Tessera

Child rape trial delayed after a plug explodes under the prosecutor's bench Sparks flying, strong smell of burning, a lawyer lucky not to have been electrocuted But in a sign of how we simply cope with terrible court decay, the prosecutor took a minute, moved along the bench & got on with case prep

Judge: "Jury service is a really vital aspect of democracy in this country, that serious cases in the Crown Court are tried by members of the public prepared to give up their time and sit in judgement of their fellow citizens. "It's a pretty awesome responsibility."

New Bar Council chair Kirsty Brimelow KC uses her inaugural speech to call for Single Justice Procedure reform "No doubt the SJP offends fundamental principles of fairness...issuing fines to the most vulnerable people in circumstances where they should not be prosecuted."

Monday morning, the van from HMP Wormwood Scrubs hasn't arrived so the 11am sentence is delayed Lawyers for a defendant accused of rape can't get into the cells to see him, so the 12pm trial will be delayed And lawyers are complaining about how long it took to get into the building this morning

Three years ago, a scandal broke about energy companies & forced prepayment meters The response to that scandal is disturbing Magistrates now approve applications for warrants that they've never seen And they do almost all this in secret My PA report today: www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news...

Energy pre-payment meter update as 'secret court hearings' continue

The Chief Magistrate is reviewing how warrants are being issued

walesonline.co.uk

Bedbound disabled woman struggling after cancer death of husband faces TV Licence prosecution #SingleJusticeProcedure www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/t...

Bedbound disabled woman faces TV Licence prosecution

TV Licensing brought the prosecution against the woman after noting she is disabled and has mental health struggles

standard.co.uk

Today is my final day as the Standard's Courts Correspondent After a decade, it's time for a new challenge I'll continue to cover the courts & remain obsessed with open justice The joy of this job has been working with very talented & hard-working people who I will miss a lot

Disturbing findings from a year-long @thelondonstandard.bsky.social investigation - Magistrates routinely sit in secret to approve utility warrants - They don't even look at most applications - Rule breaches aren't investigated Chief Magistrate looking into this www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/magi...

Fresh fury over secret courts allowing energy firms break into homes

The Chief Magistrate is investigating after concerns about the utility warrant system were uncovered by The Standard

standard.co.uk

Empty docks, shuttered courtrooms, missing evidence - The real reasons for London’s crippling court delays My long read for @thelondonstandard.bsky.social www.standard.co.uk/news/london/...

Revealed: The real reason for London’s crippling court delays

Labour is bringing the axe down on jury trials, but people in court tell a different story of where the chronic delays come from

standard.co.uk

A mugger who spent a week robbing people on the Tube is in the dock to be sentenced Judge is here, lawyers are here, police are here, probation is here. I'm here But the interpreter is not here Adjourned to Jan That's actual delay in the justice system Someone should fix it

Beware fast-track justice. This is what it does The mum is bounced around, getting no help or answers, then just enters a guilty plea for her distressed autistic teenage son to get it over with www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/a...

Harsh justice: Autistic teen convicted of not insuring moped he didn't use

The boy’s mother told the court she is “deeply disappointed” at his treatment

standard.co.uk

Bedbound pensioner, 84, gets criminal conviction over car insurance It's a harsh illustration of the broken justice system When will MPs step up and fix it? www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/p...

Bedbound pensioner, 84, convicted of not insuring car she'll never use again

An 84-year-old woman who is bedbound and reliant on daily care has been convicted of a driving offence after failing to insure a car she will never drive again

standard.co.uk

A pensioner with dementia gets a criminal conviction over an unpaid TV Licence This one is pretty heartbreaking The #SingleJusticeProcedure is broken www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/p...

Pensioner with dementia convicted over unpaid TV Licence bill

Ailing pensioners, people with mental health struggles, grieving families and children have all been caught up in the Single Justice Procedure scandal

standard.co.uk

Teenager prosecuted over £1.67 in unpaid tax on a car. A criminal conviction for an offence that happened before she knew she even owned a car. Infuriating that this kind of thing is still happening Labour has failed to fix the #SingleJusticeProcedure www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/t...

Teenager convicted over £1.67 unpaid tax bill for 18th birthday gift

The prosecution of the teenager happened in the controversial Single Justice Procedure

standard.co.uk

Ex-Reform UK leader in Wales jailed for ten-and-a-half years for taking Russian bribes www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/r...

