03. Aug. 2010. – 08:52:18
For the last three or four years there has been a concerted effort by police and CPS to bring to court cases of “domestic violence”. Those which are tried at Magistrates` Courts are charged under Common Assault the domestic context being an aggravating factor. There has been an undoubted political impetus to demonstrate that this form of assault, often but not invariably between partners in an intimate relationship, will no longer be tolerated as it once was by police in general and the law in particular. This in itself is no bad development but in a manner similar eg to a reformed alcoholic or smoker or those who have found religion proselytising zeal by CPS is apparent for all to see who care to look.
The CPS has its guidelines and thresholds to which it must adhere and apply to cases brought to it for prosecution. The recent furore over the death of Mr Tomlinson at the G20 demo last April has brought these factors well and truly into the public domain for those outwith the legal professions.
I have recently become aware that I have been on benches over the last few months where the rate of acquittal in DV cases seems perhaps higher than it ought to be. The reason is simple enough; the prosecution was not able to convince us beyond reasonable doubt that in each case the defendant had indeed committed the crime[s] for which s/he was charged. And that was because the evidence was flimsy and insubstantial the cause sometimes being the inconsistency of the complainant. There is another possible reason and that is the readiness of police and CPS to accept with little probing the veracity of the allegations.
An example was reported last week at Wirral Magistrates` Court where an offender overreacted to being thought the guilty party in a domestic violence incident when he was in fact the complainant.
I have blogged previously that assault in a domestic context be considered as a unique offence. I am well aware my observations are not necessarily typical. Nevertheless with CPS areas dumbing down the level of those who oversee and fine tune prosecutions and the reduction in legal aid available for defendants both in quantity and quality I fear that the current standard of summary justice will inevitably diminish notwithstanding the excellent duties most of my colleagues perform.
The CPS has its guidelines and thresholds to which it must adhere and apply to cases brought to it for prosecution. The recent furore over the death of Mr Tomlinson at the G20 demo last April has brought these factors well and truly into the public domain for those outwith the legal professions.
I have recently become aware that I have been on benches over the last few months where the rate of acquittal in DV cases seems perhaps higher than it ought to be. The reason is simple enough; the prosecution was not able to convince us beyond reasonable doubt that in each case the defendant had indeed committed the crime[s] for which s/he was charged. And that was because the evidence was flimsy and insubstantial the cause sometimes being the inconsistency of the complainant. There is another possible reason and that is the readiness of police and CPS to accept with little probing the veracity of the allegations.
An example was reported last week at Wirral Magistrates` Court where an offender overreacted to being thought the guilty party in a domestic violence incident when he was in fact the complainant.
I have blogged previously that assault in a domestic context be considered as a unique offence. I am well aware my observations are not necessarily typical. Nevertheless with CPS areas dumbing down the level of those who oversee and fine tune prosecutions and the reduction in legal aid available for defendants both in quantity and quality I fear that the current standard of summary justice will inevitably diminish notwithstanding the excellent duties most of my colleagues perform.
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