After Des Hudson's failure to grasp the truth behind Graylings threats to the bar and his planned removal of client choice as an extinction level event, one has to ask is the law society fit for the purpose of protecting our criminal justice system.
Every criminal solicitor I have spoken to is opposed to pct and standing firm with our bar friends. They all know that Graylings proposals will create a two tier justice system where the rich will be more likely to be acquitted than the poor. Think oj Simpson.
Will criminal solicitors give up like the law society or band together to fight for our clients, the justice system and ourselves?
Tuesday 30 April 2013
Thursday 18 April 2013
Failed new world #grayling
Yesterday represented a client have known for 12 years, he presents well but has post traumatic stress disorder as result of his upbringing which he can't talk about with new people.
Under new system will get a faceless defender he doesn't know and who has no idea of his complex background and won't find out about it given his mental health problems. Likely would have gone to prison and as solicitor not know would likely have harmed himself or worse.
Under the old system he selected the solicitor who has represented him for years. All the relevant information is given to court . Non custodial sentence passed client happy and alive.
Under new system will get a faceless defender he doesn't know and who has no idea of his complex background and won't find out about it given his mental health problems. Likely would have gone to prison and as solicitor not know would likely have harmed himself or worse.
Under the old system he selected the solicitor who has represented him for years. All the relevant information is given to court . Non custodial sentence passed client happy and alive.
Thursday 11 April 2013
What guards?
Who guards the guards?
I have always believed that a strong criminal defence solicitor is the guard against a police state and miscarriages of justice. Thus allowing the public to know if the state turned its might against them wrongly then there would at least be someone to protect them.
This government has now put forward the removal of the defence. Accused will no longer be able to choose who defends them. If you earn between you and spouse more than £37k you will have to pay, oh and even if you win you can't get your money back.
The rate of pay is to be so low that there will not be any firms left able to pay for quality advocates. We will end up with a copy of the American two tier system where the rich choose who they want and receive a rolls Royce service. The poor will get a public defender allocated to them and the rates so poor they will be lucky if they get a robin reliant service.
We know most people have little to no sympathy with criminals but perhaps you should know that 25% of people charged with an offence are Innocent!
I have represented teachers, doctors, dentists, nurses all alleged to have committed a crime when in fact they had not.
The government call us fat cats and talk of those earning Upto £500k a year. Ironically the only such people are to be excluded from theses changes. This will affect grass roots firms that in reality are working unsocial hours at the police station and courts for rates that have been frozen for 20 years and reduced in the last few years till we are on less than plumbers mechanics and many others.
We don't do this job for the money, if we wanted that we would have become commercial solicitors. We do it as a vocation, we are the guards. Don't let this government destroy the last safety net before decent into a police state.
I have always believed that a strong criminal defence solicitor is the guard against a police state and miscarriages of justice. Thus allowing the public to know if the state turned its might against them wrongly then there would at least be someone to protect them.
This government has now put forward the removal of the defence. Accused will no longer be able to choose who defends them. If you earn between you and spouse more than £37k you will have to pay, oh and even if you win you can't get your money back.
The rate of pay is to be so low that there will not be any firms left able to pay for quality advocates. We will end up with a copy of the American two tier system where the rich choose who they want and receive a rolls Royce service. The poor will get a public defender allocated to them and the rates so poor they will be lucky if they get a robin reliant service.
We know most people have little to no sympathy with criminals but perhaps you should know that 25% of people charged with an offence are Innocent!
I have represented teachers, doctors, dentists, nurses all alleged to have committed a crime when in fact they had not.
The government call us fat cats and talk of those earning Upto £500k a year. Ironically the only such people are to be excluded from theses changes. This will affect grass roots firms that in reality are working unsocial hours at the police station and courts for rates that have been frozen for 20 years and reduced in the last few years till we are on less than plumbers mechanics and many others.
We don't do this job for the money, if we wanted that we would have become commercial solicitors. We do it as a vocation, we are the guards. Don't let this government destroy the last safety net before decent into a police state.
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