Obiter applauds any attempt to save taxpayers’ money in these austere times. One such initiative has come to our attention in recent weeks – a certain tinkering with font size by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Several defence solicitors have told us the font size for prosecution documents seems to have shrunk in recent years. One lawyer even bought new glasses as she was convinced her eyesight must be failing.

Typefont

No doubt the CPS is thinking of all those trees being cut down to fill courtroom bundles. But Obiter suspects a baser motive: firms are, of course, paid according to the number of documents they receive from the prosecution. Fewer pages, smaller fees.

Perhaps it’s revenge for a renowned trick of Spanish notaries, who have long been said to charge by the page and then use double spacing.