Saturday, August 01, 2015

So Long, Farewell,........

The wheels of the MoJ have turned and have ground out a quite predictable result.. The 'consultation' on closing courts (which is MoJ code for announcing what you are going to do anyway) has earmarked one of my local courthouses for closure. The courthouse in question is Feltham, and I can find no rational case to oppose the closure. Feltham is an old court, converted many years ago from a music-hall. The first time that I walked in to the magistrates' entrance I saw a lovely Victorian/Edwardian tiled room that was formerly the box office. My initial reaction was to ask for two stalls seats and a Raspberry Mivvi,
Unfortunately, the rest of the courthouse is entirely unfit for purpose, for reasons that I shall not trouble you with.
The bulk of Feltham's business will probably be shunted off to Hammersmith (a DJ-heavy outfit by the London side of the flyover)

I do not have much longer to serve as a JP, but when I go, I shall not miss shabby but charming old buildings like Feltham Mags.

18 comments:

  1. 25+ yrs ago when being interviewed for a JP appt., I was asked what I thought of the possible closure of our local court. I said it wouldn't bother me but I assume that the preferred answer was that the locals would have to get further afield for their cases to be heard and create more no shows. The court is still there-just, and I didn't get an appointment.

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  2. Good piece Bystander and you are right about courts not being fit for purpose in today's climate. There are are some courts built in the 1970s that are also not fit for today. If only we could look ahead...

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  3. Your Worship,

    Can you enlighten us as to the magistrate appointments procedure? How do the interviews work? What are you looking for? What sort of talents present themselves?

    I am yours sincerely,

    A. N. Other

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    1. Try:- https://www.gov.uk/become-magistrate/what-magistrates-do

      Any more queries, drop me an email

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  4. The downside of all these closures is that defendants (usually on benefits) have further to travel, and this inevitably leads to a rise in DNAs with attendant warrants and extra financial burdens on the police, and of course wasted time in the remaining courts. None of these extra costs ever seem to be taken into account by the Ministry of Injustice.

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    1. Victims and witnesses (who are also quite important to the process) also have further to travel. It is hard enough trying to get them to come to court in the first place (particularly victims of domestic violence) without making them travel long distances. Recently all my domestic violence cases which occurred in Southwark were being sent to Croydon. At the best of times this is at least an hour's journey, And in South London terms it's another planet. Funnily enough, a lot of them either didn't turn up, or were horribly late...

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  5. "consultation" - I think that particular code is used by all large organizations.

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    1. It's a symptom of the "management revolution" which has decimated all our public services.

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  6. My local court (Chippenham) is also one of those earmarked for closure. Unlike Feltham, this is a modern court. We originally had 4 courts (2 adult with enclosed docks; one less formal court (usually used for non- CPS cases) and a youth/family court. Now two of these have been taken over by county court and tribunals. The three petty session divisions (Swindon, North-West Wiltshire and South-East Wiltshire) were combined a couple of years ago and "rationalised" meaning some magistrates and legal advisers have to travel an hour and a half to court, making it a long day and more difficult for working mags. Now, if the proposals go ahead (and we know they will, don't we?) there will be one court at the north of the county in Swindon, which is now the oldest court, and one in the south in Salisbury (the newest brand-spanking new "justice centre". Wiltshire is a very large county; public transport is slow and expensive. This, combined with the reduction in legal aid and the court costs, will mean more no shows and less justice - certainly less local justice. And this in the year of the anniversary of Magna Carta (of which we have one of the original documents in Salisbury Cathedral). It makes you want to weep (or resign - but that's what the buggers want).

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  7. The Surrey market town in which I live has lost both its Magistrates' Court (when the JPs were told to report to Croydon they mainly quit) and its police station - despite requiring a larger-than-ever police presence on Saturday evenings. The High Street is still swarming with cops at 2am Sunday morning.

    It seems we pay ever more taxes and get ever less service.

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  8. In the last round of court closures, just before many courts were 'amalgamated together in often highly illogical ways (Sutton/Croydon and Camberwell Green - really?) each court under threat was able to mobilise a targeted and at times effective defence to the proposals. Indeed, Sutton was able to do this twice before the inevitable.

