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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Bad counsel over police caution plan | Bad counsel over police caution plan |
| (6 months later) | |
| Until the mid-1730s accused persons on trial for felony (serious crimes) were debarred from representation by counsel except for very limited purposes. Even then the prisoner's barrister was forbidden to make a closing speech to the jury, a prohibition which persisted until 1836. The old rationale for the ban trotted out by successive governments over many years was that the judge was "counsel for the prisoner" (see 31 H.C.Deb. 1142 et seq, March 2, 1836). | Until the mid-1730s accused persons on trial for felony (serious crimes) were debarred from representation by counsel except for very limited purposes. Even then the prisoner's barrister was forbidden to make a closing speech to the jury, a prohibition which persisted until 1836. The old rationale for the ban trotted out by successive governments over many years was that the judge was "counsel for the prisoner" (see 31 H.C.Deb. 1142 et seq, March 2, 1836). |
| The government is now planning to reduce resort to police cautions and to get more offenders into court with minister of state for policing and criminal justice Damian Green pronouncing that our criminal justice policy is "driven by a desire to have proper justice so that offenders are sentenced in an appropriate way" (Police cautions to be reviewed by government, 3 April). What he presumably meant to say was that the accused should be tried in the proper way instead of being bribed with a quick ticking-off at the back of the police station if they only agree not to make waves with an inconvenient and expensive denial. | The government is now planning to reduce resort to police cautions and to get more offenders into court with minister of state for policing and criminal justice Damian Green pronouncing that our criminal justice policy is "driven by a desire to have proper justice so that offenders are sentenced in an appropriate way" (Police cautions to be reviewed by government, 3 April). What he presumably meant to say was that the accused should be tried in the proper way instead of being bribed with a quick ticking-off at the back of the police station if they only agree not to make waves with an inconvenient and expensive denial. |
| All very laudable. But with the increasingly severe paring down of graduated fees, fewer skilled and talented advocates are likely to be available and willing to take on criminal defence work. Along with plans to cut cautioning and get offenders into court the government should be preparing to issue guidance to judges on how to square the circle of umpiring trials even-handedly at the same time as being obliged to take up once again their old duty as counsel to the prisoner. David Wolchover 7 Bell Yard chambers Anthony Heaton-Armstrong 9-12 Bell Yard chambers | All very laudable. But with the increasingly severe paring down of graduated fees, fewer skilled and talented advocates are likely to be available and willing to take on criminal defence work. Along with plans to cut cautioning and get offenders into court the government should be preparing to issue guidance to judges on how to square the circle of umpiring trials even-handedly at the same time as being obliged to take up once again their old duty as counsel to the prisoner. David Wolchover 7 Bell Yard chambers Anthony Heaton-Armstrong 9-12 Bell Yard chambers |
| • This letter was amended on 5 April 2013. The original misspelled paring down as pairing down and referred to Damian Green as Damien Greene. These misspellings have been corrected. | • This letter was amended on 5 April 2013. The original misspelled paring down as pairing down and referred to Damian Green as Damien Greene. These misspellings have been corrected. |
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