Monday Message 09.09.24
SITTING DAYS
This week, the longest sentence of imprisonment so far was imposed on a rioter in the Holiday Inn Express incident in Rotherham on 4th August 2024. The sentence was one imposed in only 1% of cases, an extended sentence. These are given to dangerous offenders who the court is satisfied pose a risk of serious harm to the public. The sentence amounted to a term of 14 years with 9 years imprisonment and 5 years extended licence. The process was fast. Within thirty three days the offender was arrested, charged, brought before the court, seen by a probation officer and a psychiatrist who prepared reports and was sentenced.
Three things struck us about this.
The first is that a joint decision was made by the Government, the police, the court service, the Crown Prosecution Service, assisted by the Judiciary to get this case dealt with at speed. Everyone who took part in that process was thanked save for the two talented and skilled criminal barristers from the North Eastern Circuit who prosecuted and defended it.
The second is that in the major discussions which took place with all those who would be involved in this process, the Bar was not included.
The third is that whilst this demonstrates what we can achieve working together to ensure that the criminal justice system plays its part in actively deterring others from engaging in this behaviour, the experience of thousands of people who have been subjected to crime and thousands of people who have been accused of a crime is horribly different. It can take four years for a person to be charged with a serious criminal offence and two years longer than that to get closure with a jury verdict. We at the criminal bar are the men and women who have to face the people who have come to court expecting to give evidence. We have to apologise and tell them that they need to come back in 12-18 months time. We see the devastation and anguish that news causes and we try to persuade people not to give up and walk away from the trial process.
In order to reduce the backlog of trials in the Crown Court criminal barristers have worked tirelessly and collaboratively because those cases matter to us. They are vitally important for witnesses waiting to give evidence and accused persons waiting for their trial. Further delays in the time between offence and the date of trial cause misery and hardship for every participant. It is the criminal barristers who have to try to stop people from just walking away from the trial process.
Sitting days are the number of days that individual courts are open to hear cases. We discovered over the weekend that sitting days are being reduced to 105,000 this year. The framework in which this decision has been taken is not an easy one for a new Government. What is difficult to understand is why our profession was not advised, consulted or included in discussions about this reduction. We could have made representations or constructive suggestions as to how the effect might be mitigated. Of course, fewer sitting days will reduce the cost of the system and delaying the through put of trials means that fewer prison spaces are immediately required for those found guilty. Whether those are the reasons for the reductions remains to be seen. Inevitably, fewer sitting days means fewer trials and an increase in the backlog of cases. We take issue with the long term lack of engagement with our profession and the lack of respect for it. Engagement and respect are essential to a well functioning criminal justice system. We have tried to foster these things by working with all court users.
The CBA recognises that there is a shortage of criminal barristers. We are saddened that some cases have not started because so many barristers have left our profession. We have warned of that danger for years. We were ignored. The warning given by Lord Bellamy and many of the independent recommendations he made were ignored.
An effective independent justice system is the cornerstone of a healthy democracy. The context in which the decision to reduce sitting days has been taken illustrates the chronic problems criminal justice faces in our country. It must be rectified with investment and collaborative working and we will play our part.
From today we would ask all of our members to advise us of courts or court rooms not sitting in their area so that we can assess whether the contention that the reduction in sitting days is a tiny proportion of the overall sitting days is fair and accurate. Please email us at [email protected].
THE NEXT GENERATION
This week, all across England and Wales, a huge number of young, talented pupils commence one of the most exciting and challenging parts of their training, to become a member of the Bar. We wish all pupils the very best experience. At the same time, many of our existing pupils are commencing their journey into tenancy. We thank all the pupil supervisors who, quietly, and without any remuneration, develop their pupil’s skills and knowledge. Pupillages are funded by the criminal barristers who work from sets of chambers which our pupils join, by the criminal barristers, who want to ensure that the profession continues.
The fact that Pupillages have survived all the cuts to the criminal justice system shows that Barristers remain committed to the future of their profession and bringing on the next generation of advocates. It shows that we are prepared to invest in that future. We are grateful to the Council of the Inns of Court for their scheme to assist criminal sets of chambers to offer additional pupillages and for the new initiative of the Bar Council to do the same.
We need to ensure that those pupils remain in criminal practice. The current attrition rate is high. This means that the Criminal bar and the Judiciary are missing out on some of the brightest and best talent for the future. Investment is needed to ensure there is a pool of advocates who prosecute and defend for the future.
Thanks
We are grateful for the support of Sam Townend KC and Barbara Mills KC, the Chair and Vice Chair of the Bar Council for taking the time to discuss our concerns and requirements and for their public support of us. We hope this collaborative working relationship between the Bar Council and the CBA continues.
Public consultation
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has launched a public consultation on new rules to promote equality, diversity and inclusion at the Bar. They tell us that they wish to ensure that the Bar is as inclusive as possible and that it is truly representative of the society it serves. The BSB wish to hear from us all as to whether what is suggested by them will support barristers to challenge. We want to ensure that the Bar is as inclusive as possible and that it is truly representative of the society it serves. Regulation alone cannot achieve that, but provides a regulatory framework which works against barriers to diversity and inclusion. We would appreciate it if criminal practitioners could take the time to respond. The consultation will be open until 5PM on Friday 29th November and you can contact [email protected] for any questions you may have.
The Impact of Pregnancy and Motherhood
Level Up is an organisation which, in conjunction with Doughty Street Chambers, has produced a toolkit with all the necessary resources to represent pregnant women and mothers of infants at all stages of the criminal justice system process, from bail to appeals against sentence. It also provides practitioners with the key prison law issues facing pregnant women and mothers in custody. Their work has included a campaign urge that pregnancy be an express consideration in the Sentencing Guidelines. The toolkit is available here.
We welcome the inclusion of pregnancy as an express consideration in the new Sentencing Guidelines.
Yours,
Mary Prior KC
Chair of The Criminal Bar Association.