Article Subject:
Digital Courts

Does it matter where and how someone pleads guilty or not guilty to a crime?… Read more

Media about the criminal justice system is dominated by trials with judges and barristers in… Read more

Last week two experiences brought home how wary we should be of assuming that remote… Read more

How did policing adapt during the pandemic? And now lockdown is lifting, which changes should… Read more

Transform Justice, Fair Trials and the NAAN (the National Appropriate Adult Network) have published a… Read more

What compromises do we need to make and who should pay the price? The courts… Read more

Just before Christmas news leaked out that the government was getting cold feet about decriminalising… Read more

The Video Enabled Justice report is here . It was authored by Professor Nigel Fielding,… Read more

This week’s guest blog is from an anonymous district judge who sits in civil and… Read more

If we really value effective participation in justice should we pause remote hearings involving real… Read more

The digital court reform programme was trundling along relatively slowly before the pandemic. Discrete jurisdictions… Read more

Recently Boris Johnson described zoom calls as a miracle, but that sometimes there is “no… Read more

Recently Boris Johnson described zoom calls as a miracle, but that sometimes there is “no… Read more

The EHRC report is here (the interim report is the one particular focussed on virtual)… Read more

The EHRC report is here (the interim report is the one particular focussed on virtual)… Read more

I have been observing courts in the pandemic. One day at Highbury Magistrates’ Court a… Read more

This week the Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland spoke about parliamentary business and the constraints of… Read more

In pre-Covid times the government was trying to get digital court reform going. The PCC… Read more

The history of video court hearings in this country goes back quite a long way… Read more

Before Boris Johnson went into hospital, he, his staff and his cabinet were meeting via… Read more

The proponents of digital justice have had a field day since the courts went on… Read more

Transform Justice has been working for the last year on the over-use of police custody… Read more

More and more defendants are charged or asked to attend court by post. Most crimes… Read more

If you go into any magistrates court you will notice that cases often don’t go… Read more

This week Bob Neill MP, Chair of the Justice Committee launched their report on the… Read more

What price local justice? Unfortunately no one has been able to identify and quantify the… Read more

Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the right to be informed promptly, in a… Read more

I do not find the role of Cassandra particularly pleasant but every time there’s new criticism of… Read more

I do not find the role of Cassandra particularly pleasant but every time there’s new criticism… Read more

Normal government convention seems to have gone out of the window. In the old days… Read more

When lawyers have previously expressed their concerns about the confidentiality of video links, I’ve not… Read more

Do people want to do justice online? The government says they do and, in some… Read more

The other day the senior judiciary published the actions they’d agreed as a result of… Read more

  Many of you are preparing to respond to the Justice Committee’s inquiry on courts… Read more

The public are used to consultations which seem to be tick box exercises. Every consultation… Read more

“It really is not reasonable to expect court staff, judges or court users to attend… Read more

“A shambolic day for youth justice at Bromley YC. Still sitting, still waiting for 3… Read more

I must be the bane of the Ministry of Justice with my endless FOIs (freedom… Read more

Once upon a time there were lots of courts up and down the country and… Read more

The timing of Justice Week was unfortunate given it started with the Chancellor announcing a… Read more

I feel overwhelmed with a cornucopia of information. I regularly submit FOIs to the courts… Read more

  “Mags Ct today in chaos. 2 duty solicitors unable to cope because almost none… Read more

Does artificial intelligence (AI) – the ability of a machine or a computer program to… Read more

It is research, but not as we know it. After months of bugging HMCTS to… Read more

Up until recently, judges’ views of the digital court reform programme have been little known… Read more

“I have had clients who have told me that they cannot afford to travel from… Read more

A rather confounding survey was published by the Courts Service (HMCTS) this week. It said… Read more

Pamela Attfield was interested in putting in a small claim and so wanted to observe… Read more

The judiciary seem exercised by the future of open justice. They are consulting judges and… Read more

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the courts need to become more efficient. Saving… Read more

In 2015 when I was trying (with difficulty) to do research on unrepresented defendants in… Read more

How can it be that vulnerable child defendants have ended up participating in important court… Read more

Imagine being imprisoned on remand in relation to a crime you did not commit on the basis… Read more

How many courts do you need to close before the system grinds to a halt? … Read more

How many courts do you need to close before the system grinds to a halt? … Read more

This week some twitter wags pointed out that in having huge technical problems with video… Read more

“The absence of the applicant in the court automatically depersonalises him/her. His/her feelings and emotions… Read more

I have badgered the Ministry of Justice to do a proper public consultation on their… Read more

I had heard through the grapevine that the courts service in England and Wales (HMCTS)… Read more

This week is a guest “blog” from a serving prisoner who wrote to me about… Read more

It has gone a bit quiet on the online criminal court front. The Queens’ Speech… Read more

New report on virtual justice (video courts) published today

Convenience is great when all others things are equal. Making services easy to access is… Read more

“I’ve only had one good experience with video link, and I’ve had lots of experience,… Read more

I visited Chatham magistrates’ court this week. It’s opposite a busy shopping centre but I… Read more

The electorate has spoken and we have ended up with a minority Conservative government. The… Read more

If you have experience of working with defendants/offenders appearing on video links or are a… Read more

If you are charged with speeding, or driving without insurance, and admit guilt, you can… Read more

I wrote last week that the government were moving hell for leather to implement online… Read more

The government is proceeding hell for leather with online justice both in the civil and… Read more

Andrew Langdon QC, the new Chairman of the Bar, recently said that justice has a… Read more

Very few people in this country understand the implications of a criminal conviction until they… Read more

No-one denies that the experience of giving evidence in a criminal trial can be traumatic,… Read more

Judges and HMCTS staff seem to have put their faith in digitisation to resolve most… Read more

It was an interesting week for court reform.  The Lord Chancellor pronounced himself shocked by… Read more

There have been hundreds of people appearing in courts without a lawyer for a long… Read more