A brace of Nightingales as cases rise

As of this week, jury trials are being heard in 77 Crown Courts across England and Wales, in addition to five Nightingales and two other courts. However, James Mulholland QC, chair of the Criminal Bar Association, said the backlog of Crown court cases―48,713 on 20 September―was rising each week.

The two new ‘Nightingale Courts’ in Bristol and Chester began hearing cases this week boosting the number of pop-up courts introduced to alleviate pressure on courts and tribunals to 14.

Justice Minister Chris Philp said: ‘These additional facilities will help to boost the capacity of these courts – reducing delays and ensuring speedier justice for all. This is the latest step in our plan to work with the judiciary and legal sector in pursuing every available option to ensure our courts recover as quickly as possible.’

Commenting on the announcement, David Greene, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, said: ‘We are naturally pleased to hear that two more Nightingale Courts have opened, however, thus far only five of the 14 sites opened since July as part of the government’s court recovery plan are running jury trials.

[A]s lockdown tightens once again across the country in response to the pandemic, the need for additional court capacity to enable jury trials to take place safely is ever-increasing. Justice is being delayed for victims, witnesses and defendants, who have proceedings hanging over them for months, if not years, with some trials now being listed for 2022.

‘Of course, we appreciate the difficulties thrown up by the circumstances but we urge the Ministry of Justice and HMCTS to ensure that it is making maximum use of normal court hours and the existing court estate, quickly take up further building space and avoid any restrictions on judges sitting while there are court rooms (real, virtual or Nightingale) available.

‘ Investing in legal aid for early advice and legal representation would help resolve cases where the defendant pleads, or where charges are dropped, and ensure judicial time is used as efficiently as possible in cases which do go to trial.’