Back to the Coalface

I chaired a court today, and much of our list consisted of cases for sentence, most of them backed up by Pre-sentence reports from Probation.

In recent months, I have often thought that much of our work would be better done in an NHS context, rather than the criminal justice system. We read one full psychiatric report today that went into great technical medical detail, while concluding that the defendant was fit to plead. Not for the first time we read that a man's fragile but stable mental state had deteriorated catastrophically following his acquisition of a  heavy cannabis habit. I am no doctor, but I have seen plenty of medical reports linking high-strength cannabis use with pushing people who are borderline-psychotic over the edge. Another man was so unwell that we could not realistically set a date for his trial.

Another man came up from the cells  with a quiet warning from  the clerk  that he was likely to be difficult. Sure enough he had refused to speak to the duty solicitor, or to engage with probation. I fixed him with a steely gaze, and spoke to him firmly, demanding  an answer to each question, refusing to acknowledge surly grunts. He was soon compliant and we tidied up his case without any problems.

Absurdly, we are still obliged to impose the Criminal Courts Charge, even though it will be abolished in two weeks' time. I expect that sums due will be quietly written off in due course.