*/
Sleepwalking away from fair trials, John Cooper QC writes.
In many respects we have been sleepwalking into a complete realignment of the fundamental principles of our criminal justice system and it is not that the process has been recent.
If someone had told me 25 years ago that it would become acceptable for people to be tried by a Judge without a jury, that trials could be held in secret, that matters relating to a defendants history which did not even eventuate into formal criminal process could be held against him, to such an extent that a prosecutor once applied to place before a jury a red card received by the defendant in a football match or that what a person said against you could be put before a jury as hearsay without that person being called to be challenged, I would have considered it the stuff of science fiction.
Yet this is where we are now and the frightening thing is, it feels almost normal.
The loss of the right to trial by jury, to challenge your accuser even the undermining of the right to silence have, in many respects been stolen from us almost without a wimper.
It is not too difficult to understand why this has happened and it is for the same reason that the Government have been able to dilute the right of public access to representation with hardly a protest, until recently.
The reason is, the public do not consider that they will ever need the protection of these rights.
Juries, the right to open justice, to silence and to face your accuser are rights required by the guilty.
Somewhat perplexingly, “the guilty” are usually defined by the public as those who the police arrest, see, for example, the alacrity with which prison vans are abused as people facing trial are driven to court.
These are circumstances which are deemed not to effect “decent, hard working British families” in the nauseating language of some politicians. It is this perception which has enabled our criminal justice system to become one of the most prosecution/State leaning processes in Europe.
We can have little reassurance from the appellate system or from Judicial Review. Challenges related to inadequate disclosure are now unlikely to interest either body and the recent decision in Nunn seems to say that if you have got a problem then go to the over-burdened and under funded Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Finally, lets be clear about the future. “Hard working British families” are not interested in the erosion of principles which are deemed to protect “the guilty”. I suspect that if an Act was passed next week to reverse the burden of proof, most “Hard working British families” would support it.
The future battle ground, in my view, will be the jury system. We must wake up now and smell the coffee.
Professor John Cooper QC. 25 Bedford Row.
Consultant Editor CL&J. Twitter:
@ John_Cooper_QC
Named in The Times “Law 100”
Issue: Vol.178 No.29
If someone had told me 25 years ago that it would become acceptable for people to be tried by a Judge without a jury, that trials could be held in secret, that matters relating to a defendants history which did not even eventuate into formal criminal process could be held against him, to such an extent that a prosecutor once applied to place before a jury a red card received by the defendant in a football match or that what a person said against you could be put before a jury as hearsay without that person being called to be challenged, I would have considered it the stuff of science fiction.
Yet this is where we are now and the frightening thing is, it feels almost normal.
The loss of the right to trial by jury, to challenge your accuser even the undermining of the right to silence have, in many respects been stolen from us almost without a wimper.
It is not too difficult to understand why this has happened and it is for the same reason that the Government have been able to dilute the right of public access to representation with hardly a protest, until recently.
The reason is, the public do not consider that they will ever need the protection of these rights.
Juries, the right to open justice, to silence and to face your accuser are rights required by the guilty.
Somewhat perplexingly, “the guilty” are usually defined by the public as those who the police arrest, see, for example, the alacrity with which prison vans are abused as people facing trial are driven to court.
These are circumstances which are deemed not to effect “decent, hard working British families” in the nauseating language of some politicians. It is this perception which has enabled our criminal justice system to become one of the most prosecution/State leaning processes in Europe.
We can have little reassurance from the appellate system or from Judicial Review. Challenges related to inadequate disclosure are now unlikely to interest either body and the recent decision in Nunn seems to say that if you have got a problem then go to the over-burdened and under funded Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Finally, lets be clear about the future. “Hard working British families” are not interested in the erosion of principles which are deemed to protect “the guilty”. I suspect that if an Act was passed next week to reverse the burden of proof, most “Hard working British families” would support it.
The future battle ground, in my view, will be the jury system. We must wake up now and smell the coffee.
Professor John Cooper QC. 25 Bedford Row.
Consultant Editor CL&J. Twitter:
@ John_Cooper_QC
Named in The Times “Law 100”
Issue: Vol.178 No.29
Sleepwalking away from fair trials, John Cooper QC writes.
In many respects we have been sleepwalking into a complete realignment of the fundamental principles of our criminal justice system and it is not that the process has been recent.
In this month’s column, Chair of the Bar Sam Townend KC highlights the many reasons why barristers should pay the Bar Representation Fee and back the Bar Council’s efforts on behalf of the profession
Is now the time to review your financial position, having reached a career milestone? asks Louise Crush
If you were to host a dinner party with 10 guests, and you asked them to explain what financial planning is and how it differs to financial advice, you’d receive 10 different answers. The variety of answers highlights the ongoing need to clarify and promote the value of financial planning.
Leading legal DNA, drug, and alcohol testing provider AlphaBiolabs has made its first Giving Back charity draw of 2024 with Andrew Sibson, a Legal Officer at Leeds City Council, being chosen as its first winner
Discover Lloyd’s unique approach to financial planning and experience working with barristers
Trust Delaunay Wealth to stand by your side amid the uncertainties ahead, writes Lloyd French
Lighting fires that cast unfairness into the shadows, creating history at home and abroad, and being comfortable with who you are – the remarkable criminal and international human rights barrister Kirsty Brimelow KC
No longer an exclusive boys’ club, but still some way to go. To mark International Women's Day, Millie Rai describes what it’s like being a young female barrister at the Commercial Chancery Bar
Marking International Women's Day, Will Tyler KC interviews two female silks at the helm of two huge specialist Bar associations about their lives and careers – finding a common theme both to their success and the challenges facing their respective Bars
If we fail to nurture women’s collective talent, half the population of this country will not be properly represented – from the junior Criminal Bar right up to the senior Judiciary. We cannot let all the hard work be undone, says Tana Adkin KC on International Women's Day
In this month’s column, Chair of the Bar Sam Townend KC highlights the many reasons why barristers should pay the Bar Representation Fee and back the Bar Council’s efforts on behalf of the profession