    Now we are an amalgam of disparate groups some of which have worked better than others I wonder if this desire to save one court amongst say 3 or 4 just isn't there anymore. And like BS, there is one of the courts in my area which frankly I'd be delighted to say 'good riddance' to. It's a nightmare to get to for me and the building is neglected and sad. It's only used sparingly and although the building and Court 1 are actually Grade 1 listed, it is a depressing place to visit.

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  9. Here in Italy courts and public offices are often "irrationally" situated in old buildings that, without being precisely landmarks, are the very stuff that makes our cities so unique to visitors. We should maintain them anyway,for they are collectively worth their weight in gold to us, sofar as they're alive and in use; and we should pay for courts and public offices buildings' maintainance anyway. I don't think it is really rational, or economical, to discard these old buildings from practical uses: we have more sights then visitors as it is, and all but the most famous ones cost the world in upkeeping and staffing, without selling tickets to any amount worth mentioning. Using them is a way to make them pay their way, and keep our cities their character. I think this goes, to some extent, for London too: it, too, has far more sights then visitors. I remember an enchanting morning with the Wallace Collection all to myself, staff and all; and another hour in St Bartholomew the Great, equally alone; I had similar experiences in two of Rome's richest museums, Villa Giulia and Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, not to mention churches. Neither Rome nor London need another tourist attraction: but they could both use some regard and some special consideration for their old lovely faces and feel.

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    1. I fully understand your sentiments IL but the problem is that once old buildings are left to decay due to failure to repair and decorate, they no longer are fit for the purpose they are meant to be used for and are simply ruins waiting for the rainwater to pour through the roof!!

      Perhaps if we had the climate of Italy, I might be more sanguine!! :-)

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    2. The wheels of justice turn so slowly in Italy that I would not be surprised if those on remand are still kitted out in togas. My own memory of Rome goes back to 1976 when I stood in a completely deserted St Pietro in Vincoli in front of Michelangelo's Moses. No restraining barriers: no jostling. Just me and this priceless masterpiece. I love this city above all others.

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  10. The MoJ closure proposal document is flawed in many places - it assumes, for instance, in its travel plans for court closures that defendants have to arrive at court at 10am. Those of us who work in the court system know that defendants are warned to be at court at 9.30am, which for many means they are launched into the rush hour with perhaps a 50-mile journey to the county town where the only magistrates' courts will be.

    They also take magistrates impact profiles from March 2011 statistics; there is a more recent one from April 2015, which is markedly different in its figures: ie 14% of magistrates are now 49 or under, compared with 18% then; 57% are now 60 and over, 52% then. If they can't get these figures up-to-date, why should we trust the rest of the Impact Assessment, which is the lengthy tome on which we are being asked to comment?

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  11. The Magistrates Court building is a 19C creation. Before the advent of borough magistrates, when, with the exception of London, most justices were members of County commissions, the justices travelled around the county. Petty sessions were frequently held in taverns, school buildings, prisons, in fact in any convenient building. I have been retired from the Bench for more than ten years, but when I was active I used to argue for travelling courts - to go where the court was needed, rather then wait for the users to come to us. 'Too difficult' I was always told - but I still think they will come one day - that is if the magistracy survives.

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  12. When the recent closures and mergers came about my bench talked then of the large number who we expected wouldn't turn up because they didn't have the funds, or would say they had gone to the wrong court. Strangely it hardly happened at the start and is very rare now.

    Yes it will be more difficult for some to travel, and I don't condone that, but I think we make too much of those who might use closed courts as an excuse not to go to the court that they should.

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  13. I live in Derbyshire, which is an enormously long county. High Peak Magistrates' Court at Buxton is earmarked for closure, the MoJ citing its unsuitability for disabled access, despite having carried out an extensive scheme of updating only a few years ago and installing a lift precisely for that purpose, so all that money has been wasted. The nearest magistrates' court will then be at Chesterfield, around 60 miles away with no direct public transport at all The Crown Court is at Derby, even further afield and just as inaccessible.

    Ridiculously, the courts in Manchester are easily reachable by public transport; it takes less than an hour door to door, and are all wheelchair accessible. However, since they are in a separate judicial area, they might just as well be on another planet.

    I notice from this morning's paper that a defendant at York Crown Court had his case heard outside in the open air because his wheelchair could not access the steps at the court. York and Selby magistrates' courts are also said to be unusable by the disabled. Will these then be closed for the same reason as Buxton? Is the MoJ not guilty of some offence or other by neglecting to make its premises disabled friendly?

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