27. Nov. 2009. – 13:06:39
Over 90% of criminal cases in this country
are undertaken from plea to sentence at the Magistrates` Courts. For over 600
years the title Magistrate has been bestowed on members of a community who have
been given the authority to sit in judgement over their fellow citizens. With
the acceptance of a constitutional monarchy, the reduced and disappearing
privileges of the aristocracy and an ever widening franchise magistrates are
now appointed from every level of law abiding society, from every religion,
from every creed, from every race. That is as it should be in what is still a
free democratic society although that description one could argue is hanging on
by its fingernails [to mix metaphors.
However with the creation of a unified courts system; Her Majesty`s Court Service, there is a suspicion that the days of the Justice of the Peace might be numbered. Magistrates` Courts are closing in ever increasing numbers and many more are mooted. A recently published document by career civil servant Kevin Pogson "Planning for the future of the magistrates` courts service in London" in conjunction with similar documents containing spurious statistics, "targets" etc seeks to justify the closure within ten years of perhaps a quarter or more of the current court buildings, "Over the next ten years.......should be reduced to a much smaller core estate." "Re-organisation" in cloud cuckoo civil servant land where the volume of verbiage is inversely proportional to the veracity of thought means that in all probability fewer JPs will be needed. After all fewer defendants are being brought before magistrates and more are appearing at Crown Court. Perhaps the ever increasing activities of Police acting, in addition to their primary role, as judge and jury in the issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices have something to do with it? Then we have Jack Straw complaining at the recent AGM of the Magistrates` Association that far too many defendants are being sent to Crown Court for trial..[see previous blog on E/W offences]. Anther anomaly in this Criminal Justice System is the complaint that since the introduction of suspended sentences became available to Magistrates` Courts too many miscreants are being sent to prison. Forget that they end up behind bars because the deterrent effect has failed. And of course we are familiar now with the scandal of prison governors releasing prisoners at their discretion without any notification to anybody.
The cost differences between using about 29000 unpaid JPs [expenses only] and a much much smaller number of £100K p/a District Judges is perhaps beginning to attract the attention of the cost cutters in this Labour inspired economic meltdown. The price for justice would be that a British citizen who currently has a right to be tried by his peers in the form of a Bench of three magistrates would face trial before a single professional judge. JPs who can resign at any time over a point of principle without financial sacrifice would be replaced for ever by professional judges who would forfeit their living if they had to rule on laws over which they profoundly disagreed and consequently resigned. A sad day for justice; a sadder one for democracy!
However with the creation of a unified courts system; Her Majesty`s Court Service, there is a suspicion that the days of the Justice of the Peace might be numbered. Magistrates` Courts are closing in ever increasing numbers and many more are mooted. A recently published document by career civil servant Kevin Pogson "Planning for the future of the magistrates` courts service in London" in conjunction with similar documents containing spurious statistics, "targets" etc seeks to justify the closure within ten years of perhaps a quarter or more of the current court buildings, "Over the next ten years.......should be reduced to a much smaller core estate." "Re-organisation" in cloud cuckoo civil servant land where the volume of verbiage is inversely proportional to the veracity of thought means that in all probability fewer JPs will be needed. After all fewer defendants are being brought before magistrates and more are appearing at Crown Court. Perhaps the ever increasing activities of Police acting, in addition to their primary role, as judge and jury in the issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices have something to do with it? Then we have Jack Straw complaining at the recent AGM of the Magistrates` Association that far too many defendants are being sent to Crown Court for trial..[see previous blog on E/W offences]. Anther anomaly in this Criminal Justice System is the complaint that since the introduction of suspended sentences became available to Magistrates` Courts too many miscreants are being sent to prison. Forget that they end up behind bars because the deterrent effect has failed. And of course we are familiar now with the scandal of prison governors releasing prisoners at their discretion without any notification to anybody.
The cost differences between using about 29000 unpaid JPs [expenses only] and a much much smaller number of £100K p/a District Judges is perhaps beginning to attract the attention of the cost cutters in this Labour inspired economic meltdown. The price for justice would be that a British citizen who currently has a right to be tried by his peers in the form of a Bench of three magistrates would face trial before a single professional judge. JPs who can resign at any time over a point of principle without financial sacrifice would be replaced for ever by professional judges who would forfeit their living if they had to rule on laws over which they profoundly disagreed and consequently resigned. A sad day for justice; a sadder one for democracy!
No comments:
Post a Comment