London’s biggest chambers has announced it will not be sending pupils to Stratford Magistrates’ Court following a report of a ‘serious’ assault by security staff against a duty solicitor.

Garden Court Chambers said it would not be fulfilling its duty to ensure pupils’ safety and wellbeing if it required pupils to attend the court.

It is the first set to make such an announcement. The London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association (LCCSA), in an open letter following the incident last week, said it ‘may recommend to our members that they do not attend Stratford Magistrates’ Court until this situation has been resolved’.

The incident follows reports of invasive searches said to have taken place at Stratford. The searches caused the LCCSA to issue a formal complaint to HMCTS.

Garden Court Chambers

Garden Court Chambers: Requiring pupils to attend Stratford would ‘risk breaching obligations to keep pupils safe’

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In a letter, the LCCSA detailed complaints it had received from defence solicitors including hands being placed inside the neckline of a female solicitor’s dress during a pat down and another female solicitor who was forcibly removed from the building. 

Garden Court Chambers said: ‘Subjecting professional court users to intrusive searches of themselves or their personal items is unlikely to be justifiable, and this often disproportionately affects women lawyers. Whilst we understand that there has been no concluded investigation of the reports, we are of the view that there can never be any justification for sexual assault under the guise of a search, as set out in some of the accounts provided to the LCCSA.’

Noting the ‘report of a serious assault by security staff against a duty solicitor’, Garden Court Chambers added: ‘We welcome LCCSA’s concern to ensure the safety of court users and endorse the call for a full and independent investigation of events.

‘As a chambers we have a duty to ensure our pupils’ safety and wellbeing.

‘In light of these reports, we consider that we would risk breaching those obligations should we require them to attend Stratford Magistrates’ Court without the issues identified above having been fully investigated and resolved. As such, we shall not be sending our pupils to this court until that happens.’

A HMCTS spokesperson said: ‘These are serious complaints and we are urgently investigating them as a matter of priority. It would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage. Our security measures are designed to protect the safety of all court users within our premises and remain under constant review. They are put in place in consultation with judiciary and the police.’

 

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