustrious bag waving predecessor there is no indication that there is any basis to a political philosophy or direction underlying those who rule over us.  Social, economic and military policy are sacrificed to expediency.  The Red Sea opened for the Israelites as an escape route from death and extermination but engulfed those who sought their destruction by seeking to follow their path.  Government and Opposition have no path except to proclaim "we`re not them" hoping that with the loudest voice their followers will travel with them before catastrophe engulfs all.   

BELOW A PSEPHOLOGICAL HORIZON

It is my opinion that the period 2024-2029 will be discussed by future historians as probably the most significant period in the political development of this country since 1940-1945; the year in which the country`s wartime leader was dumped at the polls by a population that by his power of will he had probably saved from catastrophe.  

There was hope that a new government last year would tell us the reality of a nation that for a decade had been living beyond its means and its plan to balance the financial books. Instead we had obfuscation bordering on lies.  Overwhelming majorities of the last two general elections seem to be a prelude to a volcanic upheaval of all that will have gone before.  Included in the political mix was the 2024 election of five MPs whose prime interest lies not in the wellbeing and representation of their constituents but in the condition of 2.2 million fellow Muslims 2,000 miles away suffering the backlash of their invasion of an adjoining nation.  There are currently 3.9 million Muslims in the UK according to the 2021 census making up 6.5% of the population, 1.2 million more than in 2011 census. Most Muslims see the Labour Party as their natural home but the situation in Gaza has radicalised many younger Muslims. That in itself is likely to produce a backlash to the benefit of an upsurge in support for Reform.  Concern over the risk threatened from that combination of circumstances the Labour government is toying with the idea of cosying up to Muslim voters by offering the possibility of a blasphemy law in practice if not in law.  What some might describe as a test case recently resulted in the conviction of a public book burner, a case which might go to appeal.  The reasoning of the judge [it was a summary matter] could be summarised as follows:-

Disorderly Conduct:

The judge deemed the defendant's actions to be disorderly due to the public nature of the burning, the presence of people likely to be caused distress, and the accompanying language used.

Provocation:

The act of burning a religious book was seen as highly provocative, especially when done in front of a consulate which is a place where people would be more likely to be offended.

Motivation:

The judge concluded that the burning was at least partially motivated by hatred of Muslims, not just a general criticism of Islam. The defendant's Islamophobic comments during police interviews also contributed to this conclusion.

No Blasphemy Law Expansion:

The judge explicitly rejected the idea that the prosecution was an attempt to bring back or expand blasphemy laws.

Sentencing:

Because the offence was found to be religiously aggravated, the sentence was uplifted to reflect this.

The judge`s actual sentencing remarks are here.

Not content with this verdict the government with deathly silence has classified the belief that the West is under threat from mass migration as a "terrorist ideology".  On the website for "Prevent" "cultural nationalism" is listed as a belief that could lead to a person being referred to the programme according to a report in the Daily Telegraph. Assuming the veracity of the report it would appear that the underlying authoritarian streak in Labour seeks to stifle criticism of the increasing Islamist influence within the party`s left wing.  Marxism and Islamism have been united in their antisemitic attacks purportedly in support of Palestinian  "rights". The widespread chants of "from the river to the sea" heard at anti Israel gatherings are clear in their determination that that nation should cease to exist as a Jewish state. 

The government in this matter and others is behaving and reacting like the captain of the ill fated Titanic which left Cherbourg with high expectation and headed into calamity at full steam ahead.  The electoral minimisation of Nigel Farage and Reform has, within the government, been declared its main objective as was the "Blue Riband" for the Titanic`s voyage to New York.  Just as the iceberg caused a tragedy instead of a triumph Labour`s kowtowing to Islamism will improve the likelihood that Farage will have a major effect in government activities post the next general election.  Unlike the fated ship`s captain Starmer has still the time and opportunity to change course but it seems increasingly unlikely that that there is a willingness or resolve to recognise increasing problems with and within his party of Marxists Muslims and money,  integration and immigration.  And like the iceberg 90% is below the psephological horizon of planners, punters and pollsters. 

AN OCCASIONAL STATE OF OUR COURTS` ACTIVITIES

 

THREE OF A KIND

Constitutional law is well above my pay grade but for those politically minded this article might provoke some interesting considerations. 

In what might be described as a who rules here case at Trinity College Cambridge a pro-Palestine encampment on Trinity lawn was dismantled yesterday morning (02/06), after the College acquired an interim high court injunction against protesters.  Deny it as they will there is no doubt that immature academic minds have absorbed more than most others the hateful propaganda emanating from the awful Gaza conflict.  For those with perhaps limited memories academics at all levels within their institutions in 1920s and 1930s Germany were amongst the most eager to absorb the increasingly lurid antisemitic tropes disseminated by Joseph Goebbels and his acolytes prior to the Nazis gaining power in 1933. .   

