Courts Minister Heidi Alexander announces fast-track Single Justice Procedure reform

The Labour curate told Parliament connected Tuesday she is hauling prosecuting bodies - including train operators, constabulary forces, TV Licensing and the DVLA – successful for meetings successful the adjacent fewer weeks for talks connected caller nationalist involvement checks connected cases they bring to court.

Ms Alexander has already ordered courts officials to redesign the Single Justice Procedure announcement sent to defendants, to marque it clearer for those charges with transgression offences.

And she has promised to face bid operators implicit “poor practices” successful the courts aft a drawstring of embarrassing scandals

“I won’t hesitate to fundamentally betterment this strategy if that is what it takes,” she pledged to Parliament.

The announcement comes aft an award-winning Standard investigation exposed the world of cases passing done the Single Justice Procedure, a courts process mired successful secrecy wherever defendants are convicted and sentenced behind-closed-doors.

The probe recovered children, parents, and businesses being unlawfully convicted, frail pensioners being taken to tribunal implicit unpaid bills, and radical with terrible intelligence wellness issues oregon learning difficulties being fast-tracked to convictions.

A cardinal flaw successful the process is that prosecuting bodies, erstwhile they person decided to bring a lawsuit to court, bash not spot the mitigation letters entered by defendants on with their blameworthy pleas.

Those letters sometimes uncover heartbreaking details astir the circumstances of the alleged offence.

In 1 letter, it was revealed that a pensioner had been admitted to 24-hour attraction erstwhile helium missed a bill.

In another, a parent said she was grieving the decease of her babe erstwhile a car measure was not paid. In some cases, nary nationalist involvement cheque was made by the prosecutor, and they were convicted.

The Standard has shown that cases routinely determination to conviction successful spite of almighty mitigation details.

Speaking successful Parliament, Ms Alexander said: “I person listened cautiously to concerns raised astir the Single Justice Procedure.

“As a archetypal step, I person asked for the courts and tribunal work (HMCTS) to re-design the SJP notices and it marque it clearer.

“I volition besides beryllium calling successful SJP prosecutors to sermon ways successful which we tin guarantee the nationalist involvement is considered by them successful beforehand of making prosecutions.”

Questioned astir the evidence-free bid prosecutions uncovered by The Standard, she said: “I volition rise that precise question with representatives of bid operating companies erstwhile they and different SJP prosecutors articulation maine successful discussions successful the adjacent fewer weeks.

“I americium wide that the Single Justice Procedure is captious for the effectual moving of magistrates courts.

“However, it indispensable run reasonably and effectively.

“Let maine accidental this, I volition not tolerate mediocre signifier and I won’t hesitate to fundamentally betterment this strategy if that is what it takes.”

The announcement marks a striking departure from her Conservative predecessors successful the Ministry of Justice, who either ignored the increasing ungraded oregon acknowledged the problems without delivering changes.

The Standard’s reporting connected the details of SJP cases started past August, and successful March this twelvemonth the Magistrates Association – the typical assemblage for JPs crossed England and Wales - called for urgent reform.

The assemblage acceptable retired a 12-point program for change, including an overhaul of SJP notices to marque them clearer and successful plain English and accrued nationalist involvement checks by prosecutors successful the system. Ms Alexander indicated contiguous she is acceptable to present those changes.

Other projected reforms which person not yet been addressed see greater transparency successful the notoriously secretive strategy and amended grooming for magistrates.

In September, erstwhile Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas said helium believes betterment of the system, utilized to woody with an estimated 800,000 transgression cases each year, is “overdue”.