A very quick [THREAD] on what this case could mean for the criminal justice system.
TLDR: The government’s refusal to make money available to replace the courts it has sold off could lead to dangerous criminals being released from custody and public safety being endangered.
TLDR: The government’s refusal to make money available to replace the courts it has sold off could lead to dangerous criminals being released from custody and public safety being endangered.
Something that excites the criminal justice system (especially statisticians at the Crown Prosecution Service) is “Custody Time Limits” (“CTLs”).
These are regulations setting the maximum time that somebody awaiting trial can be remanded in custody before their trial.
These are regulations setting the maximum time that somebody awaiting trial can be remanded in custody before their trial.
Unlike in the US, whether somebody awaits trial on bail or in custody is based not on money but an assessment of risk.
You generally have a right to bail unless a judge finds substantial grounds to believe you will flee, commit further offences or interfere with witnesses.
You generally have a right to bail unless a judge finds substantial grounds to believe you will flee, commit further offences or interfere with witnesses.
If you are remanded in custody, CTLs in theory guarantee you a quicker trial.
The maximum time you can be detained before your Crown Court trial is 182 days (6 months).
This can, however, be extended by the court in certain cases.
The maximum time you can be detained before your Crown Court trial is 182 days (6 months).
This can, however, be extended by the court in certain cases.
The test is whether the reason for the extension is an absent defendant/witness/judge; the need for multiple trials for a defendant; or “some other good and sufficient cause”.
The prosecution must also show they have acted “with all due diligence and expedition”.
The prosecution must also show they have acted “with all due diligence and expedition”.
If a CTL expires without an extension being granted, a defendant is released on bail.
This can obviously have serious consequences.
People have been killed when dangerous defendants have been released due to “CTL failures”, in the legal lingo.
This can obviously have serious consequences.
People have been killed when dangerous defendants have been released due to “CTL failures”, in the legal lingo.
Now Covid has caused problems due to the suspension in March of jury trials. Defendants who would have been tried within the CTL found their trials adjourned.
So the senior judiciary introduced a protocol confirming that this amounts to a good and sufficient cause to extend CTLs
So the senior judiciary introduced a protocol confirming that this amounts to a good and sufficient cause to extend CTLs
But.
The decision by a Crown Court judge at Snaresbrook could indicate a sea-change among judges.
Because since March, the government has done nothing meaningful at all to get trials running.
10 “Nightingale courts” when they sold off hundreds.
lawgazette.co.uk/news/court-clo…
The decision by a Crown Court judge at Snaresbrook could indicate a sea-change among judges.
Because since March, the government has done nothing meaningful at all to get trials running.
10 “Nightingale courts” when they sold off hundreds.
lawgazette.co.uk/news/court-clo…
Even with the backlog growing, the government is *still* refusing to pay to open the courtrooms we *do* still have:
While there may have been good reason to keep people in custody longer when Covid struck in March, five months on, the government has sat on its hands and refused to fund the courts to get trials running.
So HHJ Raynor has ruled this does *not* amount to a good reason to extend
So HHJ Raynor has ruled this does *not* amount to a good reason to extend
Now this is just a Crown Court decision - it creates no binding precedent
But if other judges form the same view, this will result in potentially dangerous offenders being released onto the streets pending trial, all over the country.
All because the govt won’t pay for justice.
But if other judges form the same view, this will result in potentially dangerous offenders being released onto the streets pending trial, all over the country.
All because the govt won’t pay for justice.
CORRECTION: This was Woolwich Crown Court, not Snaresbrook as stated.