Finally an interesting case before the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office last month might provoke some reaction.  Readers of course will come to their own conclusions but I do wonder if presented to an individual applying for the magistracy whether or not it would be an encouraging feature.  Is there perhaps a case of a deeper delve into magistracy applicants` mores including political and/or social opinions?

BEING CRITICAL OF MUSLIMS

 

Is this the beginning of a Muslim push for a blasphemy law?

ADDENDUM 3rd JUne 2025

For a reasoned critique of the case read the thoughts of Humanists UK.

24th AUGUST 75AD POMPEI TIME

A couple of weeks in a warm climate where the habits and requirements of a normal lifestyle are laid aside for the indulgencies associated with retirement do not change the cycle of domestic happenings even when "roaming" is turned off and TV stations offer very limited choice in the English language.  

The recent domestic happening of interest to those associated however loosely with the legal and criminal justice system must be the announcements by the justice secretary of proposed changes to sentencing of offenders driven by the chronic shortage of prison places.  If ever there was an example of the political tail wagging the political dog this must surely be it.  

In 2010 the then justice secretary Kenneth Clarke was exuberantly proclaiming to his cabinet colleagues that he was first in line to declare his department`s budget cut of 23.8%.  Amongst his 11 Tory successors to 2024 was the thoroughly incompetent Chris Grayling 2012-2015 who emasculated the probation service. During the Tories period in office there were 8 Home Secretaries 2010-2024 including the ineffective Theresa May  and the proof that there really is truth in *Peter`s Principle;  the misbegotten Liz Truss. 5 Prime Ministers have ruled over us between 2010 and 2024 including the "I wannabe king of the world" Boris Johnson and the pair of aforesaid home secretaries promoted beyond their competence.  Is it any wonder that our nation is in its current mess. 

But it`s not only justice where good sense has been sacrificed to government  hope for sympathetic headlines in the Daily Tale or Daily Excess. Health, Education and Defence have experienced similar salami slicing of capital, expertise and predictive abilities.  Failure and collapse within policing and prisons and all stops in between has been apparent for 15 years.  Figures associated with crime and offending have been as statistically valid as counting the number of angels on a pinhead.  This was known by every single person and department within Whitehall and Petty France.  Covid exposed the reality beneath the chimera. 

From bringing up children to the threat of nuclear war deterrence is a common factor for most eventualities except in the thought processes of the MOJ.  Shoplifting less than £200 value?  No problem.  Bike theft? No problem? Car theft? No problem. Phone theft? No problem.  Make a supposedly offensive remark or be critical of an employee and face police arrest or a tribunal.  Criticise even in studied language immigration or those who would change the fundamentals of being British and there is a risk of being denounced as a racist.  And for the most vociferous of "progressives"  if one agrees with J.K. Rowling`s opinions of the transgender debate a fate worse than death should befall the individual.

It is becoming ever more obvious that the current government will fail. From 2019 and Boris Johnson`s 43.6% vote share with 365 seats and Keir Starmer`s 411 seats with 33.7% it is apparent that the British people find little hope when changing their vote from the devil to the deep blue sea.  The failure to deter, arrest, convict and incarcerate offenders is now deeply ingrained in the politics of the electorate. No longer is the failure of an outdated concept of providing health provision allowing for reasoned debate.  "Our NHS" has become a totem or religious relic from an age when this country basked in the fading glory of king and empire.  Populism results in a combination of offering socialism where it suits to nationalism when it appeals.  It is the public response to a political situation where the previously normal choices of right and left have been left behind.  It is like a previously considered dormant volcano about to erupt.  It is spontaneous and destructive.  It is now in the UK August 24th 75AD Pompei Time.  

*PETER`S PRINCIPLE

The Peter Principle states that people in an organization or company will be promoted until they are no longer qualified, filling that organisation or company with incompetent leadership.

PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE

Despite having had all the vaccinations known to the NHS for those like me of a certain age the flu virus is taking its toll of my patience.  I hope that a couple of weeks in the sunnier, warmer climes of Greece will return to me a taste for good food and wine to be savoured outdoors followed by a fine Havana cigar.  

Accordingly there will be no updates here until such time that the future has become just a fading memory.   This blog has posts since 2013 and so I hope to add to them by the end of May. 

