How are defendants treated by London magistrates’ courts – with respect or as an item on a conveyor belt? Are they able to effectively participate in their hearings, or are they ignored? And does this impact the quality of justice being delivered? 

This report, based on courtwatcher observations of over 2,300 hearings in London magistrates’ courts, examines defendant treatment and participation in magistrates’ court proceedings. While there were many examples of great practice, this report finds that judges and court professionals do not consistently treat defendants with respect, nor support them to understand and participate in their court hearings. We set out how this approach could be improved through developing professional standards, training and by increasing scrutiny.

With the court backlog reaching record highs, magistrates’ courts are under growing pressure to process cases more quickly – but how well is this working? This report draws on first-hand observations from our volunteers to examine exactly what is causing delay in the magistrates courts – and what the consequences are.

Courtwatchers found that over a third of hearings they observed were delayed or adjourned. In this report we examine issues such as poor preparation, communication breakdowns, staffing shortages and technology problems and set out recommendations to ensure magistrates’ courts can make the best use of their time and resources.

How easy are the magistrates’ courts to access, navigate and understand? This report summarises courtwatchers’ experiences of trying to observe magistrates’ court hearings in London.

Despite courts in principle being open to any who want to observe, our volunteers faced many barriers to seeing how justice is done. Audibility issues, inaccurate court lists and courtroom jargon made it difficult for courtwatchers to work out what was happening. Volunteers were often asked to justify their presence by those working in the court. This points to a court system that has deprioritised public access. Our report includes ten ways to make our magistrates’ courts more open and accessible.

How are defendants treated in the magistrates’ court? And what do public volunteers think of the justice delivered there?

This report summarises courtwatchers’ observations of the court process and decision-making in London magistrates’ courts. It provides new data on defendants’ treatment, including the prevalence and impact of the secure dock, video hearings, legal representation and interpreters. It summarises what courtwatchers thought of the behaviour of magistrates and district judges, the quality and fairness of the decisions they made, and the efficiency of the court process. 

How are young adults treated in the magistrates’ courts? How, if at all, is their maturity considered and taken into account by the court? This report answers these questions based on observations of almost 200 hearings involving young adult defendants.

Courtwatcher testimony shows that maturity is often not mentioned or considered by the magistrates’ court, and almost never in a specific way. When maturity was mentioned, it did sometimes prompt the court to reduce the severity of the sentence given, or at least to postpone sentencing until they had more information. But most of the time, maturity was dismissed by court decision makers or deprioritised compared to other factors.

Want to start your own courtwatching project? Courtwatching is a powerful way to evidence problems in our justice system, hold courts accountable, and increase community ownership of what happens in our courts.

Read our guide on how we delivered a courtwatching project in London’s magistrates’ courts. The guide includes resources on training, guidance and data collection and is written for anyone interested in setting up their own courtwatching project, including charities, community groups and universities.