Article Subject:
Government

The Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill proposes legislation which will increase the prison population… Read more

The Bellamy review of criminal legal aid doesn’t pull its punches. It paints a picture… Read more

To what extent can an adversarial system of justice meet the needs and wants of… Read more

The government is set to increase the maximum sentence for people who assault emergency workers… Read more

The practice of resolving crimes without going to court is in flux. HMICFRS has suggested… Read more

How do we manage a criminal defence service in an age of austerity and Covid?… Read more

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

It’s too easy to make policy based on assumptions. We all have beliefs we don’t… Read more

Once the diversity of the judiciary, or rather the lack of it, made national news…. Read more

The sentencing white paper – actually called “A Smarter Approach to Sentencing” is a curious… Read more

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

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

“An eye for an eye” is a strongly held belief – that those who cause… Read more

Transform Justice has published a briefing on the court reform aspects of the Prisons and Courts… Read more

The criminal courts charge was a policy fiasco – a charge to be applied to… Read more

The MacPherson report on Stephen Lawrence defined institutional racism as “the collective failure of an… Read more

  The criminal justice system in England and Wales costs a lot – at least… Read more

  Dear Liz, Welcome to your new role. You are faced with a number of… Read more

“It is because I am a Conservative that I believe in the rule of law… Read more

“If someone is dragged through the courts through no fault of their own and is… Read more

New report published today by Transform Justice on whether the innocent should end up bankrupt through getting… Read more

“If someone is dragged through the courts through no fault of their own and is… Read more

Should we know how judges vote?  Jeremy Paxman pointed out in the Financial Times on… Read more

It was reported in the Times today that Michael Gove is considering imposing a “levy”… Read more

There are now many protests about the criminal courts charge – protests that have increased… Read more

The announcement of the proposed closure of 91 courts came as little surprise to watchers… Read more

How often do you see magistrates – in plays, the news or in documentaries? I… Read more

I’m concerned that the Ministry of Justice is not making the savings it intended to… Read more

Sense about science are worried that politicians don’t always use evidence correctly when talking about… Read more

The political parties who have produced manifestos so far all deal with crime and justice,… Read more

Victims have long voiced unhappiness about their treatment by the criminal justice system.  Their unhappiness… Read more

A fascinating study has been published based on a survey of paid judges at every… Read more

“Committing a crime is always a choice. That’s why the primary, proper response to crime… Read more

The new Leveson report on efficiency in criminal proceedings contains a number of radical ideas.  One… Read more

The Lord Chief Justice cannot criticise government policy so its worth both reading the text… Read more

The way work is shared between lay magistrates and district judges can be a bone… Read more

Danny Kruger presented a great programme for BBC Radio 4 on “Right on Crime”, the… Read more

I’m not sure why Simon Hughes wanted to stop magistrates having increased sentencing powers but… Read more

What has happened to judicial independence and accountability in the last twenty years?  There have… Read more

The LibDems have always supported human rights and open justice.  Its a pity that they… Read more

a small example of how a judge contributed to policy change. I’ve heard a number… Read more

The West London Drugs Court was set up in 2007, led by a charismatic District… Read more

The number of people involved in court or tribunal cases who don’t have a lawyer… Read more

Labour has published a policy paper on criminal justice (and other issues) for consultation with… Read more

Dear Lord Chief Justice, Of all your recent public appearances, I most appreciated your appearance… Read more

The most effective means of reducing offending lie outside the remit of the justice system.  … Read more

The involvement of G4S and Serco with fraudulent tagging has been well publicised.  The two… Read more

Post riots, the Ministry of Justice announced that they were going to pilot more flexible… Read more

Can justice reinvestment be successful in a very centralised political system?  That was the question… Read more

Is this government localist or not?  In the justice sphere they veer every which way…. Read more

A lot of the documents coming out of the Ministry of Justice and the Judicial… Read more

Sadiq Khan, Shadow Justice Minister, addressed the Labour Party Conference this week.  The speech didn’t… Read more

In late May the Times revealed that the government was planning to privatise courts administration…. Read more

Chris Grayling is the first Lord Chancellor not to be a lawyer (I think). Previously… Read more