RETIRED MAGISTRATES CAN BE SEEN BUT NOT HEARD

For some magistrates being able to metaphorically strut around squawking their JP status like a peacock wooing a peahen is their primary interest in serving our justice system.  On my bench which numbered about 300 I would estimate by conversations over many years perhaps 10% were not unhappy to demonstrate their "status" as being what they considered a perk of the job. For my own part even my neighbours didn`t know I was a magistrate until it became known after my retirement which brings me to the position of magistrates when they leave the bench at 75 or younger as might be the case.  They are automatically moved on to the supplemental list.  This transition allows them continual use of the suffix JP but removes virtually all the previous powers and privileges.  

Magistrates on the supplemental list may not:

• sit in a magistrates’ court to adjudicate on cases
• sign summonses or warrants, including search warrants
• be a member of any committee or any other body as a magistrate
• take part in the election of chairman or deputy chairman of any bench
• attend any formal or business meeting of their former bench
• countersign an application for a shotgun or firearms licence
• sign off statutory declarations.

However, and it`s a big however, such retired magistrates are still subject to all the do`s and don`ts issued by the Lord Chancellor.  There must be very many who are unaware of those prohibitions or choose to ignore them as being irreplaceable enhancements to their own egos. Such was the case of Reverend Terence Young JP.  

There are amongst all occupations and/or professions those whose ego outperforms their abilities.  They do not have to be retired to be caught in the spotlight.  They are all around us their self aggrandisement to be pricked before harming those around them. 

THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF WOKE?

Trump was grandstanding of course but his tirade against Diversity Equity and Inclusion [DEI]  was met here by the predictable as predictable for the predictable.  Those who rode the equine woke spectre of all things achieved and yet to be destroyed like the horsemen of the apocalypse  were aghast.  Those on the right accustomed of late to being called out as racist if they referred to Flopsy as a white rabbit felt at long last that finally the world or a good part of it was beginning to see the truth that woke is a chimera; it has no reality just as a woman now by the grace of the supreme court can be legally said not to have a penis now, not ever.  Those employed in the private sector are now on prozac awaiting a possible appointment with their HR departments.  The civil service, however, is almost a law unto itself.  And His Majesty`s Courts and Tribunal Service  is a flag bearer for woke. The costs and numbers of those employed in the organisation who have as their main or associated function the study, policy input, activity and implementation of DEI over the last five years have recently been revealed in a Freedom of Information request the results of which are copied below.  I make no comment on these numbers but assume some readers will make their own conclusions. 

ARE WE APPROACHING THE DEMOCRATIC PARADOX?

First there were guilds and guilds begat trade unions and laterally professional associations all with the purpose of protecting their members` interests. The industrial age of the 19th century saw trade unions morph into political parties but professional associations generally kept within their constitutional boundaries and/or pursued their political aims behind closed doors. An oft quoted exception was the medical profession`s fight against the establishment of a national health service. We are living with the consequences of privately operated general practices where every measurement taken be it weight, blood pressure etc is subject to a tick box reward of ££.  But within the hospital sector doctors on the gravy train to consultant status have realised that strength is in numbers and they have as in the recent past rallied round a flag this time of opposition to the recent Supreme Court`s ruling on women.  It seems that the marxist overcoat wearing leaders extending to their followers are once again on a collision course with elected government.  

The hate engendered marchers whose sympathy for the cause of those in Gaza is as much an opportunity to express in public their hate not just for Jews in Israel but Jews per se were given the green light by the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police to continue their intimidating diatribes.  Muslim rioters have been given to a certain extent a real tangible get out of jail free card.  Five Muslim MPs seem more interested in Gaza than their own constituencies.  Their fellow religionists in Sudan, Yemen and Syria where hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed are not on their radar.  I wonder why. 

Health, Education, Defence and Justice have been starved of funds for over 20 years and yet the headline in today`s Times is "Milkshakes tax looms in broader sugar levy".  The Left, in and out of parliament, screams "tax the rich" as they have been doing for decades.  There is still cash in the pockets of UK citizens; would some of that money be better spent by government than individuals?  Research indicates that more people are planning to take holidays abroad in 2025 compared to previous years and 20% of all travellers had already booked two or more international trips for 2025 before the end of last year.  

If, as is possible, the four departments of state as above, are still being starved of funds in 2029 and the frivolities of a woke culture have been shown to be superfluous to economic well being,  we might survive a crisis for democracy as we have known it since 1945. If not the Democratic Paradox looms.  Perhaps on the principle of salami slicing we are already within its radius.  

