Two-thirds of magistrates’ hearings are now fast-track
ALMOST two-thirds of magistrates court cases are now dealt with behindclosed-doors, it has been revealed, as the Lord Chancellor promised reform of an under-fire courts process.
An Evening Standard investigation has exposed a litany of shocking cases of pensioners, sick and vulnerable people being convicted in harsh circumstances in the single justice procedure.
The process, which allows magistrates to convict and sentence defendants in closed-door courts, has steadily grown in use since its introduction in 2015, and it now handles almost 800,000 criminal cases a year — 62 per cent of the total work done by magistrates.
Low-level crimes such as failing to pay the TV licence, speeding and train fare dodging are all handled by SJP magistrates, while tens of thousands of Covid lockdown breaches were dealt with by the system in the last three years. A single magistrates is permitted to dish out convictions and fines in hearings that can last less than a minute, based on written evidence only. In the latest innovation, oversight from legally training court staff has been reduced.
The Government is under mounting pressure to change the system, which lacks transparency and is delivering injustices on a daily basis. In Parliament yesterday, Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk insisted that “fairness is non-negotiable” and indicated he is willing to look at reform.
Warrington South MP Andy Carter, who sits as a magistrate, highlighted the Standard’s reporting on the procedure in the Commons, and said: “The principle behind the single justice procedure is good. I’ve sat on cases myself in SJP courts, but there are some concerns, particularly around vulnerable individuals who may have mitigation that is not necessarily being addressed.” Mr Chalk replied: “I do think there is an issue about transparency... I think that’s something we ought to look at recalibrating.”
The Magistrates’ Association said on Monday that its members do not think the system is working properly and has issued a 12-point plan for change, including an insistence that journalists should be able to sit in on SJP hearings and written reasons for decisions should be published in some cases. The Ministry of Justice has now promised to respond to the manifesto for change.