Unprepared defence lawyers contributed to 7% of delays at magistrates’ court according to a new report where volunteer observers sat in or more than 2,000 hearings.

Prosecutors not being ready also caused delays (3%) while defence lawyers not present in court accounted for 8% of cases being delayed or adjourned.

The findings are the result of the latest feedback from courtwatchers who are part of Transform Justice’s court observation programme. The organisation seeks to create a fairer and more open justice system.

Of the 2,335 hearings observed, 37% resulted in a delay or adjournment. The most common reason for a delay was waiting for a pre-sentence report from probation (18%), a defendant who was not in custody being missing (17%) or more information needed from probation (12%).

The observers visited nine courts in London from February to July last year. The highest proportion of delayed hearings were in Westminster and Stratford and the ones with the least were Highbury Corner and Wimbledon.

The report, Beyond reasonable delay, suggested that defence lawyers be allowed into court earlier ‘to discuss their case with prosecutors before the latter become too swamped with other meetings and paperwork’ and should be ‘notified by police earlier if their arrested client has been charged and remanded…and if so, which court they are due to be heard in’, highlighting a West Midlands trial where police notify every defence lawyer about the outcome following arrest and if their client is appearing in court the next day.

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In its recommendations to improve efficiency in the magistrates’ court, the report suggested a court checklist which ‘would flag problems in advance and help prevent hearings being delayed or adjourned on the day, wasting valuable court time’.

The report also referred to Canada’s introduction of criminal trial time limits and recommended the Ministry of Justice ‘explore how similar policies could help address court inefficiencies’ and other ‘ways to change adjournment culture’.

Of the hearings observed, 23% of cases involved an unrepresented defendant. ‘Sometimes it was by choice, sometimes due to lack of finances or understanding of legal aid, and in some cases because the defendant’s lawyer had not attended the hearing’, the report said.

‘In cases where the hearing went forward without a defence lawyer, the lack of legal representation still slowed things down, as magistrates, judges and legal advisors were careful to explain everything clearly to the defendant.

‘Cases where initially unrepresented defendants ended up being supported by the duty solicitor normally resulted in delay. The duty solicitor needed time to access the defendant’s files…and to give them advice. The shortage of duty solicitors (overall numbers have shrunk by more than a quarter between 2017 to present) also impacted hearings.’

The report’s 17 recommendations also covered case preparation, improved communication with defendants, and diverting cases which ‘should preferably be done by the police pre-court’.