TEST-RUN: bail time reduced dramatically but defence solicitors' concerns still to be overcome


Whitehall's test-run of a 'virtual court' system in south London over the summer has been a success, according to a report given to the Gazette.



The research paves the way for a larger pilot to take place in London, but that project will have to wait until defence solicitors' fears over funding can be assuaged, it has emerged.



The test-run - involving video-conferencing between defendants in police cells and magistrates in Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court - ran over 12 weeks, during which 81 cases were heard.



Magistrates involved were 'generally very positive' about the process, saying in feedback that it saved time and that 'justice did not suffer'. The Courts Service believes that it cut times for bail cases from nine-and-a-half days to just three-and-a-half hours.

But the majority of defence solicitors questioned about their experiences with the process were unhappy with the extra travel involved to virtual court locations and how they would be paid for out-of-hours work. This was partly due to mixing the small number of 'virtual' cases heard in with solicitors' normal workload, but also because the test-run involved extending court operating hours.





The Courts Service told the Gazette it is recognised that 'a sustainable legal aid process needs to be developed' if the project is to continue.



Robert Brown, a consultant at defence firm Corker Binning and ex-president of the London Criminal Courts Solicitors' Association, said the scheme looked like it had worked in some ways but not in others, such as not passing efficiencies to defence solicitors and extending their hours. The scheme cost just over £1.4 million, but that cost does not include any agreement made with defence solicitors.



'In some situations, there will undoubtedly be some benefits in dealing with things quickly, but I'm not sure that the cost of this is justified when the benefits are relatively small,' he said. 'I also think it's very difficult to measure whether justice was affected.'



But the report said the problems encountered by defence solicitors 'should not detract from the fact that the prototype worked in practice' and showed the potential to reach its goals.



The Office of Criminal Justice Reform is now considering how the scheme can be rolled out.



Rupert White