Ex-Reform UK leader in Wales jailed at Old Bailey over Russia bribes

Nathan Gill admitted taking bribes to make pro-Russia statements in the European Parliament

standard.co.uk

Earl Spencer stalker posed as BBC podcaster in 'fixated' pursuit of the aristocrat and his son www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/earl...

Earl Spencer stalker who posed as BBC podcaster handed court ban

Earl Spencer told the court how he was ambushed by Michelle Akpata at a book signing

standard.co.uk

Quiet Riot@quietriotpod.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Always a delight to get an invite from @quietriotpod.bsky.social Problems in justice go beyond crumbling courts to the disintegration of the fabric of the system And politicians aren't being honest with the public about how to fix it Have a listen!

NEW EPISODE: CRIME & BANISHMENT 😱 Is anyone NOT challenging Starmer's position? 👮 Just how broken is our justice system? (Spoiler: very) 🎄Trees: Sneaky evergreen wokeness klaxon With guest @kirkkorner.bsky.social. 🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/54hc... 🍏 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/q...

Excl: Earl Spencer came face-to-face with a suspected stalker who was "fixated" on meeting his son www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/earl...

Earl Spencer's shock after coming face to face with 'stalker'

Exclusive: Michelle Akpata spent months bombarded the Spencer family and staff at their Althorp estate with requests for a meeting with Viscount Louis Spencer

standard.co.uk

Losing a loved one is hard. Coping with grief is harder for some than others. In a compassionate society, a grieving person with mental health struggles who hasn’t paid a household bill would be helped, not convicted of a crime www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/t...

Grieving daughter convicted over unpaid TV Licence

A grieving woman with mental health problems is the latest case to emerge from the Single Justice Procedure

standard.co.uk

I was in court today for a hearing of the prisoner accidentally set free from jail. He wasn't there. It is a case study in the terrible communication between prisons, courts, and the immigration system. Absolutely atrocious, but equally not that surprising www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/p...

Accidentally freed prisoner was given bail from immigration centre

Judge Rosa Dean ordered prosecutors to provide more information on Brahim Kaddour-Cherif

standard.co.uk

The Criminal Justice System in this country is fundamentally broken. Trials will soon be set in 2030, victims are losing faith, prisons are full, and crimes may be going unsolved My long read for this week's @thelondonstandard.bsky.social www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/b...

Tipping Point: Inside Britain's broken justice system

Trials delayed until 2030, victims and defendants’ lives on hold, buildings without running water. Courts correspondent Tristan Kirk reports on a shameful decline

standard.co.uk

I'm writing today about the broken Criminal Justice System For a boost, I bought a coffee from the Old Bailey's canteen, which was downgraded recently to a vending machine The machine promised an overpriced latte, then spewed out a black coffee with no milk Is this the metaphor my article needs?

More trouble for HMP Chelmsford, the prison which accidentally set free a sex offender: One of the inmates died when staff filed to spot he was a known suicide risk www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/hmp-...

Inmate at scandal-hit jail died after staff didn't spot suicide risk

An inmate at scandal-hit HMP Chelmsford died despite being a known suicide risk

standard.co.uk

Politicians have simplistic solutions to crime - lock everyone up, and for longer They then have a casual indifference to what happens once the cell door is shut This weekend's crisis over the prisoner wrongly released is symptomatic of a broken system www.standard.co.uk/comment/sex-...

Sex offender's accidental release shows the mess our prisons are in

Our prisons are failing and have been for some time. This latest episode should be a wake-up call

standard.co.uk

Tristan Kirk@kirkkorner.bsky.social · 9mo ago

You've being summonsed to court, you believe it is wrong/malicious, and a suspected abuse of the justice system The court's answer: Come to court to argue your case, face the person who summonsed you anyway, and pay £300 for the privilege The county courts in this country have some issues....

Commons Speaker made extraordinary intervention so that Labour minister didn't have to go face-to-face in court with a trans woman she says was harassing her www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/c...

Commons Speaker made extraordinary intervention so that Labour minister didn't have to go face-to-face in court with a trans woman she says was harassing her www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/c...

Speaker took rare step to stop government minister facing court

Ellie Reeves gave evidence from behind a screen at Westminster Magistrates’ Court

standard.co.uk