The Justice Papers - Life at the sharp end of the cuts
Following the Chancellor’s decision this week to cut several hundred millions from the Ministry of Justice budget, the Bar Council today publishes The Justice Papers.
Written by front-line professionals, The Justice Papers, give first-hand insight into:
• Why our justice system is putting families at risk of separation
• What it looks like when someone has a panic attack in court
• How victims of crime are poorly served by the criminal justice system
• When families are evicted from homes because of a lack of early advice
• DIY lawyers in criminal courts, and
• Mental health and the impact of cuts on the vulnerable
The Justice Papers are personal accounts. Some are written by practicing barristers, others by people working with charities. They describe first-hand what the justice system looks like at the sharp-end of the cuts.
“It is not uncommon to see people having panic attacks in the waiting areas. On one occasion, I arrived for work and there was a woman collapsed on the floor outside the court building.”
“Vulnerable people with mental health problems are being disadvantaged and disproportionately so. Jenny told us: “ I was taking Diazepam just to cope with getting into the court room”.”
“If you are a mother of young children who is not in paid employment and your spouse deserts you, you will not receive any public funding to apply for maintenance … you are on your own unless you have family members who can help you pay for lawyers, or you take out a loan.”
“As a previous expert witness, I know the times when my experience and skill at assessment meant a court decided children could remain living within their families . . . Today, those children might not have remained together.”
“the employee without representation [in tribunal] will very frequently face an employer who has a lawyer – or someone from Human Resources – to put its case. This is an unequal battle.”
“People may and do become homeless needlessly and unjustifiably, all for the lack of assistance in obtaining the housing benefit which is rightfully due to them.”
Most barristers can tell you a cautionary tale about the youth court. Perhaps they turned up at court to find their client terrified in a waiting room filled with members of opposing gangs.
“They frequently do not have so much as a working photocopier at court or folders to put documents in front of a jury.”
The Justice Papers
• Criminal Justice by Sarah Vine, Doughty Street
• Family Justice by Frances Judd QC, Chair, Family Law Bar Association
• Civil Justice by Richard Drabble QC, Landmark Chambers
• Youth Justice by Joanne Kane, Carmelite Chambers
• Mental health and legal aid by Stephen Heath, Mind
• The loss of expert witnesses in family court by Dr Donna Peach, Salford University
• Too little, too late by John Gallagher, Shelter
• A view from the PSU by Jane Mahon, Personal Support Unit