21st NOVEMBER 2010

Having just published the entry from my magistrate`s diary for 21. November 2010 https://amagistratesdiaries.blogspot.com/ and with the current controversy over the possibility of a "mongrel" court minus a jury and comprising a District Judge with two magistrate wingers I have copied here that day`s entry below.

There has been much attention paid to Lord Judge, Lord Chief Justice and the judiciary`s main man. This is as it should be. And when he comments on the jury system everybody listens and that also is how it should be. But critical comment has been………… pianissimo.

The good lord has explained his discomfort in that jurors might seek further knowledge from outside the courtroom when considering facts pertaining to a case. In other words they might seek to increase their knowledge by the common man`s most accessible source of information……the internet……. which might offer many things but in general terms is an enormous fantasamagorical library with an indexing system easy enough for Joe Blogs to find in seconds eg the Italian musical term for playing softly. But in the good old days only toffs and so called intellectuals had shelves full of books which contained information that was or could be useful for or of interest to them. Of course in those days old or good most such folk declined to serve on juries; they were too busy or considered themselves too important to judge their fellow man. Now that`s all changed and everybody……..or is anybody a better description?……..can be chosen for jury service. And that`s the point. There is no consideration of anybody`s intelligence or ability to follow the performance, to appreciate the hurdle “beyond reasonable doubt”, no test to ascertain the limits of anybody`s understanding of the English language or anybody`s capability of balancing the credibility of witnesses or the facility for anybody to comprehend a judge`s summing up. Truly anybody can be a bit thick but then that`s why we have a jury of twelve people who can be anybody. Of course under current attitudes supposedly handed down from Magna Carta and modified for current times peer review by any other term is what determines a defendant`s guilt or innocence.

In effect the LCJ is complaining that ignorant jurors trying to fulfil their task are seeking knowledge outside the courtroom which others in their group might already possess by virtue of their education, profession, general or specific knowledge or quite simply a higher IQ. Universal jury service is now an outmoded concept and sooner or later a senior member of the judiciary, probably after retirement, will step into the public arena and say so. This is not to say I am advocating judge[s] only courts……I am against the practice of single District Judges acting in trials as both judge and jury. I am suggesting that the concept of juries now constituted is not an 11th commandment notwithstanding the recent paper Are Juries Fair? Another interesting paper taking a wide historical perspective is A Historical and Comparative Perspective on the Common Law Jury . More research should be undertaken into possible variations to ensure that justice is done and seen to be done lest another government with similar authoritarian tendencies as those which lurked in Downing Street from 1997 until May pulls up its drawbridge and judge[s] only trials risk becoming commonplace.

KNIFE CRIME FROM NOW TO 2029?

How far into the depths of authoritarianism are we prepared to descend in order to ensure our streets are safe?  Even a decade ago such a question would have been or seemed ridiculous; not anymore.  Analysis of many public attitudes 2025 does not make for comfortable reading.  Opportunistic street crime including shop theft can affect anyone and everyone.  There can hardly be a single person who is unaware of a friend, relative or colleague who has been a victim of or witness to such everyday events.  

Woke influencers and journalists alongside self seeking politicians sought to diminish the frequency of stop and search for knives  irrespective of the facts that the large  cohort of those searched and their victims was black youths or young people.  In this House of Commons table I would point out that the ethnicity of offenders and victims is omitted.  That would seem to be deliberate policy; overlook that the king "is in the altogether" i.e. has no clothes and the public will be mollified by the naked scandal in its midst.

Between 2019/20 and 2021/22, a third of black homicide victims were aged 20 or younger. This compares to 13% of white victims and 25% of victims from the other ethnic groups.  At 31/03/2023 there were 24.5 stop and searches for every 1,000 black people and 5.9 for every 1,000 white people.  A comprehensive analysis of stop and search encounters is available here. 

There are a thousand and one opinions and statistics on knife crime.  And there are many who manipulate fact, figures and fiction to promote their own point of view as a basis of what should be done to reduce or even eliminate this awful aspect of our society.  Their shrills will become louder up to 2029.  Let us hope that reason can prevail for the sakes of the offenders as well as their victims so that my opening sentence is irrelevant. 

BENEATH THE TIMES

Lessons will be learned. How often is that the final sentence uttered by somebody reading or writing from a prepared script to apologise for the failings of some authority, organisation or quango when public ire has forced remedial action to be taken over long known failings which more often than not have been covered up by those in the know.  So many Chief Constables and other senior police officers have resigned or been fired in the last 15 years that there is no easily obtained source to see the extent of their failings and/or wrong doings. In similar fashion many hospital trusts have been castigated for being unable to deliver the required standard of care demanded medically and in some cases legally.  When such happenings are finally recognised government drags its feet to the shame of all of us whose trust has been misplaced.  The current scandal at the post office took a TV programme to shame the government. The tainted blood scandal going back decades is, to this very day, not fully resolved but with every dying victim the compensation will be lessoned. Retribution for the Hillsborough tragedy might still to be said, incomplete after over 30 years. 

