Violence in court

A disgruntled spouse in hot pursuit of a fleeing judge through the corridors of a courthouse sounds like something from a Carry On film. In reality, the scene which played out at Milton Keynes last week could hardly be a less appropriate prompt for ribaldry.

HHJ Perusko, who was hospitalised, must have been terrified. What if he had been very seriously injured, or even killed? He can have had no knowledge of his assailant’s intentions, remember.

Where were the contingency measures? Where was security? An inquiry is under way.

One does not seek to be melodramatic, but this incident must not be shrugged off as vanishingly rare. In fact, we know that it is not.

Neil Hickman, who spent many years as a district judge at Milton Keynes, tells the Gazette of a series of incidents that have occurred at that court alone (Feedback, p12). These speak for themselves (but to pick up on one minor detail, are heavy glass water carafes really sited within reach of highly stressed defendants!?).

What deserves further interrogation is the extent to which cuts to justice spending have increased the risks of violence in court. The Public and Commercial Services Union points out that in family courts, LiPs often don’t understand the way the court must operate and are therefore more likely to become agitated. And there are many more LiPs than there were – courtesy of the egregious Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

The number of cases where neither party has legal representation has trebled since 2013. It now stands at 40%. A lawyer is a buffer – a pressure valve – as well as an advocate.

‘Having legal representation means that a solicitor can support clients through a stressful time and set out clearly what to expect at each stage of the court process, while also highlighting the importance and respect of the courtroom setting,’ Law Society president Nick Emmerson tells me.

‘We urge the government to reinstate early legal advice so families can be supported in the court system and to fund both parties in child arrangement cases where they are allegations of abuse. With early legal advice, families have the timely support they need.’

And judges will be safer, too.