A Hilton hotel, the Manchester Hilton Deansgate, and event spaces in London and Birmingham are among the next 14 venues to be confirmed as so-called ‘Nightingale courts’. The sites will hear mostly non-custodial Crown Court cases, with the total number of Nightingale courtrooms set up across the country to enable more socially distanced trials increasing to 60 by the end of March, says the Ministry of Justice.
The Lord Chancellor, Robert Buckland, said: “We have achieved an immense amount in our battle to keep justice moving during the pandemic – restarting jury trials before anyone else, turbo-charging the rollout of video technology, bringing magistrates’ backlogs down, and opening more courtrooms for jury trials.
“These new courts are the latest step in that effort, and I am determined to minimise delays and ensure justice is served for victims, defendants and the public. That is why we are investing hundreds of millions to drive this recovery further, deliver swifter justice and support victims.”
The MoJ says that the number of cases resolved in the Crown Courts reached pre-pandemic levels in December 2020, with more courtrooms for jury trials now open than before the pandemic.
The Birmingham city centre event venue is Maple House, run by etc venues; and the London one, Aldersgate House at Barbican. As for the what inspectors call the ‘unprecedented and very serious’ backlog of cases, the MoJ says that courts continue to prioritise cases of the utmost seriousness.
Comment
For Labour, David Lammy, Shadow Justice Secretary, said: “Delays in the Crown Courts are at record levels because of ten years of Conservative cuts, court closures, reduced sitting days, and the government’s slow and incompetent response to the pandemic.
“Victims of rape, violent assault, domestic abuse and other serious crimes are being left behind by this government, with some facing delays of up to four years before they get justice. Labour is calling for the rapid extension of Nightingale courts, war juries of seven in most cases while coronavirus restrictions are in place and the immediate roll-out of mass testing in courts so that justice can continue. We need urgent action to beat back the Conservatives’ record-breaking backlog.”
In January an official inspectors’ report on the impact of the pandemic on the criminal justice system found lengthy waits at all stages of the criminal justice process that “benefit no one and risk damage to many”. The inspectors also gave evidence to the Commons Justice Committee in January. MPs heard that ‘the long-term impacts could be profound and will last well beyond the pandemic, with victims and witnesses having to wait longer to be heard and prisoners having to face far longer on remand as they await trial or sentencing’, that ‘will have serious ripple effects across every agency’.
