OFF THE HOOK



Your recent coverage of the Carter report and the law on rape (see 2006 Gazette, 20 July, 1, 15, 20) illustrates yet another attack on the right of an accused to choose a lawyer. I was admitted in 1977 and over time I acted in a number of criminal cases.



In those days, exactly the same concerns were expressed about people 'getting away with it' and being 'got off' by clever lawyers.



My experience at that time was that the prosecution was more likely to fail because of poorly prepared cases rather than the skills of the defence, or the fact that rights were accorded to the accused.



If there is such a thing as a high rate of guilty defendants 'getting away with it', is the cause to be found in a system in which prosecutions are run by an under-funded agency with targets and budgets to adhere to, and a police service that faces similar constraints? Or could it be that those fewer, more hard-pressed and badly paid criminal lawyers (mainly solicitors) have got cleverer over the years?



Gregory Fordham, Biggs & Co, Wokingham