📈Today, 19 April 2024, 70 out of the 498 Crown courtrooms in England & Wales will not be sitting.
That's 14% of them.
#courtstats #CS19042024 courtstats.co.uk

8 April Ministry of Justice Mike Freer wrote Justice Committee
“Crown Court, we remain committed to our public ambition of a caseload of 53,000 cases or fewer by March 2025”
When for 10th months
case disposals below receipts
Backlog Jan 2024
66,865
Feb
66,842
50 yrs, 2074, to reach 53,000?

At current rate of Crown Court case backlog reduction it will be

April 2074
50 year wait ⚖️

To meet Govt stated target of 53,000 (by March 2025)

(Set Nov 2021 restated Jan 2023)

BUT
Dec 2146
122 years 8 months wait

Before it gets back to its level just 5 yrs ago of 32,936

We have written to the Minister, Lord Bellamy, to express our concern over the Government’s decision to delay the full implementation of the Legal Aid Means Test Review reforms to 2026.

Read our letter here:
committees.parliament.uk/publications/4…

Scathing words by Sir Sir Bob Neill KC (Hon) MP to Lord Bellamy KC, the independent reviewer of criminal legal aid (prior to being ennobled to the HoL) regarding legal aid:

'The overall impression created by the repeated delays since this review was first announced in Feb 2019 is lamentable'

📈Today, 17 April 2024, 64 out of the 498 Crown courtrooms in England & Wales will not be sitting.
That's 13% of them.
#courtstats #CS17042024 courtstats.co.uk

Result as Michelle Heeley KC states a 12% reduction of criminal barristers free to prosecute/defend Midland Circuit rape and sexual offence cases:

2023
61 ready to start Midlands
sexual offence trials adjourned
- no prosecution barrister free

2017+2019
NEVER happened

2018
Just ONCE

📈Today, 16 April 2024, 66 out of the 498 Crown courtrooms in England & Wales will not be sitting.
That's 13% of them.
#courtstats #CS16042024 courtstats.co.uk

I spoke to Andy Gregory for the The Independent about Pre-Charge Bail & Release Under Investigation (RUI). The latter I refer to as a pressure valve for austerity, w/ Sir Bob Neill KC (Hon) MP labelling the delay fundamentally unjust for those such as @TheNotSoSecretDefendant
independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…

📈Today, 15 April 2024, 62 out of the 498 Crown courtrooms in England & Wales will not be sitting.
That's 12% of them.
#courtstats #CS15042024 courtstats.co.uk

By Apr22 when The CBA began no returns for defence only
trials adjourned as NO PROSECUTION barrister was free
rose 4 quarters running from April 2021
13, 49, 80
119 by March22

But Govt continues its strike on prosecution pay
So in 2023
756 trials adjourned
No prosecutor

2 years ago we The CBA began action “to shine a spotlight on the severity of the ongoing crisis”
Oct to Dec21 80 trials adjourned as no prosecutor was free
🆙12x in 2yrs

Tripled since
Oct to Dec2023
227 trials adjourned, no prosecutor
🆙40x in 4 yrs
756 for all of 2023

October-December 2023
5 rape trials in Suffolk with bailed defendants completed averaging
2 years since charge (737 days)

Nearly 3 times longer than similar rape trials completing in 2014 (213 days)
Govt insists it is meeting its goals to bring more rape cases to court - but

📈Today, 12 April 2024, 89 out of the 498 Crown courtrooms in England & Wales will not be sitting.
That's 18% of them.
#courtstats #CS12042024 courtstats.co.uk

📈Today, 11 April 2024, 88 out of the 498 Crown courtrooms in England & Wales will not be sitting.
That's 18% of them.
#courtstats #CS11042024 courtstats.co.uk

A Young man of good character who was 15 when arrested now has to wait until he’s 18 for his trial, because no counsel could be found to prosecute, and when one is found the court itself couldn’t accommodate the case - we need to do better #thelawisbroken #criminallaw

The current shoplifting epidemic is largely due to this government making low value shop theft a summary offence. So what do they do? Create yet another meaningless offence where they don’t have the court or prison capacity as it is. Hopeless. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politi…

📈Today, 10 April 2024, 83 out of the 498 Crown courtrooms in England & Wales will not be sitting.
That's 17% of them.
#courtstats #CS10042024 courtstats.co.uk

'On Tuesday, my prison released 39 under the early release scheme. Having checked those names today, I can confirm that 10 have been recalled already. Each and every one of them for exactly the same reason - NFA on release = council couldn't provide accommodation.'

One of the many reasons why the Tories will be wiped out, is because of stories like this. Plus of course, the PPE Baroness Mone-type atrocity. For lawyers, there will be the extra incentive of the hapless Dominic Raab
Any way, a night to stay up for.
mol.im/a/13289441