Responding to the announcement made by Heidi Alexander MP, Courts Minister today on the Single Justice Procedure, Tom Franklin, chief executive of the Magistrates’ Association, said:
“The Magistrates’ Association welcomes the announcement made by Heidi Alexander MP, Courts Minister today on the Single Justice Procedure (SJP), that she intends to make the notice sent to defendants clearer, and to discuss with SJP prosecutors ways to ensure the public interest is considered by them in advance of proceeding with prosecutions.
“In March, we called for SJP reform and published 12 recommendations to improve its operation, transparency and fairness. Our recommendations included making it a requirement that prosecutors see all pleas and mitigations from defendants before the cases are heard by the magistrate, and improving communication, through a review of the paperwork sent to defendants, to make it simpler and easier to understand.
“However, reform needs to go further. We are also urging the government to boost transparency by making provision for SJP sittings to be observable by accredited journalists, and by publishing more data on the SJP, such as how many defendants plead guilty, how many make no pleas, and how many ask to come to court, nationally and broken down by region.”
