Issue 166  31st October 2020

Jury Trial Sites

As of 29 October there are 234 main jury courtrooms available, supported by 10 jury courtrooms in Nightingale Courts and 4 jury courtrooms in other existing HMCTS court accommodation. We understand from HMCTS that this figure has since increased to 242, and they expect the remaining enabling works to be completed over the weekend in order to meet their target of 250 jury enabled courtrooms by the beginning of November...

Following rigorous health and safety assessments, King’s Lynn Crown Court will restart jury trials next week, bringing the total to 78.

'Courts backlog tipping point for justice system'

The number of criminal cases waiting to be dealt with by Crown Courts threatens to overwhelm the justice system in England and Wales, a study suggests. A backlog in the courts hearing the most serious cases could be 195,000 by 2024 without action, says crime and justice consultancy Crest Advisory. It says longer sittings and new courts are needed to tackle the problem, which has worsened during the Covid pandemic. The Ministry of Justice said the study was based on "extreme assumptions". The authors of the study say it is a reasonable worst case scenario but there is a "catastrophic risk to public confidence, and effective enforcement of the law".

The report can be found here.

'Legal aid services are on brink of collapse, lawyers tell MPs'

Legal aid services are on the brink of collapse due to successive cuts and the disruption wreaked by Covid-19, say lawyers. At the opening of an investigation, organised by MPs at Westminster, into the sustainability of legal aid, there were calls for urgent government investment in the underfunded legal aid system. Miscarriages of justice are likely and many solicitors doing criminal work cannot earn a living out of the profession, two Conservative MPs told the independent inquiry on Thursday...

The most severe problems are among criminal specialists. Crown court trials are now being listed as far ahead as late 2022 due to the growing backlog caused by courts not being able to function at full capacity during the pandemic. Even before lockdown, the Ministry of Justice’s attempts to save funds by reducing the number of judges’ sitting days made practice increasingly difficult for legal aid firms.

'The CPS is working hard to improve prosecution rates across the country'

A recent article on The Guardian titled ‘Convictions for rapes in London less likely than in 2015, research shows’ has raised concerns about falling convictions in rape and sexual offence cases in London, despite a rise in reports. The CPS shares the concern about the fall in prosecutions, which is why we have already launched a programme of work to improve prosecution rates and volumes for rape and serious sexual offences across the country - it is also important to note that conviction rates of cases prosecuted have increased...

Working to narrow the gap between the number of rape and serious sexual offences reported and cases going to court continues to be a major focus for the CPS in London and across the country. The work London has been doing with the police is now resulting in an increase in the number of cases being referred to us for a charging decision. We are confident that our joint working with police and partners will bring the improvements we all want to see, but the impact of these actions will take time to be seen.

'Prolific drug users will no longer face prosecution' (£££)

Heroin, cocaine and cannabis users will be exempt from prosecution for repeated offences under a new police scheme that signals the creeping decriminalisation of drug use. Prolific users can avoid a criminal record as long as they agree to a diversion programme that includes rehabilitation, under the West Midlands pilot scheme. Adult and teenage users will continue to avoid arrest and prosecution, even if they are repeatedly caught with small amounts of drugs, provided that they stay engaged with the scheme...