Monday Message 19.05.25
Together as One Bar:
No member of the Criminal Bar should suffer the misery of being harassed or bullied. None of us should face discrimination because of our race, disability, gender, sexuality or culture. Nor should we face harsh or sarcastic words simply because we are the front face of an unwinnable case or a case where the defence is considered to be unrealistic. We are a vital part of the Criminal Justice System and we are working for far too many hours every week, propping up a crumbling system. We are a collegiate profession and a proud one. We would like to ensure that all our members feel valued and respected. To that end we ask each and every one of you to be an ally to any person who you see being treated inappropriately by any Court user, whatever their role and whether you are prosecuting or defending. If you feel unable to do so personally, please make a note of what you saw and heard, together with the names of the people involved and send it to us. Together, united in respect and support for each other, we will remove the oxygen in which toxicity lives and grows. Everyone is capable of treating each other with respect. Let us walk together and let us support each other so that we do not leave it to those suffering the effects of inappropriate conduct to find the courage to speak out. We are One Bar.
All Rise:
Amendments to the command when the Judiciary enter a Court room from “All rise,” to “All rise, if able.” reflect the practice at weddings and funerals to ensure inclusivity of those with disabilities. Whilst it is a good start to recognising the desire by HMCTS to be more welcoming to those with physical disabilities, the ability of members of the Criminal Bar, witnesses, jurors and members of the public to access court buildings and the facilities within them is still very far from satisfactory. Far too many courts remain inaccessible to wheelchair users or if there is access, far too many have limits to the areas of the court buildings that they can access. Disabled defendants are often obliged to travel a long way from where they live in order to be able to access one of the few court buildings where the court room, conference rooms and custody blocks are accessible.
Miscarriages of Justice:
Peter Sullivan spent 38 years in prison for a murder he did not commit after new evidence demonstrated that his DNA was not present in samples preserved from the scene. It is currently the longest-running miscarriage of justice in British history. As well as cases where scientific evidence is relied upon to convict, cases which rely on circumstantial evidence or even eye-witness testimony can also be flawed. These cases include murder and rape convictions. Lord Falconer has indicated that the Criminal Cases Review Commission should look at systematic problems as well as individual case problems. Whoever is appointed in the role as Chair of the CCRC will need to have legal expertise and a determination to make a difference so that the body properly undertakes its important role in the Criminal Justice System. When attacks against members of the Criminal Bar are rising for representing people who the public consider are guilty of vicious crimes, it is worth remembering the vital importance of the role of the defence Barrister who fearlessly probes and challenges the evidence. Innocent people are convicted of criminal offences. So many more would face that burden without the skill and talent of the Criminal Bar.
The CBA Dinner:
On the 16th May 2025 we held a CBA dinner and were honoured to be joined by the Senior Presiding Judge, Lord Justice Nicholas Green, who gave the keynote speech. At a time when the Criminal Bar can feel very isolated and alone, it was a boost to our morale to hear the respect and regard that the judiciary have for us and for the role that we undertake. We are extremely grateful to the SPJ for giving up his time to come and join us as we celebrated another year of key public service. We were delighted that so many members of the Employed Bar came to join us and so many new pupils. Should the Government properly invest in the Criminal Justice System, the talent of those that we have recruited is superbly high and the future will be bright. We will do all that we can to ensure that those who have joined remain.
Prison Spaces:
The Lord Chancellor has indicated that male prisons will entirely run out of space to house new prisoners from November 2025. We are currently at 99% of capacity. A failure to act would mean that there could be no new arrests, sentences or trials because there would be no space to remand anyone into custody. This would cause “managed breakdown” of the Criminal Justice System. As a result the Lord Chancellor has announced emergency measures. Currently there are 13,583 prisoners in custody who have breached their licence requirements. The emergency measures will reduce the period that those who breach licence requirements will serve to 28 days’ imprisonment for prisoners whose sentence was originally between one and four years’ imprisonment, unless the breach also includes the fact that the offender has committed further offences on parole.
The Government knows that it will be allocating £4.7 billion to build prisons between 2026 and 2031 in the spending review which is due in June. Presumably it knows what it will be spending on criminal legal aid for the Criminal Bar to ensure that we remain to prop up the system it habitually calls broken. Why not tell us so we can either stop worrying or start to consider our next steps?
The Leveson Review – The importance of accurate data:
Before “once in a generation change” is proposed to the Criminal Justice System, we must make the essential radical change which we have repeatedly urged successive governments to do, of having accurate data upon which decisions are based. We have repeatedly argued that before we remove the right to jury trial for people accused of serious crimes, we should consider the consequences of repeated increases in the maximum sentence for offences which used to have a maximum of six months’ imprisonment. Knowing, as we do, that the actual sentences imposed for these offences are rarely more than four months’ imprisonment, these cases should not be clogging up the Crown Courts. We have been repeatedly advised that there are very few cases of assaulting an emergency worker in the Crown Courts. Figures given to us were of 1,600 such cases in the national backlog. It is now said to be up to 7% of the cases in some London Courts and, as a conservative estimate, around 3,700 across the country. If each of those cases requires a trial lasting three days that would amount to 11,100 days which could be freed up. We are relieved to see that the DPP, Stephen Parkinson, known for his pro-active and collaborative approach to the profession, has brought about a change so as to charge such offences as common assault. This measured change could swiftly make a difference of around 11,100 days of Crown Court sitting time. Imagine if we all sat down together and continued to see how many other such changes could be made without any cost to public safety or confidence in the rule of law and with very limited cost to the public purse. That would be a radical change.
The Her Bar Conference 2025:
Despite all of the stresses and strains caused by the exhaustion of the Criminal Bar in trying to keep trials on track, many female criminal Barristers gave up their Saturday to attend the first Her Bar Conference. The conference focussed on retention, the gender pay disparity, progress and progression. It was a matter of great pride for those of us who attended to see that the future could be so bright.
Michael Hall:
We are all saddened at the loss of Michael Lebert Hall who passed away suddenly last week. Michael was a black, working-class Jamaican man who firstly became an academic and taught law. When he joined the Bar, he used his talents to represent those accused of the most serious offences. He was a kind, compassionate, committed member of the Criminal Bar and he will be missed by his friends in the profession, especially all at Garden Court Chambers and by his beloved wife Angela, his sons and his mother. If CBA members who knew Michael would like to email their messages to [email protected] they will be collated and passed onto Michael’s family. May he rest in peace.
Yours,
Mary Prior KC
Chair, The Criminal Bar Association