On 29 December 2015, to relatively little fanfare, a well-meaning but ultimately flawed criminal law was brought into force. Today, some 8 months on, the Guardian reports that the number of people being prosecuted under this law is low, inviting remedy under David Allen Green’s so-prescient-that-it-surpasses-satire Something Must Be Done Act 2014. The issue at…
Read moreIt’s official: the Criminal Justice System is broken, and no-one seems to care
Friday 27 May 2016. The day on which the following events were deemed worthy of historical record on the front pages of the English press: It is also the day, you may be interested to know, that the criminal justice system was officially declared “close to breaking point”. Not by me or my kindred professional…
Read moreDefendants in person, aliens and the MoJ Jekyll and Hyde
“Right.” The legal advisor looked at me, then back at the defendant. “And are any of them going to be witnesses for you today?” “Any of who?” replied the defendant. The legal advisor looked at me again and cleared his throat. “Any of the aliens?” The defendant shook his head angrily. “No! My case isn’t…
Read moreProsecutions are in crisis – how can the DPP suggest otherwise?
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language And next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.” ― Little Gidding, T.S. Eliot Fashion dictates that the first written offering of a new year be contorted around a vague theme of resolutions and renewal. And those who know…
Read moreSo you’ve witnessed a crime…10 things you should know as a witness (but probably won’t be told)
This is a little later than promised. But, following on from the Criminal Justice Alliance report last month, chronicling the collected misery of witnesses in Crown Court trials, herewith a litany of dirty little secrets masquerading as home truths, which I as a witness would want to know in advance. Just to make the heartbreak…
Read moreWitnesses in criminal cases deserve to know the truth
The criminal courts are horrible. That is an inalienable truth. It is also a succinct way of summarising the findings of a report published last week by the Criminal Justice Alliance following a 20-month study of the Crown Courts. The paper – Structured Mayhem: Personal Experiences of the Crown Court – relies on observations of…
Read moreSexism? Welcome to the Bar, love.
When I was a baby barrister, one particular instructing solicitor used to send me his most unappealing, horrible clients on the basis that, in his words, “You look like a child, and judges will find it harder to slam my clients with your little babyface peeking up at them”. At the time I accepted the backhanded compliment with…
Read moreBozo the clown shows that the government doesn’t even understand its own grotesque Criminal Courts Charge
Do not mistake this for a witch-hunt. It is not. Rather, it is a ninny-hunt. In fact, if there was sufficient slogan space on the t-shirts that I, as a modern-day Thomas Danforth, would distribute to the villagers along with their flaming torches, it is a Legally-Illiterate-Ninny-Who-Has-Inexplicably-Found-His-Hands-On-The-Oxidated-Levers-of-Justice hunt. Shailesh Vara MP, the under-secretary of state at the Ministry…
Read moreOfficial: If you are accused of a crime, the government will pay more for someone to photocopy your case than for someone to defend you
This is not a complaint about what criminal barristers get paid. Honestly. There are plenty of such grizzlings on other posts over these pages. But this is not one of them. No siree. Well not really. Admittedly pay rates are a feature of this contemplation, but only as an adjunct to a broader, more depressing principle. And it…
Read moreWitless for the Prosecution: A brief response to the CPS’ response
Last weekend, the Sun on Sunday gobbled up the juiciest, lowest-hanging fruit on the legal stories tree (if such an arboreal metaphor exists) and published a mini-splash on the various maladies rotting the Crown Prosecution Service. The article, “Witless for the Prosecution”, relied upon seemingly anecdotal evidence from two anonymous CPS whistleblowers – one a…
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