Judge heralds age of remote control justice
A NEW era of ‘justice by remote control’ will see sheriffs presiding over court hearings by video, Scotland’s top judge said yesterday.
In one experiment already under way, sheriffs do not have to appear in person but can be beamed into their court via a TV screen.
Cost-cutting means some witnesses will not have to turn up at trials to give evidence – as police with body-worn video cameras will get their statements at the crime scene.
Under other plans, witnesses would be able to come to a court in their own time ahead of a trial and have their evidence recorded and stored for future use.
But the moves – which come amid court closures and swingeing budget cuts to the justice system – sparked fears that witnesses will not be properly cross-examined by defence lawyers.
One defence solicitor, who asked not to be named, said: ‘What on earth is going to happen to crossexamination? You can’t just take that out of the equation. I think a lot of people in the profession are going to have real anxiety about this.’
Last night, victims’ campaigner John Muir MBE, 78, whose son Damian was stabbed to death, said: ‘This is justice by remote control and it risks short-changing victims and degrading the system for the sake of cutting costs.’
The hi-tech proposals for a digital courtroom revolution will be outlined in a new report today following a consultation carried out by the Lord Justice Clerk, Lady Dorrian.
But yesterday Lord Carloway – the Lord President and Scotland’s top judge – told a Law Society of Scotland conference in Edinburgh that ‘the opportunities for digital must be embraced’ to ‘create a justice system for the 21st century’.
Lord Carloway said: ‘Our system remains one which insists upon everyone attending a court building at an appropriate time, set usually to a degree at random.
‘We have to recognise that in the modern age, when people do most of their business online, this is an outmoded method of proceeding. Most hearings can be conducted with representatives all engaging remotely – even the sheriff can engage remotely if necessary.
‘There may be a requirement in the statute for the accused to be present in court on certain trial diets but curiously there is no requirement that the sheriff has to be present in court to conduct these hearings, and we are experimenting with just that very thing – much to the alarm of the Crown, I’d hasten to add.’
The Lord President was referring to a new scheme in Stranraer, Wigtownshire, which allows a sheriff in Dumfries to hear cases in the town by video-link.
Last night, Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said it was ‘right that technology is used in courtrooms if it makes the system more efficient and improves access to justice’.
But he warned ‘any major changes should only be carried out if they result in an improved justice system – it should not be simply for cutting corners’.
A Crown Office spokesman yesterday said prosecutors were ‘committed to working with justice partners to modernise the system to make it more efficient and effective’.
He said: ‘Improvements have already been made to make it easier for vulnerable witnesses to give evidence and we are examining other proposals, including making greater use of technology, to ensure that cases are resolved at the earliest opportunity.’
‘A lot will have real anxiety’