17. Jul. 2010. – 13:34:17
For the country`s 28,000 magistrates the last few weeks have been little less than traumatic insofar as the proposed, probable or possible changes which have been mooted, hinted at or flagged up depending upon which adjectives and verbs suit your opinion on the utterings emanating from such sources as The Ministry of Justice, both houses of Parliament, Civitas, Inspector of Prisons, Chief of Probation, ACPO, The Law Society and Uncle Tom Cobley and all.
The Ministry is of course the major player and magistrates mere pawns. On one hand the Minister Jonathan Djanogly states his intention of improving efficiency of Magistrates` Courts by increasing their utilisation from 64% to 80%.... He apparently thinks that ”just like that” efficiency will be improved. Sounds more like the late great Tommy Cooper than a serious statement. The Minister either ignores or is ignorant of the myriad reasons why courts do not function at his targeted rate. Kenneth Clarke tells us “his opinion” is that short prison sentences do not reduce crime rates. My opinion is that such matters should not be decided by opinions but by analyses of statistics and reasoned debate with social scientists who can provide reasoned conclusions. Probation chiefs and prison governors and their respective unions are each struggling to rubbish the other as to “what works”. Duty solicitors and criminal lawyers are striving to offer competent and quality services to their clients whilst receiving ever reducing fees.
Last week having a brief discussion with our legal adviser whilst our court was in the midst of its 36% down time as complained of by Minister Djanogly owing to CPS files having gone missing it was clear that this disruption caused by impending court closures is having a ruinous effect on him and his colleagues.. There are certain to be redundancies but in what form and under what conditions is unclear. It is also likely that increasingly District Judges will be used in place of J.P.s and that they will inevitably be served in future not with qualified legal advisers [barristers or solicitors as at present] but with legal executives or other lower qualified personnel. A career switch for legal advisers to criminal law practice will be virtually impossible for the foreseeable future. For these highly capable professionals dealing daily with a varying cast of magistrates to whom in court they must refer to as “sir” or “madam” the future must be truly depressing and terrifying.
The first duty of any government is the protection of its citizens from those abroad or within who would wreak terror in all its manifest forms from bombing to burglary. That duty requires priority over any “guarantees” to health services, education services, social services or any other “services”. That duty is manifestly being abrogated.
The Ministry is of course the major player and magistrates mere pawns. On one hand the Minister Jonathan Djanogly states his intention of improving efficiency of Magistrates` Courts by increasing their utilisation from 64% to 80%.... He apparently thinks that ”just like that” efficiency will be improved. Sounds more like the late great Tommy Cooper than a serious statement. The Minister either ignores or is ignorant of the myriad reasons why courts do not function at his targeted rate. Kenneth Clarke tells us “his opinion” is that short prison sentences do not reduce crime rates. My opinion is that such matters should not be decided by opinions but by analyses of statistics and reasoned debate with social scientists who can provide reasoned conclusions. Probation chiefs and prison governors and their respective unions are each struggling to rubbish the other as to “what works”. Duty solicitors and criminal lawyers are striving to offer competent and quality services to their clients whilst receiving ever reducing fees.
Last week having a brief discussion with our legal adviser whilst our court was in the midst of its 36% down time as complained of by Minister Djanogly owing to CPS files having gone missing it was clear that this disruption caused by impending court closures is having a ruinous effect on him and his colleagues.. There are certain to be redundancies but in what form and under what conditions is unclear. It is also likely that increasingly District Judges will be used in place of J.P.s and that they will inevitably be served in future not with qualified legal advisers [barristers or solicitors as at present] but with legal executives or other lower qualified personnel. A career switch for legal advisers to criminal law practice will be virtually impossible for the foreseeable future. For these highly capable professionals dealing daily with a varying cast of magistrates to whom in court they must refer to as “sir” or “madam” the future must be truly depressing and terrifying.
The first duty of any government is the protection of its citizens from those abroad or within who would wreak terror in all its manifest forms from bombing to burglary. That duty requires priority over any “guarantees” to health services, education services, social services or any other “services”. That duty is manifestly being abrogated.
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