About
A free weekly collection of criminal law links - for practitioners, law students, and anyone with an interest in the criminal justice system of England and Wales.
Curated by Sam Willis, a barrister at 5 King's Bench Walk.
News
New Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary
In a surprise announcement, the former justice minister Robert Buckland QC MP was tonight named as lord chancellor and secretary of state for justice in Boris Johnson's cabinet. Buckland, MP for Swindon South, was called to the bar in 1991. He practised in criminal and planning law.
Buckland took silk when he joined David Cameron's government as solicitor general in 2014. He was appointed as minister of state at the Ministry of Justice in May following the promotion of Rory Stewart MP to international development.
Criminal Legal Aid Review - Plan
We are publishing our plan for accelerated work (PDF, 531KB, 1 page) , which we will keep updated as the review progresses. The plan reflects the main responsibilities of those involved, in particular for unused material. Further details of the actions and deliverables for accelerated areas will be set out in future iterations of the plan.
The areas where professionals have expressed pressing concerns and that we are going to fast-track are:
- unused material;
- cracked trials in the Crown Court;
- how advocates are paid for paper heavy cases;
- early engagement by defence practitioners (i.e. pre-charge advice); and
- payment for sending cases to the Crown Court.
General Sentencing Guideline
Judges and magistrates in criminal courts across England and Wales will have a new General guideline for sentencing offences that are not covered by a specific sentencing guideline from 1 October 2019. The General guideline, published today by the Sentencing Council, will ensure that judges and magistrates follow a structured and consistent sentencing process.
The Guideline can be found here.
'Downward trend in number of miscarriage of justice cases being referred continues for third year'
The miscarriage of justice watchdog referred just 13 cases back to the Court of Appeal last year, representing the second lowest number of referrals in its 22 year history. Over the first two decades the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) sent 33 cases a year on average back to the Appeal judges however the number referrals collapsed with just a dozen in 2017 and still has not recovered.
Speaking at a conference at the end of last year, a former commissioner Dr Sharon Persaud explained that when she joined in 2013 there were 8.6 full-time equivalent commissioners compared to 2.6 as she stepped down. There is now just one full time commissioner.
Croydon MC Four-Month Closure
Access to justice will be restricted even more than planned after HM Courts & Tribunals Service announced today that it is shutting down a London court for four months so that building work can be carried out. Croydon is being adapted to accommodate additional work arising from the closure of one of its neighbours, Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court.
The court will be closed from September until the end of the year. During that time, criminal cases will be heard in Camberwell, Wimbledon and Lavender Hill courts. Family cases will be transferred to Wandsworth County Court.
'Government stops sending inmates to troubled Feltham youth jail'
The government has temporarily stopped sending inmates to a troubled young offender institution (YOI), after an inspection revealed an "extraordinary" decline in safety and care.
The chief inspector of prisons has demanded immediate improvements at Feltham A YOI in west London. As a result he triggered the "urgent notification" process, giving the government 28 days to respond. Previously only five adult prisons had triggered this process.
The Urgent Notification letter can be read here.
Cases
R v Utton [2019] EWCA Crim 1341
It is apparent that following a conference in the cells the appellant then decided to dispense with the services of his counsel and later that day, when the PTPH was called on again, he pleaded not guilty to the two burglary counts and the assault on the police officer. The trial date was set for the trial of the burglaries for 25 May 2019... It appears that the day after the PTPH the appellant telephoned his solicitor stating that he had reflected and wished to plead guilty to the offences of domestic burglary and the associated assault on the officer. The court was informed. The case was relisted before Her Honour Judge Leigh on 13 February 2019, when the appellant was re-arraigned. The judge told the appellant that the Goodyear indication which she had given had lapsed...
In the present case, we consider it clear that the appellant did not plead guilty in response to the Goodyear indication within a reasonable period. What is a reasonable period will depend on the circumstances. Here the Goodyear indication had been sought immediately prior to the hearing of the PTPH. The appellant was then given an opportunity to speak to his legal advisers about it, but then the indication was specifically not acted upon: the appellant pleaded not guilty at the PTPH to the burglary counts, and the PTPH accordingly went ahead to consider directions and arrangements for the trial. In the present case we consider it clear that a reasonable opportunity elapsed that day without the appellant having pleaded guilty. In those circumstances, the indication ceased to have effect.
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