Law Society’s Gazette, 6 September 1972

New courts – cost relevance

In an address to the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association in May, the Lord Chancellor said that ‘deplorable from the point of view of the public interest’ though the increase in crime might be, ‘delay in the trial of criminal cases, with consequent anxiety and in some cases loss of liberty (for the individual) cannot be tolerated’. An increase in criminal work, even on the scale that has occurred in recent years, could not therefore condone complacency in regard to delay in bringing cases to trial.

During 1971, 15 additional court rooms had been created in London for the use of the Crown Court and six further court rooms had been made available in the first six months of this year. Even so there is an average of 14 weeks’ delay in London between committal and trial, and this has to be set against the average of four weeks which the Beeching Royal Commission regarded as being the limit of tolerability.

Law Society’s Gazette, September 1962

The Broad Highway

In his interesting comments on the principle ignorantia juris neminem excusat, published in the August issue of the Gazette, Mr G. S. Wilkinson referred to correspondence included in earlier issues which dealt with parking restrictions, and in particular the meter parking system. What concerned those earlier correspondents was the difficulty which motorists experience in knowing when they are in an area where parking is restricted or in knowing the extent of the restrictions.

Mr Wilkinson conceded that local authorities could perhaps do more than they do by putting up more signs, painting more lines on the pavement and so on.

Law Society’s Gazette, 5 September 2002

Protocol produced to push use of electronic evidence

The electronic presentation of evidence could reduce trial times by up to 20%, the Court Service said last month in the latest move to encourage its use. The figure came in a protocol produced by the Court Service in-court technology judicial advisory group, which also said the technology helped explain difficult concepts to juries.

The protocol is intended for use in pilot schemes.