In a speech in London this week, Lammy said Blitz courts, where similar cases are listed together over short periods to concentrate court resources, are already used in some parts of the country. From April, Blitz courts in London will focus on cases involving assaults on emergency workers—there were more than 2,000 in the Capital last year—before moving on to other cases such as possession of drugs and commercial burglary.
Lammy said the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr will publish a national listing framework for the first time, setting consistent principles for how cases are listed. He confirmed judges will be offered an artificial intelligence (AI) listing assistant called J-AI, based on technology used by the NHS to speed up processes and cut waiting times. J-AI will be piloted and, if successful, rolled out nationally ‘as soon as possible’.
More remote hearings will be heard in both the Crown and magistrates’ courts, as recommended by Sir Brian Leveson in December, in part two of his independent review of criminal courts. Where court attendance is required, prisoner escort vans will be able to use bus lanes to avoid traffic jams. Lammy said Transport for London has agreed a pilot where prisoner escort vans use emergency vehicle technology to switch traffic lights to green as they approach. The government will also free up judicial time by appointing case co-ordinators at all Crown Courts to assist judges with logistical tasks such as approving live video links and granting extensions.
Law Society Richard Atkinson, former Law Society president, welcomed the proposal for more remote hearings but warned AI is not ‘a silver bullet’ to improve the justice system.
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