Unintended Consequence

A poster on the (private) Magistrates' Association forum has pointed out that if one of the 16 or 17 year-old Community Support Officers has to give evidence in court they will be entitled to the protections afforded to a child witness!

Unashamed Plug

The Great River Race is a gruelling 22 mile row on the Thames and Matt Preston JP, who sits at Kingston court has sent me details of crews drawn from people who are connected with the court (not including defendants of course).
Read all about it here, and send them a few quid for the local Mencap.

ASBO Doubts

This piece in The Times sets out concerns that I have voiced on this blog on a number of occasions, such as here, here and here.
This needs sorting out. Any chance of having a look at it, Lord Chancellor?

Clerk to the Justices

When I joined the Bench in the 1980s my court, like every other, had a Clerk to the Justices, who held his office under statute and was to all intents and purposes master in his own domain. He was responsible through the Magistrates' Court's Committee, for the administration of the court, and all of the staff knew who was in charge. He trained the magistrates and, to some extent, the staff, and he had his finger on the pulse of the court. The relationship with the Bench Chairman was particularly important, since the Clerk was appointed by the Court's Committee, and Clerk and Chairman managed the court, the staff and the bench. They had statutory independence, which inevitably meant that there were differences of practice between courts across the country. In due course that offended politicians who wanted to see 'consistency' as they put it, and control as I would put it.
So over a few years the courts were reorganised into regions and areas, and instead of a Clerk to each court, one so-called Clerk (whose functions were now mostly administrative) could supervise a number of courts and dozens of lawyers. That was really the end of the Clerk to the Justices, but the title remained, partly because it would have been prohibitively costly to sack them, and we then had the fiction of a Clerk who in reality could have 500 to over 1000 JPs to advise. When I started the Clerk knew all of his staff and magistrates, and, as one of them said, was a cross between a butler and a family solicitor. He was technically employed by the magistrates, but everyone knew where they stood.
Now there are plans to reduce the number of Clerks to about 50 for the whole of England and Wales, which means that few magistrates will be on personal terms with their Clerk, and that the office has in effect been abolished. Since 2005 Clerks have been civil servants, which means that while their independence is guaranteed when they are carrying out judicial functions or advising magistrates as to law, they must otherwise follow Government policy as directed by the Minister.
All this is a shame. Justice and so-called efficiency do not always sit easily together. Given the choice, I would prefer to sacrifice a little efficiency and concentrate on justice.

Time For Some Serious Thinking

The Observer and the Sunday Times agree that we need to have a considered look at the way in which we are using our police resources. Robert Chesshyre too has a thoughtful piece in the First Post. We have a record number of police officers but in many areas the streets have been abandoned to groups of youths, and local police commanders are unwilling or unable to provide the necessary reaction to criminal behaviour. Of course, there are many other demands on police manpower, but maintaining the Queen's Peace on the streets should surely be a priority.
No doubt some of our regular commentators will see this as an attack on the police and will continue to blame society's woes on bleeding-heart softy magistrates and judges, but the issue is too serious for that kind of simplistic nonsense. Front-line officers carry out the policies of their seniors. Those seniors need to take a cool and clear-headed view of where their priorities should lie, and then tell the civil servants who direct them what the real facts of life are.

Against My Better Judgement

Here (grudgingly) is the David Cameron Caption Competition. Make the most of it as it may be the last one for some time.
All farting jokes and crude sexual innuendo will be binned on receipt. Witty sexual innuendo might just be left in.

News From The Fast Lane

This chap appears to have come to grief over his fondness for driving much faster than he is allowed to, and this one also looks set for an unscheduled holiday.

Later....here's another two.

A Sense of Proportion

The Times reports trouble in East Anglia, as a mob attacks a police station. Apparently the trigger for the incident was the arrest of three people for having sound equipment in their van. An 'unlicensed' musical event was due to take place in an industrial estate, and police officers were drafted in from other areas to deal with this major threat to the Queen's Peace.
Now come on, lads:- of course I don't want an impromptu pop concert at the end of my road (even though I don't share the tabloids' horror at the idea that some youngish people might dare to have fun) but was seizing sound equipment really the best use you could make of all those PCs? Across the land youths are increasingly carrying knives and other weapons. In some areas residents are intimidated when they go out of doors; vandalism is rife. 16 year-olds are being sent on the streets as PCSOs while proper grown up officers are wasted on nonsense like this. Perhaps it is indeed time to consider electing local police chiefs, to assist them in focusing their minds on the type of policing that the public wants and needs.

Court Painting

David Williams is a magistrate who has created a series of cards which draw wry attention to some of the things that JPs have to put up with. This one struck a chord with me since I have just heard a trial in which the defence solicitor was dreadfully slow and ponderous and we were in serious danger of nodding off, especially during the 2 pm 'graveyard shift'.


There are some more on his website here.

Apply Within

Some time ago I posted this about recruiting new magistrates, I was chatting the other day to someone who is involved in appointing JPs and he told me that there is a particular need for more people to serve in North and West London, due in part to current reorganisation, and the opening of a brand-new courthouse at Hendon next month. There is no intention to compromise standards, and the interview and screening process remains a searching one, but any candidate who can satisfy the criteria is likely to be recommended for appointment. If you feel like having a go, now could be a good time.