A senior Treasury minister and barrister has called for a ‘radical overhaul’ of courts listings that would see the responsibility removed from judges.

Writing in the Telegraph, Lucy Frazer QC MP, a former justice minister and solicitor-general, said it was ‘simply unacceptable’ that crime victims do not get timely redress. She said she has seen the justice system from every angle – as a barrister, solicitor general, minister for courts, prisons, legal aid, and victim.

She pointed out that in approximately 65%-70% of Crown court cases, the defendant pleads guilty.

‘The defendant often waits until the last moment – the court door – to do this and given the delays in awaiting a trial date the current system allows the perpetrator additional years of freedom before conviction. Clogging up justice.

Lucy Frazer QC MP, justice minister

Frazer: AI could be used to manage the court case load more effectively

Source: Michael Cross

‘Why can’t we bring this day forward? Why can’t we collect the evidence earlier, engage earlier with the defence team and that trial date fixed much sooner?’

Frazer said judges ‘fiercely guard’ their responsibility for listing ‘but the fixing of a court hearing is not a judicial decision’.

‘The listing of cases needs to be radically overhauled, completely reconsidered and responsibility rethought. We need to introduce smarter systems, introduce technology, including AI. This could be used to manage the court case load much more effectively.

‘It can be the case that more trials are vacated (ie don’t take place) in a month than go ahead. AI could be used to predict this better… We need to frontload cases and bring them begore the court at the earliest opportunity. And then we need a proper system to effectively manage them and understand how to swiftly fill the gaps where cases fall away. Handing control and oversight to the Ministry of Justice will allow a better coordination of all parts of the justice system.’

Frazer’s column is written in her capacity as MP for South East Cambridgeshire. She is the second minister in days to use the Telegraph's pages to comment on justice issues: last week Robert Buckland QC MP, the former lord chancellor who is now secretary of state for Wales, also wrote in the newspaper of his concerns about the government's proposed Bill of Rights.

 

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