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Police: COUNCIL TAX NON PAYERS AND JP DIVERSITY

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The Justice of the Peace on the 12^th July 2019 at 11:26 - A Police Blog
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Facts; that`s today`s simple post. Too many observers throw out emotional statistics about short custodial sentences eg those imprisoned for non payment of council tax. Last year there were five such cases.

There`s a growing trend from some quarters that above every other requirement the magistracy must be as diverse as the population it serves. I disagree. Justices of the Peace must be selected on perceived ability to do the task for which they have applied. If that procedure produces anomalies cf diversity statistics then it is regrettable but must not lead to selection by quota. Latest such statistics are below.

Police: A NON TOO ROSY FUTURE

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The Justice of the Peace on the 09^th July 2019 at 12:36 - A Police Blog
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A long long time ago when trams and later trolley buses travelled our high streets our justice system was recognised by most as amongst the finest in the world. A system admittedly ruled and administered by a public school and Oxbridge educated minority but a system nevertheless where noblesse oblige much of the time. And then came the swinging revolution begun in the 1960s where the cockney sparrow became the tweet of the masses. Prime Ministers` lies did not remain hidden for a generation but soon became public knowledge. Diversity in its myriad forms became the name of the game and legal protection was legislated for it in ever widening patterns. Increasingly the opinions of the masses were sought and occasionally acted upon. Parliament enacted laws in ever more areas of our lives; much to the good of all but not all to the good. Margaret Thatcher, loved by many and perhaps hated by more changed society almost as much as World War 2 but with fewer casualties. But there were still areas where civic cohesion was beginning to strain...

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Police: SOFTEST OF TOUCHES AT YOUR REGIONAL MAGISTRATES COURT

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The Justice of the Peace on the 05^th July 2019 at 11:16 - A Police Blog
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I have been posting on the problems of court interpreter services for six years. Before I retired I was in a position to report from the "front line". Now like most of us who become aware of so many matters from media of all kinds my knowledge is limited. It appears that I am in good company. The Ministry of so called Justice does not know or says it does not know of the true extent of the problems dealing with those witnesses and defendants who say they require the use of an interpreter. Those last few words are quite deliberate. There is no requirement for an objective standard to be used when a court assesses the need for such services. Whist an active bench chairman I (and my colleagues) was often faced with a defendant at pre trial stage requesting an interpreter when to all intent and purpose that person`s age, apparent intellectual capabilities, occupation and years of UK residence would indicate that his/her knowledge of English was well able of being of a standard to understand and partake in...

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Police: LEGAL AID?????????????????

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The Justice of the Peace on the 03^rd July 2019 at 14:11 - A Police Blog
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The availability of legal aid has been reducing for the last nine years; every worker within magistrates courts is well aware of this and the consequences it poses for ensuring that every defendant has a fair crack of the whip. Quite simply the concept of a level playing field between the state and the citizen no longer exists as a practice or a philosophy. It is now shown that in our crown courts where the consequences for unrepresented defendants are so much more severe than in the lower court reductions in legal aid are all too apparent. A short article in today`s Law Society Gazette is worth a glance.

Police: AN OPINION?

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The Justice of the Peace on the 28^th June 2019 at 12:26 - A Police Blog
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It is unusual that a judgement at the Court of Appeal might appeal (excuse the pun) to the reader of this site. However today`s result on when is "opinion" "opinion" is quite interesting.

Police: INQUEST INJUSTICE

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The Justice of the Peace on the 24^th June 2019 at 12:09 - A Police Blog
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Only a tiny minority of the population has been or will be involved in a terrorist attack. Of these unfortunates a significant number has been or will be killed. In those circumstances an inquest would normally be held in order to establish the facts of what happened. Unlike court proceedings it will be inquisitorial not adversarial. All the government agencies involved will be represented by highly qualified legal teams funded by public money; your taxes and my taxes. The relatives of the bereaved will not be so funded. Legal aid is usually unavailable for such people unless "it is the public interest" and only after an intrusive and means tested process. That is one example of how our government hides its secrets. It is a disgrace about which most people don`t know or care. It is a prime example of how very rotten our governing classes have become. It is yet another example of the bedrock of our society disintegrating before our very eyes. But of course the MOJ has an explanation: "Our thoughts remain with those who lost loved ones...