And so to the Times Crime and Justice Commission now published.  In The Times today there is a synopsis under the following headings:-

• Shoplifting, robbery and anti social behaviour
• Knife crime and gangs
• Violence against women and girls
• Cybercrime and fraud
• Terrorism, radicalisation and online harms
• The role of technology
• The causes of crime
• Policing
• The courts
• Sentencing
• Prisons and probation

These topics have not appeared from an alien planet; they have been systematically ignored by those with the power to have done something about them years or even decades ago.

There are common causes which link the above with examples in the opening paragraph:  I would suggest that apart from misguided parsimony in the allocation of adequate funding there is a tolerance to or acceptance of incompetence in the highest reaches of management and/or a preference by government for brushing under the political carpet those matters which would cause embarrassment or worse still affect the chances of some favoured MPs being re-elected.    

Shoplifting is a perfect example.  With much reduced police numbers and no time or personnel available to investigate; half magistrates courts closed and a decimated probation service lead to reduced sentencing combined with no prison cells for short custodial sentencing of recidivists. Result is an explosion in such crime.  A similar tale of woe is seen re theft of mobile phones.  Similar chains have been created with similar links in so many aspects of what has been since the beginning of this millenium a woke attitude to so much that held our society together. 

There has been much discussion about the increase of autocracy in the world.  Autocrats including the one causing recent economic headaches don`t appear from Aladdin's  magic lamp; they are a result of democratic processes which have developed since 1945 failing many sections of a society.  It`s not inconceivable that in 2029 with another showman as prime minister experts will wonder how such a nation as the UK could fall from grace.

In 1927 the BBC adopted the motto, "Nation Shall Speak Peace Unto Nation".  That phrase encompassed what this country thought it stood for.  Hitler had already published Mein Kampf and Mussolini had been in power for five years.  Few could foresee what was around the corner.  We have had 25 years of moral, social, financial and political decline. There will be some{many?} who will vent their frustrations at the ballet box.  So many countries have voted for authoritarianism, why should we think we are any different?  That is the hidden message beneath the report from The Times. ​

THEY APPEALED

The Court of Appeal of England and Wales was created in 1875 and is split into two permanent Divisions; the Civil Division (which hears family cases as well as a range of civil appeals) and the Criminal Division which hears appeals against criminal convictions and sentences.  The Industrial Revolution led to an increase in the number and complexity of court cases and the need for court reform to deal with them.  The Court of Appeal was created as part of this new court. Following reforms contained in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.

For most people the Court of Appeal is of interest mainly when high profile criminal cases are involved but for many reasons the civil matters can be as highly significant as are the ferociously  paddling  webbed feet of a swan apparently moving effortlessly and serenely on the surface of a meandering river.  The following links are to some Court of Appeal decisions that are unlikely to feature in any but specialist journals or websites.

The following is of interest because it focuses on when a post on social media is considered merely objectionable or hateful. 

Some [many?] readers will be aware of the case in 2015, when Shamima Begum, along with two other schoolmates, travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State (IS) group and Begum was stripped of her British citizenship in 2019 after being found in a Syrian camp.  An unrelated but similar equally tragic case was heard recently at the Court of Appeal.

Immigration and its corollary deportation are probably amongst the top considerations of all our political parties` leaders and a matter of huge interest for many in this country.  The many possible interventions in the path of the deportation of immigrants legal and illegal are welcome fodder for the hordes of rabble rousers at all levels of the political spectrum.  This is a recent case. 

More than once I have opined that sometimes Scots law appears to offer a more logical road to justice than that of England and Wales.  Academics within the legal profession might find  Scots Law Influencing English Law on Deposits and Debt within Edinburgh Private Law Blog of interest.

Increasingly media items on the pros, cons, merits and safeguarding of whistleblowers grab our attention but it`s not always a bed of roses for those subsidised or not by interested parties  who consider themselves unjustly treated by large organisations or corporations.  Some are won and some are lost. 

Finally today there is the case of the chicken shops and their potential customers.  On the assumption that many of the sales at such establishments take place late in the evening when some of these customers might be worse for wear from over indulgence at local hostelries does the logo at the aforementioned takeaways have much significance?  Read what the Court of Appeal decided. 

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