Secret justice fears as courts shut public out
‘Fair treatment to all parties’
FEARS over secret justice are growing after it emerged scores of court cases are happening behind closed doors during lockdown.
Jury trials have been halted until further notice – but preliminary hearings and other cases are taking place without the public obtaining access.
Plans for High Court trials to be held without juries to clear a huge backlog were scrapped after a backlash among the legal profession and opposition politicians.
Calls are now growing for cameras to be present when socially distanced trials resume, raising the prospect of ‘trial by Zoom’.
There were also warnings that the impact on courts had been so severe it may take up to two years for them to get back to normal workload levels.
Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘Transparency is a key part of the justice system, and indeed wider democracy. Even with the current situation, it would be inappropriate for cases to take place in secret.
‘Other parts of public life are enlisting technology to ensure things go ahead, and this is something the justice system should be considering too.’
The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) said that in criminal cases, first appearances from custody were taking place where social distancing was possible. However, no jury trials or summary trials – where a sheriff sits without a jury – are being held.
The High Court is dealing with essential hearings such as applications for bail and guilty pleas and, by the end of this week, judges will have dealt with 60 hearings.
In sheriff courts, all criminal business is being handled at ten ‘hub courts’. These are dealing with custody cases via video link from police stations where indi-viduals have or are suspected of having Covid-19.
The first four online hearings of appeals to the Inner House of the Court of Session were held last week.
The media can access sheriff court hearings in person and some Court of Session online hearings to act as the eyes and ears of the public and ensure open justice.
Officials say the courts are ‘committed to promoting media access to virtual cases when possible and appropriate in the current challenging circumstances’.
Members of the public who wish to attend Court of Session Inner House online hearings can do so via an audiolink. But no cameras are being used in courts for access to hearings. Advocate Niall McCluskey, a criminal lawyer, said: ‘It would concern me greatly if the public weren’t able to see justice being done because it’s a fundamental principle of criminal courts that you have access for the press and the public. We don’t want secret trials – this could be going on for a long time.
‘We have been told there is no likelihood of trials resuming until the end of June.
‘I suspect the reason it’s taking so long for trials to come back is that there will be a recognition the public will need to be able to watch court proceedings remotely.
‘I don’t have a problem with that, though some accused people and witnesses might, and it would need to be done securely.
‘Most cases have been adjourned for six months, so that has bought court authorities some time. But the effect of this is that it will take courts a couple of years to get back to where they were before coronavirus.’
Scottish Labour justice spokesman James Kelly said: ‘It is important that consideration is given currently to how the legal process can move more quickly without undermining fair treatment to all parties involved.’
SCTS chief executive Eric McQueen said: ‘We remain committed to working with the judiciary, the Faculty of Advocates and the Law Society of Scotland on a return to whatever a “new business as normal” looks like for civil and criminal proceedings, as government restrictions are eased and the exit strategy becomes clear.’