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Police: THE SACKING OF RICHARD PAGE ex J.P. PART 4

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The Justice of the Peace on the 21^st June 2019 at 14:50 - A Police Blog
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Insert "Richard Page" into the search box and you will find a history of one of the most controversial sackings of a Justice of the Peace in living memory. The posts, the most recent of which was earlier this year on January 7th, need no explanation; they speak for themselves. It seems the final chapter of this story has been written. An employment appeal tribunal has ruled that he was rightly dismissed. Readers will have their own opinion on the decision made earlier this week.

Police: PARLIAMENTARY JUSTICE COMMITTEE REPORT

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The Justice of the Peace on the 18^th June 2019 at 12:42 - A Police Blog
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The Parliamentary Justice Committee has just published its latest report on the magistracy. It seems that these worthy representatives of ours are once more wasting their time and effort not to mention our pounds. Since 2010 the Conservative governments including the Coalition have steadily and painstakingly reduced the budgets of the justice system as a whole; from the curtailment of legal aid to the bare bones resulting in the impoverishment of the young lawyers seeking to secure their professional status by the imposition of pay rates in many cases no better than those of checkout workers to the acute shortage of judges who actually preside over crown courts and sit at the high court and whose position must not be overlooked even although many corbynites might consider they are already overpaid. Then they would wouldn`t they. Their modus operendi is to sow discord and confusion. Hundreds of closed courts based on government lies about the time and transport costs of alternative venues have taken place in the last...

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Police: NUMBER OF MAGISTRATES COURT SESSIONS

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The Justice of the Peace on the 11^th June 2019 at 14:04 - A Police Blog
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A recent parliamentary answer by Paul Maynard The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice was as below:-

The number of sessions sat in magistratesâ€™ courts in England in the calendar year 2018 was 208,711. We donâ€™t count days sat in the magistratesâ€™ court and instead count sessions. A session is usually half a day in length.

A Freedom of Information request as to how these sessions were allocated to magistrates or District Judges(MC) was unable to be answered. " I can confirm that MOJ holds some of the information you have requested. However, to provide as the request currently stands would exceed the cost limit set out in the FOIA. Section 12(2) of the FOIA means public authorities are not obliged to comply with a request for information if it estimates the cost of complying would exceed the appropriate limit. The appropriate limit for central government it is set at Â£600. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 3.5 working days determining whether the department holds...

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Police: NO INNOVATIVE THINKING AT THE MOJ

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The Justice of the Peace on the 10^th June 2019 at 12:45 - A Police Blog
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Main stream news unsurprisingly reports legal matters at the top of the legal tree; violent criminality, criminal suspected activity by famous persons, international infamous criminality, multi billion cases from the civil courts etc etc. These are the headline makers; the two minutes in a ten minute news bulletin. These events are not the legal stuff that affect the vast majority of the public. The million and more cases before magistrates courts every year are those which have an impact on the lives of most of us. And all the processes involved in these matters are treated with contempt by government. Police are so under resourced that most so called "minor" offences are in simple language "written off". Those that actually get to court, the tip of an unknown criminal iceberg, are often undercharged, undefended by people who have not the wherewithal intellectually or financially to present their case and who face a punishment if guilty determined by MOJ budgetary restraints rather than joined up thinking. Around 70% of...

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Police: COUNCIL TAX NON PAYERS AND JP DIVERSITY

Police: A NON TOO ROSY FUTURE

Police: SOFTEST OF TOUCHES AT YOUR REGIONAL MAGISTRATES COURT

Police: LEGAL AID?????????????????

Police: AN OPINION?

Police: INQUEST INJUSTICE

Police: THE SACKING OF RICHARD PAGE ex J.P. PART 4

Police: PARLIAMENTARY JUSTICE COMMITTEE REPORT

Police: NUMBER OF MAGISTRATES COURT SESSIONS

Police: NO INNOVATIVE THINKING AT THE MOJ

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